Dianne Margaret de Leeuw (born 19 November 1955) is a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former competitive

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 represented the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. She is the 1975 World champion, the 1976 European champion, and the 1976 Olympic silver medalist.

Personal life

De Leeuw was born in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...

, United States to a Dutch mother and a father with dual United States and Dutch citizenship. She married her former coach, Doug Chapman.

Career

Since there were few international opportunities for U.S. skaters, de Leeuw's mother decided she should try to compete for the Netherlands. She won her first national title in the 1970–71 season and was assigned to the 1971 European Championships in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, where she placed 19th. To gain a berth to the 1972 Winter Olympics, de Leeuw was required to finish in the top ten at the 1972 European Championships. She managed to place ninth and made her Olympic debut, finishing 16th. She then made her first appearance at the World Championships. De Leeuw's international breakthrough came in the 1973–74 season. Her first ISU Championship medal was silver at the 1974 European Championships in

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, behind

Christine Errath Christine Errath (later Trettin then Stüber, born 29 December 1956) is a German former figure skater who represented East Germany in competition. She is the 1976 Olympic bronze medalist, the 1974 World champion, and a three-time European c ...

. At the 1974 World Championships in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, she was awarded the bronze medal and stepped onto the podium with Errath and

Dorothy Hamill Dorothy Stuart Hamill (born July 26, 1956) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies' singles. Early life Hamill was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Chalmers and Carol Hamill. Her fat ...

. In 1975, de Leeuw repeated as silver medalist at the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

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, while Errath again won gold. She became World champion at the 1975 World Championships in

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, finishing ahead of Hamill and Errath, and was voted the 1975 Dutch female athlete of the year. De Leeuw won gold at the 1974 European Championships in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. At the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

, she carried the Dutch flag and made daily trips to Germany for ice time. She received the silver medal, while Hamill and Errath obtained gold and bronze respectively. After taking bronze at the 1976 World Championships in

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, de Leeuw retired from ISU competition. She toured with Holiday on Ice and the Ice Follies and then became a coach, working at the Westminster Ice Palace in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

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and Anaheim Ice.

Results

References

External links

Coaching biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeuw, Dianne De 1955 births Living people Sportspeople from Orange, California Dutch female single skaters Figure skaters at the 1972 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1976 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of the Netherlands Olympic silver medalists for the Netherlands Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists American sportswomen Medalists at the 1976 Winter Olympics 21st-century American women