Melissa Mary Militano (later Warkmeister; April 26, 1955 – July 16, 2024) was an American competitive figure skater who competed as a single skater and pair skater. As a pair skater, she won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships three times, in 1973 with her brother Mark Militano and in 1974 and 1975 with Johnny Johns. Their coaches included Peter Dunfield and Ron Ludington.
Biography Melissa and Mark Militano represented the United States at the 1972 Winter Olympics where they placed 7th.
Militano was also a talented singles skater. At the 1970 United States Figure Skating Championships, she became one of the first female skaters to successfully perform a triple toe loop jump in competition, in a performance that won her the bronze medal in the junior ladies division."U.S. Championships", Skating magazine, Apr 1970 At the 1971 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, she won the junior ladies title, again landing a clean triple toe loop."Nationals", Skating magazine, Apr 1971 She later gave up competing in singles skating to focus on pairs.
Militano and Johns retired from competitive skating in 1975 and toured with Ice Capades. After her marriage in 1979, she had little involvement with skating for many years, but later worked as a part-time coach in Las Vegas, Nevada. She died there after a brief battle with lymphoma on July 16, 2024, at the age of 69.
Competitive highlights Ladies' singles National Event 1970 1971 1972 U.S. Championships 3rd J 1st J 8th J = Junior level
Pairs with Johnny Johns International Event 1974 1975 World Championships 8th 6th National U.S. Championships 1st 1st
Pairs with Mark Militano International Event 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 Winter Olympics 7th World Championships 8th 8th 6th 9th 8th North American Champ. 4th 2nd National U.S. Championships 3rd 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st
References
"Militano Warkmeister finds bliss in desert", Skating, Aug/Sept 2008.
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