SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — With influence from his grandmother, Jim Millns began skating in his early high school years in Toledo, Ohio and then in Chicago. His skating future could have come to a screeching halt, as a young teen, after a mishap on the ice. The first time Jim ever skated with a girl turned into a disaster when he threw her in the air and missed her on the way down. Not only did he not catch that pretty girl, but in grabbing for her, took her top right over her head, leaving her standing there screaming. Ahh, the life and times of Jim Millns.

I had the good fortune of spending some time with this decorated Olympian and his wife Pat recently and what stories he tells of his skating career. It didn’t start out rosy. Jim met his skating partner, Colleen O’Connor, in his senior year of college. His last semester of college was spent at university in England. Colleen chose to travel there so they could start their training together. Back in the 70’s there were no endorsements or financial support, but Jim and Colleen were determined and had big dreams of being Olympians.

Upon returning to the US, they selected to continue their training at the world-famous Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado. Of course, everyone, including his mother, thought Jim was crazy, because he was leaving an engineering position to become a bellman at the Broadmoor Hotel. But to Jim, this dream was too big to let go. That decision meant spending three years, eight hours a day skating with his partner, two hours in the gym and eight hours as a bellman. There wasn’t enough time or money and as Jim remembers it, he lived on corn flakes and Kool-Aid. But in the end, the sacrifice and all the hard work was more than worth it, since it has provided a life-long reward.

The ice dancing duo of Millns and O’Connor were the 1974–1976 U.S. national champions, the 1975 World Championships silver medalists, the 1976 World Championships bronze medalists, and in 1976, also brought home the bronze medal for the USA from the Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. That was the first time the US had brought home a medal in that sport, and it would not be repeated for the next thirty years. Jim is also in the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Jim then went on to spend thirty years as a master rated international skating coach and then twelve more years as a world judge. He said that skating runs in his veins and if he could be competing on the ice today, he would be.

Having watched the Olympics for many years of my life, I wasn’t sure what the difference was between pairs and ice dancing. Jim explained that when you are ice dancing, you can never let go of your partner. The two move as one on the ice.

Being an Olympic medalist brought Jim some well-deserved fame. One funny story he shared with me was a time when he was invited to the White House by President Ford. They were in the oval office when the President invited Jim down a secret back stairway to the dining room below for a bite to eat. There were others there and Jim was enamored by the presence of Howard K. Smith, a renowned television anchor of that day. Jim was deep in conversation with Howard when a women tapped him on the back and asked for his autograph. Jim, taking the paper, scribbled his autograph and handed it back, anxious to get back to his conversation with Howard K Smith. The President remarked that he had never seen anyone snub Elizabeth Taylor before. Jim, having not even looked up at her, did not realize who was asking for HIS autograph. He proceeded to ask for hers as well.

Looking back on his storied career, Jim shared that the one thing he wants people to realize is that it is not all about him. Yes, he did very well, but what he really did was follow his dream and everyone can have a dream. I would say at 59, that I will not be an ice dancer anytime soon, but I do have dreams that I can accomplish and so can everyone else. Jim has spent his lifetime trying to inspire others to live out their personal dreams and, in that effort, igniting the Olympic spirit in everyone he meets. “What does an Olympian look like, 4’9” and 60 pounds, or 7’ and 450 pounds; it all depends on the sport and there are over 300 Olympic sports to choose from,” Jim said. Encouraging children and young adults to pick something that suits them and go for it is what Jim has spent his life doing.

Today, Jim and Pat live in Summerville.  They have 5 children and 9 grandchildren. Their daughter and her family are local to the area, so Jim and Pat get to spend a lot of time with them. They are also blessed to be able to travel regularly to spend time with the others. In his retirement, Jim enjoys woodworking and cards, being involved in the activities happening in his community and volunteering at Seacoast Church in Mt. Pleasant, in the nursery.

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