To him Terry McDermott, his olympic champion skating, he is known to the “community” of friends of the sport. He won gold and silver medals, he was called “Essexville Rocket” but the circle of readers in the modern international sports arena is small. And yet the champion who died on May 20, 2023 at the age of 82, he is also famous in the world music scene. It’s about a hairdresser who “cut” the hair of the “beetle” Paul McCartney, in a photo that went viral at the time. The “golden” child of figure skating worked as a hairdresser to survive.

Terry McDermott is born September 14, 1940 V Essexville from Michigan. A child from a poor family, he divided his time between work and his favorite sport – ice skating. His first winter appearance Olympic Games from 1960 gave it to him 7^V position in the world. To survive, he worked as a hairdresser, and when he left the scissors, he put on skates. At his Olympics 1964 The Essexville Barber was to go down in history as the Essexville Rocket.

In 1964, in speed skating, he measured his “star”. Evgeny Romanovich Grishin. An athlete from the USSR won gold medals at the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games, “overcame” the 500-meter barrier in speed skating and was the favorite. Terry McDermott, on the other hand, competed on skates borrowed from an American coach and 1936 Olympic bronze medalist. Leo Freisinger.

“At that time, the Soviets were not allowed to talk to the Americans. The Cold War was carried over to the Olympics. Since 1956 they have dominated and been hard to beat. So when you were up against them, you tried a little harder,” the Olympian would say years later in an interview.

During the race Grishin showed the best time. The “hairdresser” does not compete with the best yet. McDermott crossed the finish line 500 m in 40.1 seconds and broke the Olympic record. That night, the “hairdresser” turned into a “rocket”. Evgeny Grishin shared 2^V podium with compatriot Orloff and Norwegian Gistwang. It was the only US gold medal in the sport.

The night he cut Paul McCartney’s hair

The “Golden” Olympian returned to America as a hero. The night he returned to the US, he was invited to join them. The Beatles in the famous TV show of the time The Ed Sullivan Show. Halfway through the show, Sullivan introduced Matt Dermott to the audience, and the Essexville Rocket was deified. “Then I didn’t know them. Then Sullivan asked me to take a picture and imagine that I was cutting Paul McCartney’s hair,” he said in an interview.

Matt Dermott’s next Olympic appearance was in his competition. 1968 V Grenoble her France. He did not play sports for two years because he still worked as a hairdresser to support his large family (five children). When it was the American’s turn to compete, the ice was in bad shape. Still he came 2^O. Tellingly, his opponents said that if he had fought earlier, he would have won. “What I have achieved in France, I consider a great achievement. I was away from the sport for two years,” he says in an interview.

A modest man, the “golden” Olympic champion was a source of inspiration for subsequent generations of American speed skaters. He himself served the sport in various roles, and was also TV commentator in 12 Olympic disciplines.