Fleming, Peggy (1948—) | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

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Peggy Fleming Summary

Fleming, Peggy (1948—)

Peggy Fleming remains the best-known and universally respected American figure skater in history. After an outstanding amateur career capped by her winning the 1968 Olympic Ladies' Figure Skating gold medal in Grenoble, France, Fleming embarked on a career as a professional skater, signing first with the Ice Follies and then pioneering as a solo act on television specials when the professional skating field was largely limited to ice shows. Corporate endorsements were minute compared to the enormous financial rewards available to most competitors today, but Fleming broke new ground here, too, becoming the spokesperson for over 30 sponsors in her career. In 1981, she became an anchor of ABC Television's figure skating coverage, usually paired with Dick Button, two-time men's Olympic champion and skating entrepreneur. With grace and ability, Fleming has maintained a presence in the world of figure skating for over 30 years. Known for her poise, elegance, and professionalism, Peggy Fleming has been the inspiration for three generations of skaters, all hoping to achieve her prominence in the sport.

Peggy Gale Fleming was born July 27, 1948 in San Jose, California, the second of four daughters. The Fleming family was often short on cash, and one summer, the entire family camped out in Oregon while her father worked; the girls never suspected they werehomeless because they were enjoying their adventure. A tomboy, Peggy began skating at the age of nine and won her first competition at ten. Her mother Doris is credited by Dick Button as being "… forceful, domineering, and the perfect mother for Peggy"; Mrs. Fleming's role as the quintessential skating mother is well-known. Doris Fleming pushed her daughter to excel, providing an A to Z support system for the young skater: making all her costumes, driving her to practices, grilling her coaches on Peggy's progress, and generally stage-managing her career. Her father Al, a newspaper pressman, believed his working-class daughter could succeed in the sport of the well-to-do; Peggy's family moved constantly to support her career. Another skater would not have done well with such an unsettled life style, but Peggy seemed only to improve with such unorthodox training routines.

Peggy Fleming

In 1961 an unprecedented tragedy in the sports world pushed Peggy Fleming to the forefront of skating; a plane carrying the entire United States Figure Skating Team crashed near Brussels, killing all aboard, including Fleming's coach. She was noticed as an up and coming competitor and in 1964, she had a stunning victory at the National Championships. Still only 15, she was suddenly propelled into the international spotlight when she headed the American team going to the Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria. She placed sixth, performing with a high fever but gaining invaluable experience on the world stage.

After the Olympics, Doris Fleming sought the best coach for her daughter and selected Carlo Fassi, whom she believed would help Peggy with "school figures"—the grueling and precise art of tracing figures in the ice which at that time was the major part of a skater's marks. Fassi and Fleming proved to be a perfect match in every respect—a coach of rare ability and artistic refinement, he brought out the best in the young woman who continued to improve and win every title in her progress towards the Olympic gold medal. She became World champion in 1966 in a major upset and retained her National and World titles in 1967. Grenoble was the pinnacle of her amateur career—in a chartreuse costume sewed by her mother, Peggy Fleming won the gold medal (the only one for the United States in those Winter Games). Known for her balletic style that incorporated superior jumps with graceful moves such as her trademark layback spin (the pose made famous by a well-known Olympic photo), Fleming set the sport a new level of achievement that has been approached by only a few skaters since: Dorothy Hamill, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Michele Kwan are the three most often cited.

Her popularity was tremendous, and almost immediately Peggy was approached to make television skating specials which drew high ratings and critical approval—her Sun Valley special won two Emmy awards and Peggy Fleming in the Soviet Union (1974) made history as a television first, a cooperative venture between America and Russia. The professional success of Peggy Fleming was important beyond skating; she was arguably the first female sports superstar. In 1994, Sports Illustrated named Peggy one of "40 for the Ages": "40 individuals who have most significantly altered or elevated the world of sports in the last 40 years."

Her private life has been quietly successful as well; Fleming met Dr. Greg Jenkins, her future husband, when both were pupils of Carlo Fassi. They married in 1970, and Peggy remained active as a skater without significant interruptions to her family life. She is the mother of two sons, Andrew (born 1977) and Todd (born 1988). Although her relationship with her mother was often strained by Doris' need to control Peggy's life, she speaks with great affection of both her parents, now deceased. Al Fleming died at 41 of a heart attack shortly after driving across country to see his daughter perform after capturing a World title.

Peggy Fleming made news on the eve of the Michelle Kwan-Tara Lipinski battle for the Olympic gold medal in 1998. Diagnosed with breast cancer, she withdrew from her commentator duties for ABC and had successful surgery followed by chemotherapy. Characteristically, she began to speak out on breast cancer awareness immediately; her self-detection and her candor about her experience have motivated a noticeable increase in women seeking medical attention. Throughout her career, she has worked for numerous charities (March of Dimes, Osteoporosis Foundation, Kidney Foundation) but now her advocacy is more significant due to her successful return to skating and her characteristically modest account of her remarkably rapid recovery. A decidedly low-key ice princess, Fleming has retained her striking good looks and has never suffered any bad publicity, the lot of nearly every skater since Sonja Henie.