Biography
Won Ice dancing gold with Jayne Torvill at the 1984 Olympic Winter Games with an unprecedented nine sixes for artistic impression.
Coached by Betty Callaway they devised a series of immaculate routines. The Original Set Pattern was skated to the Cappriccio Espanol by Rimsky Korsakov, and Ravel's Bolero was specially arranged.
Dean had carried the Union flag at the opening ceremony in Sarajevo's Kosevo Stadium as a prelude to their performances.
After the gold medal , Dean and fellow Ice Dancer Nicky Slater were taken on the bob run by the British crew.
Dean had been a policeman in Nottingham, and began his Ice Dancing career with Sandra Elson before teaming up with Torvill in 1975. Their first Olympics together was Lake Placid where they placed 5th.
They had won world titles with memorable performances based on Mack and Mabel,and 1983 Barnum, choreographed with the help of the West End stage star Michael Crawford.This routine was performed at the Olympic gala in Sarajevo
They turned professional after Sarajevo. Dean also coached the French Canadian pair Paul and Isabelle Duchesnay.
Torvill and Dean returned to the Olympic stage in Lillehammer 1994, but could only take the bronze with their Face the Music routine.
Dean now lives in Colorado and advised John and Sinead Kerr before the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin.He was reunited with Jayne Torvill for the Television series "Dancing on Ice."