Stephanie "Steffi" Westerfeld (October 8, 1943 – February 15, 1961) was an American

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 ...

. Stephanie was the younger daughter of Otto and Myra Westerfeld. Her older sister, Sharon, was also a competitive ice skater but had retired. Her mother moved with her daughters to

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 ...

to enable the girls to skate at the Broadmoor Figure Skating Club. Her father lived separately from the family and her parents divorced when Stephanie was a teenager. Her sister helped financially support the family and Stephanie’s skating endeavors. Stephanie earned a place on the United States' world team for the 1961 World Figure Skating Championships, after she finished second at 1961 U.S National Championships. She died on February 15, 1961, when Sabena Flight 548 crashed on its way to the World Championships in Prague. She was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in

. Her 25-year-old sister, Sharon, who had accompanied her as a chaperone, was also killed in the crash and is buried next to her in the family plot. Westerfeld was an honor student,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

, and homecoming queen at Cheyenne Mountain High School.

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American female single skaters 1943 births 1961 deaths Figure skaters from Colorado Springs, Colorado Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Belgium Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Colorado Springs, Colorado) Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1961 20th-century American sportswomen {{US-figure-skating-bio-stub