Hayes Alan Jenkins (born March 23, 1933) is an American former

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 ...

. He is the 1956 Olympic champion, a four-time

World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

champion (1953–1956), and a four-time U.S. national champion (1953–1956).

Personal life

Jenkins was born on March 23, 1933, in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, the elder brother of David Jenkins, also an American former figure skater. He attended Colorado College and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. He went on to work for the Goodyear tire company as an international lawyer. In 1961, Jenkins married U.S. figure skater

Carol Heiss Carol Elizabeth Heiss Jenkins (born January 20, 1940) is an American former figure skater and actress. Competing in ladies' singles, she became the Figure skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics – Women's singles, 1960 Olympic champion, the Figure ...

, who won silver at the 1956 Olympics and gold in 1960. The couple have three children together.

Skating career

In 1949, Jenkins won his first senior national medal, bronze, and placed 6th in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, at his first

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 ...

. The following year, he became the national silver medalist and took bronze at the 1950 World Championships in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. Jenkins placed 5th in the compulsory figures, third in the free skating, and 4th overall at the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, were a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Discussions about Oslo hosting ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, Norway. In 1953, Jenkins became the national champion for the first time. He went on to win the first of his four consecutive world titles. Ranked first in the compulsory figures and second in free skating, he won the gold medal as the U.S. swept the men's podium at the

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( or ), were a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which ...

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

, Italy. He retired from competitive skating after winning his fourth world title later in the same year. The brothers received financial support from the Broadmoor Hotel in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

, and a foundation.

Competitive highlights

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Hayes Alan 1933 births American male single skaters Olympic figure skaters for the United States Figure skaters at the 1952 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1956 Winter Olympics Living people Sportspeople from Akron, Ohio Olympic gold medalists for the United States in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1956 Winter Olympics Harvard Law School alumni Colorado College alumni 20th-century American sportsmen