Cecilia Colledge
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Magdalena Cecilia Colledge (28 November 1920 – 12 April 2008) 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, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...
. She was the 1936 Olympic silver medalist, the 1937 World Champion, the 1937–1939 European Champion, and a six-time (1935–1939, 1946) British national champion. Colledge is credited as being the first female skater to perform a double jump, as well as being the inventor of both the camel spin and the layback spin.


Personal life

Cecilia Colledge grew up in London. Her father, Lionel, was a surgeon researching the treatment of throat cancer, and her mother, Margaret, was the daughter of
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
John Brackenbury. She had one sibling, a brother named Maule who served in the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
and died in 1943 during World War II. It is believed the cause of his death was a collision with a Lancaster Bomber piloted by
David Maltby Squadron Leader David John Hatfeild Maltby, (10 May 1920 – 15 September 1943) was a bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force, best known for his part as the pilot of Lancaster AJ-J (“Johnny”) in the Operation Chastise, Dambusters raid. He had ...
, who also died in the crash. Colledge never married and had no children. She died on 12 April 2008 at
Mount Auburn Hospital Mount Auburn Hospital (MAH) is a community hospital with a patient capacity of about 200 beds in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its main campus is located at 330 Mount Auburn St, in the neighborhood of West Cambridge (neighborhood), West Cambridge. I ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
.


Career

Colledge began skating after watching the 1928 World Championships, which were held in London. Her mother, Margaret, had been invited by the mother of Maribel Vinson. At the event, Cecilia was inspired by the performances of
Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...
and Maribel Vinson, who won gold and silver respectively. During her career, Colledge was coached by Eva Keats and
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, Sw ...
. Gerschwiler was a former gymnastics teacher; according to Colledge, he was "very progressive in his ideas". Colledge also stated that since she was his youngest pupil, he tested his theories on her. He directed her to take
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
lessons, as well as "stretch" lessons from Miss Lee, an
acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance (ability), balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sports, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most ...
instructor and former
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performer. Gerschwiler came up with the layback spin while watching Lee train Colledge how to do backbends with a rope tied around Colledge's waist. At age eleven years and four months, she represented Great Britain at the 1932 Winter Olympics, where she became the youngest Olympic figure skater. She placed 8th in the event. She won the silver medal at the 1933 European Championships. She won her first British national title in 1935. She won the bronze medal at the 1935 European Championships and the silver medal at the 1935 World Championships. In 1936, she won her second national title and her second Europeans silver medal. At the 1936 European Championships, Colledge landed a double salchow jump, becoming the first woman to perform a double jump in competition. At age fifteen, she represented Great Britain at the 1936 Winter Olympics, where she won the silver medal behind Henie, finishing a very close second to her, became one of the youngest figure skating Olympic medalists. After the school figures section, Colledge and Henie were virtually neck and neck with Colledge trailing by just a few points. According to Sandra Stevenson in ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' on 21 April 2008, "the closeness f the competitioninfuriated Henie, who, when the result for that section was posted on a wall in the competitors' lounge, swiped the piece of paper and tore it into little pieces. The draw for the free skating
hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen, HEN or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in R ...
came under suspicion after Henie landed the plum position of skating last, while Colledge had to perform second of the 26 competitors. The early start was seen as a disadvantage, with the audience not yet whipped into a clapping frenzy and the judges known to become freer with their higher marks as the event proceeded. Years later, a fairer, staggered draw was adopted to counteract this situation". There were two British Championships held in 1937 and Colledge won both of them. She won her first European title at the 1937 European Championships and her first World title at the 1937 World Championships. The following year, Colledge won a fifth national title, a second European title, and won the silver medal at the 1938 World Championships. Writing in 1938, T. D. Richardson (author of ''Modern Figure Skating and Ice Rink Skating'') said "Her Free Skating Programme is by far the most difficult attempted by anyone, man or woman, in the Skating World, but she brings off these staggeringly difficult combinations of jumps and spins with such ease and sureness and at such speed that even experts are sometimes deceived as to the real worth of her programme." In 1939, she won a third European title, but was unable to compete at the 1939 World Championships because of a strained
Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...
. During World War II, there were no skating competitions. Colledge drove an ambulance in the Motor Transport Corps during the
London Blitz London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
. Following the war, she returned to competitive skating and won the British national title for the sixth and final time. After she turned professional, she performed in ice shows and won the 1947 and 1948 Open Professional Championship. She moved to the United States in 1951 and became a coach in Boston. She coached at the Skating Club of Boston between 1952 and 1977. Among her students were Albertina Noyes, Paul McGrath, and Ron Ludington. 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 at the Broadmoor Resort in Co ...
in 1980.


Innovations

At the 1936 European Championships, Colledge became the first female skater to land a double jump in competition when she landed a double salchow. Colledge, along with her coach Jacques Gerschwiler invented the camel spin (In 1937) and the layback spin. She also invented the one-foot Axel jump, which is also known as the "Colledge".


Competitive highlights


References


Further reading

* E.R. Hall & T.D. Richardson – ''Champions all: camera studies by E.R. Hall'' (Frederick Muller, 1938) * Richardson T.D – ''Modern Figure Skating'' (Methuen, 1938) {{DEFAULTSORT:Colledge, Cecilia 1920 births 2008 deaths British female single skaters English female single skaters Olympic figure skaters for Great Britain Figure skaters at the 1936 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1932 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain British figure skating coaches Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists English Olympic competitors Medalists at the 1936 Winter Olympics Figure skaters from London Female sports coaches 20th-century English sportswomen