 Carol Heiss in 1960 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1940-01-20)January 20, 1940 (age 86) New York City, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | Skating Club of New York[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1960[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Carol Elizabeth Heiss Jenkins (born January 20, 1940) is an American formerfigure skater and actress. Competing in ladies' singles, she became the1960 Olympic champion, the1956 Olympic silver medalist, and a five-timeWorld champion (1956–1960).
Carol Elizabeth Heiss was born January 20, 1940 inNew York City, and grew up inOzone Park, Queens.[1] Her father Edward was a baker and her mother Marie was a homemaker.[3] Both her parents were German immigrants.[4]
She started skating at six years old.[2][5] Her younger sister and brother,Nancy Heiss andBruce Heiss, were also elite figure skating competitors. During the 1950s, the three skating Heiss siblings were featured in publications such asLife magazine.[6]
After some early victories in regional youth skating, she came to national prominence in 1951, when she won the U.S. novice ladies' title at age 11.[7][8] Coached byPierre Brunet, she won the junior women's singles title at thenational championships in 1952.[9][10]
She moved up to the senior level in 1953. From 1953 to 1956, she finished second toTenley Albright at the national championships. She competed with a slashed Achilles' tendon at the 1954 U.S. Championships.[11]
Heiss was named in the U.S. team to the1956 Winter Olympics inCortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. She won the silver medal, while Albright took the gold. However, at the followingWorld Championships, inGarmisch-Partenkirchen,West Germany, Heiss defeated Albright for the title; it was the first of her five consecutive world titles.[12]
After the 1956 Winter Olympics, Heiss had offers to turn professional and skate in ice shows. But her mother, Marie Heiss, was quite ill withcancer at the time, and before her death in October 1956, she asked Carol to win a gold medal for her. Between 1957 and 1960, Heiss dominated women's figure skating like nobody sinceSonja Henie. She was the World and U.S. Champion each year, and at the1960 Winter Olympics inSquaw Valley,California, Heiss captured the gold medal, being ranked first by all nine judges. She also took theOlympic Oath as representative of the organizing country to open the 1960 games.[13] She was coached by Pierre Brunet.[14][15] By winning the 1960 World Championships held after the Olympics, Heiss became one of three women to have won five consecutive World Championships. She then retired from competitive skating.[1][2]
In 1953, Heiss became the first female skater to land a doubleAxel jump. One of her trademarks was performing a series of alternating clockwise and counterclockwise single Axels.[16] She normally rotated her jumps clockwise and spins counterclockwise; it is much more common for skaters to do both in the same direction (usually counterclockwise).
Heiss was inducted into theWorld Figure Skating Hall of Fame and theUnited States Figure Skating Hall of Fame.[2]
Heiss played the female lead in the 1961 filmSnow White and the Three Stooges. In the late 1970s, she began coaching inLakewood, Ohio. Her former students includeTimothy Goebel,[17]Tonia Kwiatkowski,[18] andMiki Ando.[19]
During her competitive career, Heiss attendedNew York University, graduating after the 1960 Winter Olympics.[20] In 1961, she married American figure skaterHayes Alan Jenkins, who had won the 1956 Olympic gold medal.[1] They have three children together.[21]
| International | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 |
| Winter Olympics | 2nd | 1st | |||||||
| World Championships | 4th | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | ||
| North American Champ. | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | |||||
| National | |||||||||
| U.S. Championships | 1st J | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| J = Junior | |||||||||
Carol Heiss of Ozone Park, Queens, Miss Personality of the ice, skated off with her third world figure skating championship tonight with a perfectly-executed freestyle exhibition.
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| People | |
