Jeannette Eleanor Wirz

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(née Altwegg; 8 September 1930 – 18 June 2021) was a British

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 competed in ladies' singles. She was the 1952 Olympic champion, the 1948 Olympic bronze medalist, the 1951 World champion, and a double (1951 & 1952)

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

champion.

Life and career

Early life

Altwegg was born on 8 September 1930 in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, India. She was raised in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, the daughter of a Scottish mother and Swiss father. She was a competitive

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player, reaching the junior finals at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

in 1947 before giving up the sport to focus on skating.

Skating career

Altwegg was coached by

Jacques Gerschwiler Jacques Gerschwiler (10 September 1898 – 4 May 2000) was a Swiss figure skater and coach. Among his students were Cecilia Colledge, Jeannette Altwegg, Sally Stapleford, Bridget Adams, Barbara Wyatt, and Jacqueline Harbord. Born in Arbon, ...

and was known for her strong

compulsory figures Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly a segment of figure skating, and gave the sport its name. They are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". For ...

. She won bronze at the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...

in St. Moritz, Switzerland, finishing third behind

Barbara Ann Scott Barbara Ann Scott (May 9, 1928 – September 30, 2012) was a Canadian figure skater. She was the 1948 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (1947–1948), and a four-time Canadian national champion (1944–46, 48) in ladies' singles. Kn ...

of Canada and

Eva Pawlik Eva Pawlik (4 October 1927 – 31 July 1983) was an Austrian figure skater, show star, actress and commentator. She was the 1948 Olympic silver medalist, the 1948 World silver medalist, and the 1949 European champion. Early life Born in 1927, ...

of Austria. In 1951, she stood atop the podium 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, ...

in Zurich and at the

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, ...

in Milan. Altwegg successfully defended her continental title at the 1952 European Championships in Vienna. She was awarded gold at the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 6. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 195 ...

in Oslo, Norway, ahead of

Tenley Albright Tenley Emma Albright (born July 18, 1935) is an American former figure skater and surgeon. She is the 1956 Olympic champion, the 1952 Olympic silver medalist, the 1953 and 1955 World Champion, the 1953 and 1955 North American champion, and the ...

of the United States and

Jacqueline du Bief Jacqueline du Bief (born 4 December 1930) is a French retired figure skater who competed mainly in single skating. She is the 1952 Olympic bronze medalist, the 1952 World champion, a three-time European medalist, and a six-time French nationa ...

of France. She became the first British woman to win an individual gold medal at a Winter Olympics. Her achievement was not matched until the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

in Vancouver when

Amy Williams Amy Joy Williams, (born 29 September 1982) is a British former skeleton racer and Olympic gold medallist. Originally a runner, she began training in skeleton in 2002 after trying the sport on a push-start track at the University of Bath. Altho ...

won gold in

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

. Altwegg was the first British woman to have won two individual medals (gold and bronze) at the Winter Olympics. After her Olympic victory, Altwegg bypassed a lucrative professional career due to a knee injury. In 1953, she was awarded the

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE). She was inducted into the

World Figure Skating Hall of Fame The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame is where the greatest names in the history of the sport are honored. It is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, ...

in 1993.

Later life

After retiring from skating, Altwegg worked at Pestalozzi Children's Village in Switzerland. She married Marc Wirz, the brother of Swiss skater

Susi Wirz Suzanne "Susi" Wirz (born 30 November 1931) is a Swiss figure skater. She is the 1952 Swiss national champion. Wirz represented Switzerland at the 1952 Winter Olympics where she placed 15th. She was the sister-in-law of British figure skater Je ...

. They had four children before divorcing in 1973. Their daughter Christina Wirz was a member of Switzerland's 1983 World champion curling team. In June 2021, the death of Altwegg was announced in Switzerland.

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altwegg, Jeannette 1930 births 2021 deaths British female single skaters Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Figure skaters at the 1948 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1952 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in figure skating English Olympic medallists British people of Swiss descent World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Sportspeople from Mumbai Medalists at the 1948 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Winter Olympics Sportswomen from Maharashtra Sportspeople from Liverpool