Figure skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Ladies' singles

Figure skating at the
1956 Winter Olympics
Individual   men   ladies
Pairs mixed

The women's figure skating competition at the 1956 Winter Olympics took place at the Ice Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The competition was held on 30 January and 31 January 1956. Twenty-one women from eleven countries participated in the competition. The event was dominated by the American skaters and who won gold and silver. Tenley Albright, who overcame a significant injury two weeks before the start of the competition, was the Olympic champion.

Contents

Competition

The event was held outdoors at the Ice Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, the host city for the Games. This would be the last time that the figure skating events were held outdoors at an Olympic Games.[1] The Ice Stadium was the focal point of the Games. It was used not only for figure skating but also for the opening and closing ceremonies.[2] It was built to accommodate 6,000–7,000 people.[2] Temporary seating was added for the figure skating competition that swelled the stadium's capacity to 14,000 people.[3] The ladies' competition was the first figure skating event held at the Games. It was followed by the men's competition and then the pairs. Ice dancing had yet to become an Olympic sport in 1956.[4]

The competition was broken down into two disciplines. The first was a compulsory figures competition, which counted for 60% of the score. This was done on 30 January, with the competition beginning in such a heavy snowstorm that it was difficult for the judges to see the skaters' tracings. After the first day of competition Tenley Albright had the lead with 9 of 11 judges' first-place ordinals, with Carol Heiss second.[5]

The second discipline was a free skate program, which counted for 40% of the final score. This final program was performed on 31 January.[1] In the second day of competition Albright edged out Heiss by 1.6 points to claim the gold medal.[6]

Albright won the event despite a serious leg injury sustained just weeks before the Olympics. While skating in practice Albright fell when her skate hit a rut in the ice. Her left skate blade sliced her right ankle to the bone, severing a vein.[7] She also had to overcome polio, which she contracted in 1946.[8] Carol Heiss won the silver medal. She later won gold at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, and married Hayes Jenkins, the men's champion at the 1956 Games.[9] Ingrid Wendl from Austria won the bronze medal, the only Olympic medal of her career.

Medalists

Gold Silver Bronze
 Tenley Albright
United States (USA)		  Carol Heiss
United States (USA)		  Ingrid Wendl
Austria (AUT)

Source: [10]

Results

Rank Name Nation CF FS Points Places
1 Tenley Albright United States 1 1 169.67 12
2 Carol Heiss United States 2 2 168.02 21
3 Ingrid Wendl Austria 3 5 159.44 39
4 Yvonne Sugden Great Britain 4 9 156.62 53
5 Hanna Eigel Austria 5 4 157.15 52
6 Carole Jane Pachl Canada 6 8 154.74 73
7 Hanna Walter Austria 8 7 153.89 83.5
8 Catherine Machado United States 10 3 153.48 86.5
9 Ann Johnston Canada 7 10 152.56 94
10 Rosel Pettinger Germany 11 6 152.04 101
11 Erica Batchelor Great Britain 9 12 149.67 116
12 Sjoukje Dijkstra Netherlands 12 15 145.80 140
13 Joan Haanappel Netherlands 14 11 145.85 145.5
14 Dianne Peach Great Britain 13 13 144.75 151
15 Fiorella Negro Italy 16 14 142.31 168.5
16 Karin Borner Switzerland 15 16 141.69 171
17 Maryvonne Huet France 17 19 138.30 194
18 Alice Fischer Switzerland 18 20 137.69 203
19 Alice Lundström Sweden 19 18 136.34 206
20 Jindriska Kramperova Czechoslovakia 21 17 136.67 209
21 Manuela Angeli Italy 20 21 133.51 222

Source: [11]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Figure Skating at the 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Games". Sports Reference LLC. http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/winter/1956/FSK/. Retrieved 2010-03-02. 
  2. ^ a b Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (1956), pp. 124–133
  3. ^ Findling and Pelle (1996), p. 260
  4. ^ Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (1956), pp. 662–677
  5. ^ "The Olympics: 1956", Skating magazine, March 1960
  6. ^ Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (1956), pp. 669–671
  7. ^ "Tenley Albright - Won Gold Medal at the Olympics". Net Industries. http://sports.jrank.org/pages/78/Albright-Tenley-Won-Gold-Medal-at-Olympics.html. Retrieved 2010-03-03. 
  8. ^ Johnson Lewis, Jone. "Tenly Albright". About.com. http://womenshistory.about.com/od/figureskaters/p/tenley_albright.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-02. 
  9. ^ Findling and Pelle (1996), p. 261
  10. ^ Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (1956), p. 669
  11. ^ Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano (1956), p. 671

References