Barbara Ann Roles (

married name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" is also used ...

s: Pursley, Williams, born April 6, 1941) is an American former

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

who currently works as a coach. She is the 1960 Olympic bronze medalist and the 1962 U.S. national champion.

Personal life

Barbara Ann Roles is the daughter of Carl A. Roles. She married after retiring in 1960. Her daughter, Shelley Pursley Boatright, was born on June 24, 1961. In 1962, she gave birth to a son, Ronald Dean Pursley Chorak. She chose his middle name to honor her mentor, Deane McMinn, who died in the 1961 plane crash. She is the stepmother of U.S. skater Scott Williams.

Career

Roles won the U.S. junior title in 1958. The next year, she won the senior bronze medal and was assigned to her first

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, where she placed fifth. After taking silver at the 1960 U.S. Championships, Roles was sent to the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Vall ...

and 1960 World Championships. She won the bronze medal at both competitions. She retired following that season and started a family. Roles was asked to come out of retirement following the crash of

Sabena Flight 548 Sabena Flight 548 was a Boeing 707-329 flight operated by Sabena that crashed en route from New York City to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961. The flight, which had originated at Idlewild International Airport, crashed on approach to Bru ...

, which killed the entire 1961 U.S. figure skating team. She complied and won the gold medal at the 1962 U.S. Championships, making her the first skater to win U.S. national titles on the novice, junior and senior levels. Roles was the only skater to accomplish this until Kimmie Meisner performed the same feat in 2007. She missed the following season to give birth to her second child. Roles returned to competition in an attempt to qualify for the 1964 Winter Olympics, but placed fifth at the national championships and failed to make the team. She took up coaching in 1964. Her pupils have included Lisa-Marie Allen, Wendy Burge,

Nicole Bobek Nicole Bobek (born August 23, 1977) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1995 U.S. national champion and 1995 World bronze medalist. She also competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Personal life Bobek was raised by her Czech mother J ...

Brian Pockar Brian James Pockar (October 27, 1959 – April 28, 1992) was a Canadian figure skater. He was the 1982 World bronze medalist, a three-time Canadian national champion (1978–80), and competed at the 1980 Winter Olympics. He was born and died ...

, Vikki DeVries,

Geoffry Varner Geoffry Varner (born March 2, 1987) is an American figure skater. He is the 2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist and competed at the 2006 World Junior Championships, finishing ninth. In his first year as a senior, he was given two sen ...

, and Scott Williams.

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roles, Barbara 1941 births American female single skaters American figure skating coaches Figure skaters at the 1960 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in figure skating Living people Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics People from San Mateo, California Female sports coaches 21st-century American women