Gweneth (or Gwenneth) Molony (born 17 June 1932) is an Australian

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 ...

. She is the 1949–1951 Australian national champion. She represented

Australia at the 1952 Winter Olympics Australia sent a delegation to compete at the 1952 Winter Olympics from the 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, Norway. This was the nation's second appearance at the Winter Olympic Games with their last appearance being in 1936. Australia delegati ...

, where she placed 21st. She and

Nancy Burley Nancy Burley (8 March 1930 – 7 January 2013) was an Australian figure skater. She represented Australia at the 1952 Winter Olympics, where she placed 14th. She and Gweneth Molony were the first ladies singles skaters to represent Australia at ...

were the first ladies singles skaters to represent Australia at the Olympics. Molony also competed in

pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...

; she is the 1949 Australian national champion with partner

Adrian Swan Adrian David Swan (15 January 1930 – 29 September 1989) was an Australian figure skater. He represented Australia at the 1952 Winter Olympics, where he placed 10th. He was the first men's singles skater to represent Australia at the Olympics ...

. In 2020 at the IOC (International Olympic Committee) headquarters in Lausanne, she was recognised as Australia's first female Winter Olympian. She was presented with her Olympian certificate, and became the earliest Olympian to sign the athletes wall at the new IOC headquarters.

Family

Molony came from a skating family. Her father, E.J. "Ted" Molony, competed in ice dancing, and her elder sister,

Patricia Molony Patricia Muriel Molony (later Massina, born 24 August 1926) is an Australian figure skater. She is the 1947 Australian national champion. At the 1947 World Figure Skating Championships, she became the first Australian lady to compete at the Wo ...

, was the first Australian lady to compete at the World Championships.

Personal life

Molony married former ice hockey player and sports administrator

Geoff Henke Geoffrey "Geoff" John Henke, Order of Australia, AO is a former Australian ice hockey player and Australian Olympic Committee official. He was the chef de mission of the Australian Winter Olympic delegations from 1976 until 1994, and is credited ...

. Their daughter, Joanne, was a member of the Olympic downhill skiing team which competed in Innsbruck in 1976.

Competitive highlights

Single skating

Pair skating

(with Swan)

References

Sources

*
Sport: Skating - Figure - Australian Olympic Committee
* Australian female single skaters Australian female pair skaters Olympic figure skaters of Australia Figure skaters at the 1952 Winter Olympics 1932 births Living people {{Australia-figure-skating-bio-stub