Dorothy “Dot” Franey Langkop (October 25, 1913 in St. Paul, Minnesota – January 10, 2011 in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

) was an American

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...

who competed in the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February ...

Biography

As she was from St. Paul, like other skaters from downriver, she wore the colors of the Hippodrome Skating Club. While there was an ice rink on Lake Como in St. Paul, rode her best performances at the ice on Powderhorn Lake in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. She was at her best by the 1930s. In 1932, she competed in the women's speed skating events which were held as demonstration sport. She finished third in the 1000 metres event and fifth in the 1500 metres competition. She also participated in the 500 metres event but was eliminated in the heats. According to her Dallas Morning News obituary, Franey won national speed skating championships four years running from 1933 to 1936. Franey won a major speed skating competition at Powderhorn Lake in 1936. A Minneapolis Star columnist wrote facetiously that she was “mad at herself” because she broke only one national record that weekend. Franey turned professional in 1938, so she could earn money from exhibitions, endorsements and appearing in figure skating shows (there was no professional speed skating circuit). She had endorsement of Camel cigarettes, which appeared in newspaper “funnies” around the country. She headlined her own ice revue for 14 years at the famed

Adolphus Hotel Hotel Adolphus (often referred to as "The Adolphus") is an upscale hotel in the Main Street District of Downtown Dallas Dallas, Texas. A Dallas Landmark, it was for several years the tallest building in the state. Today, the hotel is part of Marr ...

in Dallas. In 2002, she carried the Olympic torch to City Hall in Dallas at age 89. She died of natural causes at

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient vi ...

in 2011.

References

External links

Official Olympic Report 1932Dorothy Franey's obituary
1913 births 2011 deaths Olympic speed skaters for the United States Speed skaters at the 1932 Winter Olympics American female speed skaters 21st-century American women {{US-speed-skating-bio-stub