Albright, Tenley

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Tenley Albright

1935-

American figure skater

A pioneer on and off the ice, Tenley Albright was the first American woman to win a gold medal in ladies singles figure skating at the Olympics and the first American woman to win a world championship. Albright's strengths were her figures, and graceful free skates. She was as technically proficient as women figure skaters were in her day, and her success marked the beginning of America's powerful presence in figure skating. After her skating career ended, Albright attended Harvard Medical School and became a surgeon.

Albright was born on July 18, 1935, in Newton Center, Massachusetts, the only daughter of Hollis and Elin Albright. Albright's father was a surgeon, and the family was one of privilege. Her father was a lover of sports, and encouraged his daughter. Albright began skating when she was eight or nine years old on a backyard skating rink her father created for her because of her interest in skating.

Began Skating

Albright later told Hali Helfgott of Sports Illustrated, "What attracted me to skating was that I wanted to fly. I broke umbrellas trying to jump off the garage roof when I was little." Within a year of pond skating, she moved to the Skate Club of Boston for lessons. Albright had not planned to skate seriously, but Maribel Vinson Owen, who had won U.S. championships in the late 1920s and early 1930s, noticed her abilities. Owen later coached Albright.

One initial problem for Albright was her disinterest in compulsory figures, which were certain moves, such as figure eights, created on the ice. Albright found them boring, but later became skilled at them. She preferred the free skate, a program set to music. Skating was not her only talent. She was also very academically talented, attending the Winsor School in Boston, and the Manter Hall School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Developed Polio

When Albright was 11 years old, she developed nonparlytic polio (also known as poliomyelitis or infantile paralysis), which put her in the hospital for three weeks. She could not use her leg, back, or neck. Many people suffering from the viral disease became paralyzed because it attacked motor nerve tissues. Albright's doctors urged her to begin skating soon after her illness was over because it would help work her back muscles, which had been weakened by the illness. Albright soon began taking skating very seriously.

Within a few months of recovering from her illness, Albright won the under 12 category at the Eastern Regional Championship. Albright won a number of titles over the next few years. She was the National Ladies Novice Singles Championship title winner in 1949, and then the National Junior Champion in 1950. In 1951, she won the U.S. Ladies Senior Eastern Championship and finished second at the U.S. Championship behind Sonya Klopfer.

While Albright was serious about skating—to the point that she would spend summers practicing at locations with indoor rinks—academics remained important to her as well. She wanted to be a surgeon like her father, and would study between practice sessions and skates, even at competitions. Her hard work would pay off when she succeeded in both areas of her life.

Won First U.S. Women's Title

In 1952, when she was 16, Albright won her first U.S. women's singles championship. Albright would repeat as U.S. singles champion every year through 1956. This victory led to Albright qualifying to represent the United States at the Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway. Though she was not expected to win a medal, she ended up winning a silver medal in women's singles figure skating. Jeanette Altwegg from England won the gold medal. This was the first time an American woman had won a medal in figure skating since Beatrix Loughran in 1924. An injury prevented Albright from going to the World Championship that year.

Albright did even better in 1953, when she became the first triple crown winner. In addition to the U.S. title in women's singles figure skating, she also won the North American Championship and the World Championship. This was also the first time an American had won the World Championship. Despite her success, Albright had a reserved personality and her coaches often had to remind her to smile.

Entered Radcliffe College

To achieve her goal of being a surgeon, Albright entered Radcliffe College in the fall of 1953. Balancing school and skating was difficult. She practiced figure skating daily from four to six o'clock in the morning before classes and related studies. Albright also studied ballet during the day to supplement her skating.

Albright continued to compete internationally while attending school, although she did not match her 1953 success. In 1954, she could not defend her title at the World Championship. During her free skate Albright fell and came away with only second to West German Gundi Busch.

To prepare for the 1956 Olympics, Albright took a leave of absence from Radcliffe in the fall term of 1955. She had already attended summer term so she could keep up with her class. She garnered her second triple crown in 1955, winning the World, U.S. and North American Championships.

