Button Wins Title With Triple Loop

Dick Button won his second straight Olympic figure skating championship Thursday night, but the 21 year old senior was even more excited from executing, for the first time in competition, the difficult triple loop.

Discussing the maneuver with which he finished his free skating figures, Button said, "Doing the triple loop was as big a thrill to me as winning my first Olympic championship, let alone the second."

Button is the only skater in the world who can execute the leap, which involves taking off on one skate going backward and doing three body revolutions before landing on the same skate, again going backward.

Button was placed first by all nine judges. His execution was near perfect, despite a stumble during a difficult flying spin.