Maribel Yerxa Vinson-Owen(néeVinson;October 12, 1911 – February 15, 1961) was an Americanfigure skaterand coach. She competed in the disciplines ofladies' singlesandpair skating.As a single skater, she was the1932 Olympic bronze medalist,a two-timeWorld medalist(1928 silver, 1930 bronze), the 1937North American champion,and a nine-timeU.S. national champion.As a pair skater, she was the 1935 North American champion and four-time national champion withGeorge Hill.She also won two national titles withThornton Coolidge.She was the first female sportswriter atThe New York Times,and continued competing and winning medals while working as a full-time reporter.[1]
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| Born | Maribel Yerxa Vinson October 12, 1911 Winchester, Massachusetts,U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | February 15, 1961(aged 49) Berg-Kampenhout, Flemish Brabant,Belgium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | SC of Boston | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1937 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Vinson-Owen is tied withMichelle Kwanfor the record in U.S. ladies' figure skating titles.
Personal life
editMaribel Vinson was the daughter of Thomas and Gertrude Vinson ofWinchester, Massachusetts.Both of her parents were figure skaters and Maribel was made an honorary member of the Cambridge Skating Club at birth.
A good student, Vinson studied atRadcliffe College,graduating in 1933,[2]all the while pursuing an interest in ice skating. She marriedCanadianskaterGuy Owenand they had two daughters,Maribel Yerxa Owen(1940) andLaurence Rochon Owen(1944). They divorced in 1949, and Guy Owen died three years later at age 38.[3]Following her father's death, also in 1952, she and her daughters moved back east to Winchester and lived with her mother. In February 1961, Maribel Vinson-Owen was killed along with both daughters in theSabena Flight 548crash inBelgium.[3][4]
Competitive career
editVinson began to take lessons with coach Willie Frick at theBoston Arenaat the age of nine. She won the U.S. junior ladies' title at the age of 12.[5]
From 1928 to 1937, Vinson won the women's singles title at theU.S. Championshipsevery year except for 1934. She also teamed up withThornton L. Coolidgeto win the U.S. pairs' title in 1928 and 1929, and withGeorge E. B. Hillto win four titles in 1933, 1935, 1936, and 1937.
At the1932 Winter Olympic GamesinLake Placid, New York,Vinson earned the bronze medal behind theNorwegianchampionSonja Henieand theAustrianrunner up,Fritzi Burger.While still competing, in the 1930s, Vinson became the first woman sportswriter at theNew York Timesnewspaper.[6]
Following her retirement from amateur ice skating, Vinson toured professionally with her husbandGuy Owenin shows.
Coaching career
editFollowing the birth of her two daughters, Vinson-Owen began coaching inBerkeley, California.She divorced Owen in 1949 and after her father's death in 1952, she lived in her native Winchester, Massachusetts, and coached at rinks in theBostonarea. Her daughters developed a love for ice skating and she trained them in the sport.[3]
Vinson-Owen coachedTenley Albrightto five U.S. titles and then to the United States' firstOlympicgold medal in ladies' singles. She also taughtFrank Carroll,who himself went on to be one of America's top skating instructors, coachingMichelle Kwanto her numerous world and national titles andEvan Lysacekto his Olympic gold medal.
During her lifetime, Vinson-Owen authored several books on her sport:
- Primer of Figure Skating– McGraw-Hill/Whittlesey House (1938)
- Advanced Figure Skating– McGraw-Hill/Whittlesey House (1940)
- The Fun of Figure Skating– Harper & Brothers (1960)
InPrimer of Figure Skating,Vinson devotes three-and-a-half pages to what female figure skaters should wear on the ice, which included the correct length and style of skirt, and credits the appeal of the sport to feminine interests in skating fashions. Figure skating historian and writer Ellyn Kestnbaum argues that "Vinson points to several ways in which skating attire connotes (and permits) athleticism and also how it can attract the eye on the merits of its own design elements and by enhancing the visual appeal of the skater's body".[7]Kestnbaum also stated that female skaters should pay more attention to their appearance than men do.[8]
At the1961 U.S. Championships,her daughter and namesake,Maribel,won the nationalpair skatingtitle with partnerDudley S. Richards,while her youngest daughter, 16-year-oldLaurence,won the ladies' single title. It was the first timeCBSbroadcast the U.S. national championships ontelevisionand the Owen family became instant celebrities.[9]
Plane crash
editVinson-Owen, as a coach, and her two daughters, as competitors, were all part of the United States team scheduled to appear at the 1961World ChampionshipsinPrague,Czechoslovakia.They boardedSabena Flight 548atNew York City'sIdlewild International Airportalong with the rest of the American team. The overnight flight had a stopover scheduled forBrussels, Belgiumand on its arrival in the clear mid-morning of February 15, the captain had to abort the approach and circle around for a second attempt to land on a different runway. The plane, aBoeing 707,never made it back to the airport; instead, it plunged into the wooded farmland of the village ofBerg, Belgium,taking the lives of all 72 passengers and crew plus a farmer at work in his fields. All 18 members of the American figure skating team plus 16 of their relatives, friends, and coaches were among the dead.[4]
The 1961 World Championships were canceled. The remains of Vinson-Owen and her daughters were brought home for interment in the Story Chapel Columbarium atMount Auburn CemeteryinCambridge, Massachusetts.
Legacy
editVinson-Owen was inducted into theU.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famethree times – in 1976 as a singles' skater, in 1994 with George E.B. Hill in the pairs' category, and in 2011 as a coach for the 1961 World Team. In 2001, she was inducted to the inaugural class of the Professional Skaters' Association Coaches Hall of Fame, which included the five coaches that perished beside her.[10]In 2002, she was inducted in theWorld Figure Skating Hall of Fame.Her daughters were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2011.
In Winchester, the Vinson-Owen elementary school was named in her and her daughters' honor.[11]
Competitive highlights
editSingle skating
edit| Event | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics | 4th | 3rd | 5th | |||||||||
| World Championships | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 5th | |||||||
| North American Championships | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | |||||||||
| European Championships | 3rd | |||||||||||
| U.S. Championships | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
Pair skating with Hill
edit| Event | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Games | 5th | |||||||
| World Championships | 5th | 5th | ||||||
| North American Championships | 1st | 2nd | ||||||
| U.S. Championships | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
Pair skating with Coolidge
edit| Event | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|
| North American Championships | 3rd | |
| U.S. Championships | 1st | 1st |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Mather, Victor (21 February 2018)."An Olympic Figure Skater Who Also Made History for The Times".The New York Times.Retrieved2018-02-25.
- ^Halloran, Peter C.,Historical Dictionary of New England,Rowman & Littlefield, May 1, 2017. Cf. Article on Owen, Maribel,p.382.
- ^abcSwift, E.M. (February 21, 2011)."The Day the Music Stopped".Sports Illustrated.pp. 70–75. Archived fromthe originalon February 23, 2014.
- ^abJohnson, Bonnie D. (2011)."Still Crystal Clear".ESPN. Outside the Lines.RetrievedFebruary 19,2014.
- ^"A Family Tradition",Skatingmagazine, June 1959
- ^Mather, Victor (21 February 2018)."An Olympic Figure Skater Who Also Made History for The Times".The New York Times.RetrievedJanuary 13,2019.
- ^Kestnbaum, Ellyn (2003).Culture on Ice: Figure Skating and Cultural Meaning.Middleton, Connecticut: Wesleyan Publishing Press. p. 105.ISBN0-8195-6641-1.
- ^Kestnbaum, p. 106
- ^Heilman, Barbara (February 13, 1961)."Mother set the style".Sports Illustrated.p. 39. Archived fromthe originalon October 13, 2009.
- ^Professional Skaters Association
- ^"Vinson-Owen Elementary School: school info".Winchester Public Schools.RetrievedFebruary 19,2014.
- Nichols, Nikki (2006).Frozen in Time: The Enduring Legacy of the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Team.Emmis Books.ISBN1-57860-260-2.
- "Past U.S. Champions – Senior"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2012-02-09.(123KiB)
External links
edit- Maribel VinsonatOlympics at Sports-Reference.com(archived)
- Maribel Vinson Owenat U.S. Figure Skating
- Maribel Vinson Owen – US Figure Skating LegendArchived2014-02-25 at theWayback Machineat About.com
- Maribel VinsonatFind a Grave