Changes: Jeannette Altwegg

Revision as of 21:07, 15 January 2013

Jeannette Eleanor Altwegg CBE (married name: Wirz; born 8 September 1930 in Mumbai, India) is a British figure skater. She is the 1952 Olympic champion in ladies' singles, the 1948 Olympic bronze medalist, the 1951 World champion, and the 1951 & 1952 European champion.

Altwegg was born in Mumbai, India and raised in Lancashire, the daughter of a British mother and Swiss father.

Altwegg was a competitive tennis player, reaching the junior finals at Wimbledon in 1947 before giving up the sport to focus on skating. She was known for her strong compulsory figures.

Her win at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo was the first individual gold medal won by a British woman in the Winter Olympics. Her achievement as a British female individual Winter Olympics gold medalist was not matched until the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver when Amy Williams won gold in Skeleton. She remains the only 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.^[1] She went to work in Pestalozzi Children's Village in Switzerland and married Marc Wirz, the brother of Swiss skater Susi Wirz. They had four children and divorced in 1973. Their daughter Christina Wirz was a member of the Swiss 1983 World champion and European bronze medalist curling team.

Honours

In 1953 she was awarded the CBE.

She was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1993.

Results

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

External links

↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ifs110801

[ifs110801-1] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ifs110801

[1]

