Cecil Elaine Eustace Smith, later Gooderham, then Hedstrom (September 14, 1908 – November 9, 1997), was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

. In 1924 she became the first female figure skater to represent Canada at Winter Olympics; she placed sixth individually and seventh in pairs, together with

Melville Rogers Melville F. Rogers (January 5, 1899 – September 26, 1973) was a Canadian figure skater and figure skating judge. He competed in the disciplines of single skating, pair skating, ice dancing, and fours. He won the Canadian championship several ...

. At the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...

she finished fifth individually. In 1930, she won the silver medal at the

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships (''"Worlds"'') is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the categories of single skating, men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ...

in singles.

Biography

In 1922, Smith won the national junior title, and next year was a runner-up as a senior. Aged 15, she participated in the 1924 Winter Olympic Games, held in Chamonix, France. In the women's singles, she finished sixth, two places ahead of

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...

. In the pairs competition, she placed seventh. Smith won the Canadian championship in 1925 and 1926. In 1928, she competed in her second Olympics and place fifth in the women's singles (Sonja Henie claimed the gold). In 1930, she became the first Canadian to win a World championship figure skating medal, earning a silver medal in New York City. In 1991 she was inducted into the

Skate Canada Hall of Fame The Skate Canada Hall of Fame is the sports hall of fame for figure skating maintained by Skate Canada. It was established in 1990 as the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame. The members are inducted into one of four categories that best represents ...

.1991 Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame Induction
Skate Canada Hall of Fame Cecil Smith with son 1935-02-01

Smith changed her last name twice, first to Gooderham, then to Hedstrom. Around 1935 she gave birth to a son named Edward Douglas Gooderham. She had an elder sister Maude, who also competed at the 1928 Olympics, but in pairs. Their mother, Maude Delano-Osborne, won the 1892 Canadian tennis championship.M. Ann Hall (2008) ''Immodest and Sensational: 150 Years of Canadian Women in Sport''. James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Toronto. pp. 33–34.

Competitive highlights

Ladies' singles

Pairs

(with Rogers) (with Reburn)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Cecil 1908 births 1997 deaths Canadian female single skaters Canadian female pair skaters Figure skaters at the 1924 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1928 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Canada Figure skaters from Toronto World Figure Skating Championships medalists