Chronology

1935	Born July 18, in Newton Center, Massachusetts
1946	Contracts polio
1952	Competes in the Winter Olympics
1953	Enters Radcliffe College
1955	Takes leave of absence from Radcliffe College to prepare for World Championship
1956	Competes in the Winter Olympics
1957	Retires from competitive figure skating in January; graduates from Radcliffe College; enters Harvard Medical School
1961	Graduates from Harvard Medical School
1962	Marries Tudor Gardiner on December 31
1976	Receives appointment to the board of officers of the United States Olympic Committee; serves as physician for the U.S. Winter Olympic team

Won Gold Medal at Olympics

Because of her stature in world figure skating, Albright was a favorite going into the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina, Italy. In the days before the competition, Albright suffered an injury that nearly put an end to her chances at a medal. While practicing, her skate blade hit a groove and she fell, her left skate blade slicing her right ankle to the bone, slashing a vein. The incident hospitalized Albright, and was front page news in Boston.

Albright's father came to Italy and took charge of his daughter's medical care. Although in pain and needing to wear a bandage outside of the competition, Albright resumed practicing. The day before the competition, Albright was still unable to do many of her jumps; but she pulled it together and won the gold medal for her graceful free skate with ten of eleven judges giving her first place.

Albright landed all of her jumps, including her single axel (which was the most difficult jump women were expected to complete at the time). She defeated 21 other competitors, including 16 year-old Carol Heiss Jenkins, a fellow American. Of her performance, she told Dick Heller of the Washington Times, "I was skating to 'The Bacarolle' from 'Tales of Hoffman.' Suddenly, the audience began to sing the words, and their voices just thrilled me. Chills were going up and down my spine. I forgot about the injury and just skated."

Albright followed up her Olympic gold with another spectacular performance, finishing second a short time later at the World Championship in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Heiss Jenkins, who finished second at the Olympics, finished first at the World Championship. Albright went on to defeat Jenkins at the U.S. championship.

Retired from Competitive Figure Skating

In January 1957, Albright retired from competitive figure skating. Although she had an offer to join the Ice Capades, the leading professional ice show of the day that many figure skaters of her stature joined when they retired, she continued with her education instead. She graduated from Radcliffe in 1957 and then entered Harvard Medical School. Albright was never paid to skate.

Years after her victory, Albright's importance as a figure skater remained. Ten years later, Barbara La Fontaine remembered in Sports Illustrated, "Tenley remains in the minds of many people our most accomplished and impressive champion. A well-bred young lady, she was nevertheless, a real competitor, as steely as she was gracious. Her style was distinguished, a technical proficiency rounded by a dancer's training and sensitivity and marked by taste and intellect."

Awards and Accomplishments

1949	Won Ladies Novice Championship
1950	Won Ladies Junior Championship
1951	Won Eastern Senior Ladies Championship; finished second at the U.S. Championship
1952	Won silver medal at Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway
1952, 1956	Won U.S. Championship
1952-56	Won U.S. women's singles title
1953, 1955	Won North American Championship
1953, 1955	Won World Championship
1954, 1956	Placed second at World Championship
1956	Won gold medal at Winter Olympics in Cortina, Italy
1974	Inducted into the Ice Skating Hall of Fame
1975	Received honorary degree of science from Russell Sage College
1976	Inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame; awarded Golden Plate Award by the American Academy of Achievement
1983	Inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame
1988	Inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame
1999	Inducted into the Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame

Where Is She Now?

Albright completed her medical training at Harvard Medical School, graduating in 1961. While she still skated for her own enjoyment, her focus for many years was on her surgical career. She began by joining her father's practice and was also a general surgeon at Boston's Deaconess Hospital. Albright's skating career was definitely linked to her medical career. She told Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times, "When I was competing, we were outdoors. So despite all my preparation, I never knew whether I would be skating in a snowstorm or whether it would be raining or windy. I've learned to expect the unexpected. You don't always know what you'll find when you open a patient, and you have to be prepared."

Later in her medical career, Albright had a solo practice, in affiliation with New England Baptist Hospital. She also developed an interest in research, working at the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Whitehead Institute studying how to prevent and detect diseases early in their progression, researching drug delivery systems, and fundraising for human-genome research. She also founded Sports Medicine Resource in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Sports medicine was not her only link to skating. She skated for charity performances like the United States Figure Skating Memorial Fund, and taught underprivileged children how to skate. In 1976, she was the first woman named to the U.S. Olympic Committee and served as chief physician for the U.S. Winter Olympic team. Albright also served on the International Olympic Committee.

Albright married Tudor Gardiner in 1962, and had three daughters: Lilla, Elin, and Elee Emma. She divorced, and later married Gerald Blakeley, her second husband.