| Olympic medalist | |||
 Tenley Albright |
|||
| Medal record | |||
| Figure skating | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | 1952 Oslo | Ladies' singles | |
| Gold | 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo | Ladies' singles | |
Tenley Emma Albright, M.D. (born July 18, 1935 in Newton Centre, Massachusetts) became the first American female skater to win a figure skating Olympic gold medal, at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. She also won the U.S. Championships 5 times, from 1952 to 1956; was World Champion in 1953 and 1955; and had been the silver medalist at the 1952 Winter Olympics. Albright retired from competitive skating after the 1956 season. Unlike most elite-level skaters, she never skated professionally. A graduate of The Winsor School in Boston, she had entered Radcliffe College in 1953 as a pre-med student, and after her Olympic triumph she focused on completing her education. Albright graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1961, and went on to become a surgeon. Her interest in medicine was spurred by being hospitalized for an attack of polio as a child.
Contents |
Competitive highlights
| Event | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | 2nd | 1st | ||||
| World Championships | 6th | WD | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 2nd |
| North American Championships | 3rd | 1st | 1st | |||
| U.S. Championships | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
Quotes
- People have said to me, 'What connection does surgery have to figure skating?' Whatever you do, if you do it the best you can, has a relation to whatever else you do.
- If you don't fall down, you aren't trying hard enough.
- I would bet you that most people who have succeeded, even though they had an idea of what they wanted to do, didn't just say, "I want to be..." and then name a title, or say "happy" or something like that. I bet it's because they loved what they were doing.
External links
- IOC Athlete Biography
- Newsweek article about Albright's experience with polio
- CNNSI.com - 100 Greatest Female Athletes
- Tenley Albright's U.S. Olympic Team bio
Navigation
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1908: Madge Syers-Cave | 1920: Magda Julin | 1924: Herma Szabo | 1928: Sonja Henie | 1932: Sonja Henie | 1936: Sonja Henie | 1948: Barbara Ann Scott | 1952: Jeannette Altwegg | 1956: Tenley Albright | 1960: Carol Heiss | 1964: Sjoukje Dijkstra | 1968: Peggy Fleming | 1972: Beatrix Schuba | 1976: Dorothy Hamill | 1980: Anett Pötzsch | 1984: Katarina Witt | 1988: Katarina Witt | 1992: Kristi Yamaguchi | 1994: Oksana Baiul | 1998: Tara Lipinski | 2002: Sarah Hughes | 2006: Shizuka Arakawa |
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1923: Theresa Weld | 1925-1927: Beatrix Loughran | 1929-1935: Constance Wilson-Samuel | 1937: Maribel Vinson | 1939-1941: Mary Rose Thacker | 1945-1947: Barbara Ann Scott | 1949: Yvonne Sherman | 1951: Sonya Klopfer | 1953-1955: Tenley Albright | 1957-1959: Carol Heiss | 1961: Laurence Owen | 1963: Wendy Griner | 1965: Petra Burka | 1967: Peggy Fleming | 1969: Janet Lynn | 1971: Karen Magnussen |
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1914: Theresa Weld | 1918: Rosemary Beresford | 1920-1924: Theresa Weld | 1925-1927: Beatrix Loughran | 1928-1933: Maribel Vinson | 1934: Suzanne Davis 1935-1937: Maribel Vinson | 1938-1940: Joan Tozzer | 1941-1942: Jane Vaughn | 1943-1948: Gretchen Merrill | 1949-1950: Yvonne C. Sherman | 1951: Sonya Klopfer | 1952-1956: Tenley Albright | 1957-1960: Carol Heiss | 1961: Laurence Owen | 1962: Barbara Roles | 1963: Lorraine Hanlon | 1964-1968: Peggy Fleming | 1969-1973: Janet Lynn | 1974-1976: Dorothy Hamill | 1977-1980: Linda Fratianne | 1981: Elaine Zayak | 1982-1984: Rosalynn Sumners | 1985: Tiffany Chin | 1986: Debi Thomas | 1987: Jill Trenary | 1988: Debi Thomas | 1989-1990: Jill Trenary | 1991: Tonya Harding | 1992: Kristi Yamaguchi | 1993: Nancy Kerrigan | 1994: * | 1995: Nicole Bobek | 1996: Michelle Kwan | 1997: Tara Lipinski | 1998-2005: Michelle Kwan | 2006: Sasha Cohen | 2007: Kimmie Meissner |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Albright, Tenley |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Albright, Tenley Emma |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | United States figure skater |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 18, 1935 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Newton, Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
