Speed Skater Terry McDermott, “The Essexville Rocket,” Passes Away at 82
FILE – Terry McDermott, 23, of Essexville, Mich., skates in the 500-meter speedskating event on his way to first place and the first U.S. Olympic gold medal at the ninth Winter Olympic games at Innsbruck, Austria, Feb. 4, 1964. McDermott, who won the only gold medal for the United States at the 1964 Winter Olympics, died on Saturday, May 20, 2023, U.S. Speedskating said. He was 82. (AP Photo/Rider-Rider, File)

(AP) Olympic gold medal speed skater Terry McDermott has died at the age of 82.

U.S. Speedskating made the announcement, saying McDermott died early Saturday surrounded by his family. The organization did not specify where he died or give a cause. Nicknamed “The Essexville Rocket” after his Michigan hometown, McDermott was an unheralded figure on the speedskating scene when he stunningly won the 500-meter event at the 1964 Innsbruck Games, upsetting Soviet great and reigning Olympic champion Yevgeny Grishin by a half-second. It was the only U.S. gold medal of those Winter Games.

FILE – American speed skating champion Terry McDermott, background center, a barber by trade, prepares to take a swipe at the famed locks of Beatle Paul McCartney, seated , to the mock horror of the other Beatles and TV host Ed Sullivan, during rehearsals at the TV Studio, New York, Feb. 9, 1964. From left, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, McDermott, Ed Sullivan and John Lennon. McDermott, who won the only gold medal for the United States at the 1964 Winter Olympics, died on Saturday, May 20, 2023, U.S. Speedskating said. He was 82. (AP Photo/File)

McDermott appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” the same night the Beatles made their American television debut.