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 {{MedalBronze|[[Figure skating at the 1948 Winter Olympics|1948 St. Moritz]]|[[Figure skating at the 1948 Winter Olympics|Singles]]}}
 {{MedalBottom}}-->
+'''Jeannette Eleanor Altwegg''' CBE (married name: Wirz; born 8 September 1930 in Mumbai, [[India]]) is a [[Great Britain|British]] [[Figure skating|figure skater]]. She is the 1952 Olympic champion in ladies' singles, the 1948 Olympic bronze medalist, the 1951 World champion, and the 1951 & 1952 European champion.
+Altwegg was born in Mumbai, India and raised in Lancashire, the daughter of a British mother and Swiss father.
-'''Jeannette Eleanor Altwegg''' CBE ([[married name]]: Wirz; born 8 September 1930 in Mumbai, [[India]])<ref name=ifs110801/> is a [[Great Britain|British]] [[Figure skating|figure skater]]. She is the [[Figure skating at the 1952 Winter Olympics|1952 Olympic champion]] in ladies' singles, the [[Figure skating at the 1948 Winter Olympics|1948 Olympic bronze medalist]], the 1951 World champion, and the 1951 & 1952 European champion.
+Altwegg was a competitive [[tennis]] player, reaching the junior finals at Wimbledon in 1947 before giving up the sport to focus on skating. She was known for her strong compulsory figures.
-Altwegg was born in Mumbai, India and raised in Lancashire, the daughter of a British mother and Swiss father.<ref name=ifs110801/>
+Her win at the [[Oslo 1952|1952 Winter Olympics]] in Oslo was the first individual gold medal won by a British woman in the Winter Olympics. Her achievement as a British female individual Winter Olympics gold medalist was not matched until the [[Vancouver 2010|2010 Winter Olympics]] in Vancouver when Amy Williams won gold in Skeleton. She remains the only British woman to have won two individual medals (gold and bronze) at the Winter Olympics.
-Altwegg was a competitive [[tennis]] player, reaching the junior finals at [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] in 1947 before giving up the sport to focus on skating. She was known for her strong [[compulsory figures]].<ref name=ifs110801/>
+After her Olympic victory, Altwegg bypassed a lucrative professional career due to a knee injury.<ref name=ifs110801/> She went to work in Pestalozzi Children's Village in Switzerland and married Marc Wirz, the brother of Swiss skater [[Susi Wirz]]. They had four children and divorced in 1973. Their daughter Christina Wirz was a member of the Swiss 1983 World champion and European bronze medalist curling team.
-Her win at the [[Oslo 1952|1952 Winter Olympics]] in Oslo was the first individual gold medal won by a British woman in the Winter Olympics. Her achievement as a British female individual Winter Olympics gold medalist was not matched until the [[Vancouver 2010|2010 Winter Olympics]] in Vancouver when [[Amy Williams]] won gold in [[Skeleton (sport)|Skeleton]].<ref name=bath/> She remains the only 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.<ref name=ifs110801/> She went to work in Pestalozzi Children's Village in Switzerland<ref name=to100221/> and married Marc Wirz, the brother of Swiss skater [[Susi Wirz]].<ref name=ifs110801/> They had four children and divorced in 1973.<ref name=ifs110801/> Their daughter [[Christina Wirz]] was a member of the Swiss 1983 World champion and European bronze medalist curling team.<ref name=cwirtz/>
 ==Honours==
-In 1953 she was awarded the [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]].
+In 1953 she was awarded the CBE.
-She was inducted into the [[World Figure Skating Hall of Fame]] in 1993.<ref name=wfshof/>
+She was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1993.
 ==Results==
@@ Line 73: / Line 72: @@
 | align=left | [[Winter Olympic Games|Winter Olympics]] || || bgcolor=cc9966 | 3rd || || || || bgcolor=gold | 1st
 |-
-| align=left | [[World Figure Skating Championships|World Championships]] || 5th || 4th || bgcolor=cc9966 | 3rd || bgcolor=silver | 2nd || bgcolor=gold | 1st ||
+| align=left | World Championships|| 5th || 4th || bgcolor=cc9966 | 3rd || bgcolor=silver | 2nd || bgcolor=gold | 1st ||
 |-
-| align=left | [[European Figure Skating Championships|European Championships]] || 4th || 5th || bgcolor=cc9966 | 3rd || bgcolor=silver | 2nd || bgcolor=gold | 1st || bgcolor=gold | 1st
+| align=left | European Championships || 4th || 5th || bgcolor=cc9966 | 3rd || bgcolor=silver | 2nd || bgcolor=gold | 1st || bgcolor=gold | 1st
 |-
-| align=left | [[British Figure Skating Championships|British Championships]] || || bgcolor=gold | 1st || bgcolor=gold | 1st || bgcolor=gold | 1st || bgcolor=gold | 1st ||
+| align=left | British Championships || || bgcolor=gold | 1st || bgcolor=gold | 1st || bgcolor=gold | 1st || bgcolor=gold | 1st ||
 |}
-==References==
-{{Reflist|refs=
-<ref name=to100221>{{cite news | url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article7034802.ece | title = Jeannette Altwegg: the tennis player who skated her way to gold | first = John | last = Goodbody | work = Sunday Times | date = 21 February 2010 | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20110604224301/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article7034802.ece | archivedate = June 4, 2011 | deadurl = no }}</ref>
-<ref name=ifs110801>{{cite news | url = http://www.ifsmagazine.com/articles/570-jeannette-altwegg-recollections-from-the-past | title = Jeannette Altwegg: Recollections from the Past | first = Susan D. | last = Russell | work = IFS Magazine | date = August 1, 2011 | archiveurl =  | archivedate =  | deadurl = }}</ref>
-<ref name=bath>{{cite news | url= http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/sport/Sensational-start-puts-Williams-sight-Olympic-gold/article-1849853-detail/article.html | title=Amy Williams wins historic gold medal at Winter Olympics | date=20 February 2010 | publisher=Bath Chronicle | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20100328053317/http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/sport/Sensational-start-puts-Williams-sight-Olympic-gold/article-1849853-detail/article.html | archivedate = March 28, 2010 | deadurl = no }}</ref>
-<ref name=cwirtz>{{cite web | url = http://www.ecf-web.org/ecc_winners.html | title = European Curling Federation: ECC Winners }}</ref>
-<ref name=wfshof>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldskatingmuseum.org | title = World Figure Skating Hall of Fame }}</ref>
-}}
 ==External links==
@@ Line 99: / Line 83: @@
 * [http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/al/jeannette-altwegg-1.html Sports-reference profile]
-{{Persondata
-|NAME=Altwegg, Jeannette
-|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Altwegg, Jeanette
-|SHORT DESCRIPTION=British figure skater
-|DATE OF BIRTH=September 8, 1930
-|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Liverpool]]
-|DATE OF DEATH=
-|PLACE OF DEATH=
-}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Altwegg, Jeannette}}
 [[Category:Figure Skaters]]