fullname birth_place headercolor birth_date article_title name
richard terrance mcdermott essexville , michigan , u.s. lightsteelblue september 20 , 1940 terry mcdermott -lrb- speed skater -rrb-
 terry mcdermott
terry mcdermott -lrb- speed skater -rrb-

richard terrance `` terry '' mcdermott -lrb- nicknamed `` the essexville rocket '' -rrb- -lrb- born september 20 , 1940 , in essexville , michigan -rrb- is an american gold and silver medal winning olympic speed skater .
mcdermott was a surprise winner in the 500 m at the 1964 winter olympics in innsbruck when he beat the favourite in that distance , reigning olympic champion yevgeny grishin , by half a second .
his coach at the time was leo freisinger , the 500 m bronze medal winner of the 1936 winter olympics .
mcdermott 's international career consisted exclusively of the 500 m at the olympic winter games of 1960 , 1964 and 1968 .
mcdermott was inducted in the `` national speedskating hall of fame '' on june 4 , 1977 .
at the 1980 winter olympics in lake placid , mcdermott took the olympic oath representing the judges .
he currently resides in bloomfield hills , michigan .
he is married to virginia , and has 5 children and 11 grandchildren .
broadcaster jim mckay once said of mcdermott , `` terry is the epitome of an amateur athlete . ''
on february 9 , 1964 , mcdermott was a guest on `` the ed sullivan show '' , an appearance that was overshadowed by the first u.s. performance of the beatles .
