Ila Ray Hadley (September 18, 1942 – February 15, 1961), was an American figure skater who competed in pairs and

ice dance Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...

with her brother Ray Hadley, Jr. Hadley was born in Renton, Washington to Ray Hadley Sr. and his first wife, Betty Ward. Her parents divorced and both parents remarried. Her father, a one-time roller skating champion, and stepmother, Alvah "Linda" Hart Hadley, a former ice skater and roller skater, opened their own skating rink to give Ila Ray and Ray more time on the ice. Ila Ray and her brother won the bronze medal in pairs at the 1960 United States Figure Skating Championships and competed in the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

and

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first World Championships were held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and they have been held e ...

that year. The next year, they finished second in pairs at the U.S. Championships and fourth at the

North American Figure Skating Championships The North American Figure Skating Championships were a biennial figure skating competition, and although they were sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), they were actually a joint venture of the Canadian Figure Skating Associat ...

. They died along with their 33-year-old stepmother and coach, on February 15, 1961, when Sabena Flight 548 crashed in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

en route to the World Championships in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. She was 18 years old. Her parents met in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, and Hadley and her brother are buried in that city. Her father had intended to fly to Europe on a separate flight the following day. When he learned of the plane crash, he told a reporter he wished that he had been on the doomed flight with his wife and children so they all could have died together. Ray Hadley Sr. died in 1966 of what friends said was a broken heart. On January 28, 2011, Hadley was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame along with the entire 1961 World Team.

Results

Pairs

Ice Dance

References

External links

U.S. Figure Skating biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadley, Ila Ray American female ice dancers American female pair skaters Olympic figure skaters for the United States Figure skaters at the 1960 Winter Olympics 1942 births 1961 deaths Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Belgium Sportspeople from Renton, Washington Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1961 20th-century American sportswomen