Barbara Ann Scott
Barbara Ann Scott
Barbara Ann Scott, photo by Yousuf Karsh, 1946 |
| Personal information |
| Country represented |
Canada |
| Born |
May 9, 1928 (1928-05-09) (age 83) |
| Retired |
1948 |
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Barbara Ann Scott King, OC, O.Ont (born May 9, 1928 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian figure skater. She is the 1948 Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles and two-time World Champion (1947–1948).
Biography
Scott began skating at a very young age with the Minto Skating Club of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She was only eleven years old when she won her first Canadian national junior title. Two years later, in 1942, the thirteen-year-old became the first female to ever land a double lutz in competition.
From 1945 to 1948, she won the North American Figure Skating Championships.[1] In 1948 she became the first North American to win the European and World Figure Skating Championships, making her a Canadian national heroine.[2] Subsequent to her victory, her hometown of Ottawa gave her a new convertible automobile, but she had to turn down the gift in order to retain her amateur status so as to be able to compete in the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. In the Winter Games she became the first Canadian to win the figure skating gold medal.[2]
She was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's Top Athlete of the Year in 1945, 1947 and 1948. She was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1948, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1955, the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 1966 and the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1991.[3]
Scott turned professional, skating with the Hollywood Ice Revue in Chicago where she met publicist Tom King, whom she married in 1955. As a professional she toured outside Canada. Amongst her early successes was the huge hit, Tom Arnold's Rose Marie on Ice at the Harringay Arena in London, UK.[4]
She then later retired in 1955 after being married. She then settled in Chicago where she trained and showed horses.[5]
Scott carried the Olympic torch during the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Scott was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1991, a member of the Order of Ontario in 2009, and in 1998 was named to Canada's Walk of Fame.[6] In December 2009 she carried the Olympic torch to Parliament Hill in Ottawa, in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.[7] On February 12, 2010, she was one of the bearers of the Olympic flag at the opening ceremonies. of the XXI Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[8]
Television appearances
Results
References
External links
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Book:Canadian Newsmakers of the Year · Category:Canadian Newsmakers of the Year · Portal:History of Canada
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| Persondata |
| Name |
Scott, Barbara Ann |
| Alternative names |
Scott, Barbara |
| Short description |
Canadian figure skater |
| Date of birth |
May 9, 1928 |
| Place of birth |
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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