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Jeannette Altwegg

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Jeannette Altwegg
CBE
Altwegg in 1951
BornJeannette Eleanor Altwegg
(1930-09-08)8 September 1930
Bombay, British India
Died18 June 2021(2021-06-18) (aged 90)
Figure skating career
Country Great Britain
Skating clubQueens Ice Dance Club, London
Retired1952
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Figure skating: Ladies' singles
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1952 Oslo Ladies' singles
Bronze medal – third place 1948 St. Moritz Ladies' singles
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1951 Milan Singles
Silver medal – second place 1950 London Singles
Bronze medal – third place 1949 Paris Singles
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1952 Vienna Singles
Gold medal – first place 1951 Zürich Singles
Silver medal – second place 1950 Oslo Singles
Bronze medal – third place 1949 Milan Singles

Jeannette Eleanor Wirz CBE (née Altwegg; 8 September 1930 – 18 June 2021)[1] was a British figure skater who competed in ladies' singles. She was the 1952 Olympic champion, the 1948 Olympic bronze medalist, the 1951 World champion, and a double (1951 & 1952) European champion.

Life and career

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Early life

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Altwegg was born on 8 September 1930 in Bombay, India.[2][3] She was raised in Liverpool, the daughter of a Scottish mother[4] and Swiss father.[5] She was a competitive tennis player, reaching the junior finals at Wimbledon in 1947 before giving up the sport to focus on skating.

Skating career

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Altwegg was coached by Jacques Gerschwiler and was known for her strong compulsory figures.[5] She won four British Figure Skating Championships.[6] She won bronze at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland,[7] finishing third behind Barbara Ann Scott of Canada and Eva Pawlik of Austria. In 1951, she stood atop the podium at the European Championships in Zurich and at the World Championships in Milan.

Altwegg successfully defended her continental title at the 1952 European Championships in Vienna. She was awarded gold at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo,[7] Norway, ahead of Tenley Albright of the United States and Jacqueline du Bief of France.[3] She became the first British woman to win an individual gold medal at a Winter Olympics. Her achievement was not matched until the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver when Amy Williams won gold in skeleton.[8] Altwegg was the first British woman to have won two individual medals (gold and bronze) at the Winter Olympics.

After her Olympic victory, Altwegg bypassed a lucrative professional career due to a knee injury.[5] In the 1953 Coronation Honours, she was appointed, at the recommendation of Winston Churchill, Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to amateur skating.[9] She was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1993.[10][11]

Later life

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After retiring from skating, Altwegg worked at Pestalozzi Children's Village in Switzerland.[12][6] She married Marc Wirz, the brother of Swiss skater Susi Wirz. They had four children before divorcing in 1973.[5] Their daughter Christina Wirz was a member of Switzerland's 1983 World champion curling team.[13] In June 2021, the death of Altwegg was announced in Switzerland.[14]

Results

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International
Event 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952
Winter Olympics 3rd 1st
World Championships 5th 4th 3rd 2nd 1st
European Championships[6] 4th 5th 3rd 2nd 1st 1st
National
British Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st

References

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  1. ^ Mason, Peter (21 October 2021). "Jeannette Altwegg - obituary - Figure skating - The Guardian". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Jeannette Altwegg". International Olympic Committee.
  3. ^ a b "Jeannette Altwegg". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009.
  4. ^ BBC Last Word podcast
  5. ^ a b c d Russell, Susan D. (1 August 2011). "Jeannette Altwegg: Recollections from the Past". IFS Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Hines, James R. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-8108-6859-5.
  7. ^ a b "Jeannette Altwegg - Person - National Portrait Gallery". National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Amy Williams wins historic gold medal at Winter Olympics". Bath Chronicle. 20 February 2010. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010.
  9. ^ "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1953. p. 2953.
  10. ^ "World Figure Skating Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 8 July 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  11. ^ Hines (2011), p. 23
  12. ^ Goodbody, John (21 February 2010). "Jeannette Altwegg: the tennis player who skated her way to gold". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.
  13. ^ "European Curling Federation: ECC Winners". Archived from the original on 26 May 2011.
  14. ^ "Jeannette Wirz-Altwegg 8. September 1930 - 18. Juni 2021". Berner Zeitung. 26 June 2021. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021.
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