Theresa Weld
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Theresa ("Tee") Weld Blanchard (August 21, 1893 – March 12, 1978) 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 ...
who competed in the disciplines of
single skating Single skating is a discipline of figure skating in which male and female skaters compete individually. Men's singles and women's singles are governed by the International Skating Union (ISU). Figure skating is the oldest winter sport conteste ...
and
pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating ...
. Her pairs partner was Nathaniel Niles. She has been called the "grande dame" of American figure skating. According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, she earned 32 medals in her career, "was a voice of encouragement to several generations of skaters, and was of assistance to many coaches". As a singles skater, she won the gold medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships six times and competed three times in the
Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...
, capturing a bronze medal in 1920. She came in first place in women's singles at three of the five regional championships held in the U.S. prior to and immediately after World War I. She was the first North American to win a medal at the Olympics. With Niles, she won the national pairs title nine times and also participated in the Olympics three times. After her marriage in 1920, she competed under her married name. Blanchard was also the long-time volunteer editor of the United States Figure Skating Association's official publication, ''Skating'' magazine; first jointly with Niles from the magazine's founding in 1923, and then as sole editor after his death in 1931, until 1963. The magazine was originally published from her home. Her long competitive career gave her many contacts throughout the skating world. She also served as the first chair of the association's Professionals Committee from 1937 to 1947.


Results


Singles career


Pairs career

(with Niles)


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weld, Theresa 1893 births 1978 deaths Sportspeople from Brookline, Massachusetts American female single skaters American female pair skaters Figure skaters at the 1920 Summer Olympics Figure skaters at the 1924 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1928 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in figure skating Olympic medalists in figure skating Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportswomen