FASSI, CARLO

born Dec. 20, 1929, Milan, Italy died March 20, 1997, Lausanne, Switz. Italian-born American figure-skating coach who guided four individual skaters to gold medals in the Winter Olympics. A medalist in figure skating himself, Fassi was the Italian singles champion from 1943 to 1954, won a bronze medal at the world championships in 1953, and clinched gold medals at the European championships in 1953 and 1954. He also competed in the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, finishing sixth. In 1961, following a tragic plane crash in which many American skaters and coaches were killed, Fassi was invited to the United States to help rebuild the skating program. His pupil Peggy Fleming won a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, France, and she was soon followed by Dorothy Hamill and Britain's John Curry, both of whom won gold medals at the 1976 Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Fassi went on to nurture Robin Cousins to a gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, U.S., and to coach athletes who won a total of 4 world championships and national titles in 15 countries. Fassi partnered with his wife, Christa, for most of his coaching career; they were famous for their ability to bring out the individual spirit of each skater. A vocal supporter of the compulsory figures that had made up 50 percent of a skater's overall score, Fassi continued to coach award-winning skaters even after compulsories were dropped from competition in 1990.