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Laurence Rochon Owen

1961 U.S. ladies champion

Laurence Rochon Owen, 16, had many distinguished titles - scholar, pianist, dancer, linguist and writer - but she was foremost a figure skater. Her mother, Maribel Vinson Owen, groomed her to accomplish what had eluded Maribel: winning an Olympic gold medal. Born in Berkeley, Calif., she was named after her paternal grandmother, Laurence Rochon, of Ontario, Canada. She began skating at age 2 at the Berkeley Iceland rink where her parents, Maribel and Guy Owen, coached. She skated daily, but her competitive success was slow in coming. She competed in pairs for one year with Bill Hickox, but their partnership ended when she moved with her mother and sister, Maribel Owen Jr., to Winchester, Mass., in 1954. She joined the Skating Club of Boston and won the Eastern Sectional junior title in 1956 but had to withdraw from her first U.S. Figure Skating Championships when she broke her wrist. In 1958 she won the U.S. junior bronze medal and the following year won the 1959 U.S. junior title. Laurence won many fans with her artistry and joyful spirit on the ice. After placing third at the 1960 U.S. Championships in Seattle, she was named to the 1960 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team, for which she placed sixth in Squaw Valley, Calif. In 1961, she won both the U.S. title and North American titles. She was expected to win a medal at the 1961 World Figure Skating Championships in Prague. Laurence, who had received early admission to Radcliffe, had dreams of becoming a writer.

Bio written by Patricia Shelley Bushman, author of Indelible Tracings.