Maribel Vinson Owen
Maribel Vinson Owen, 49, Figure Skating Club of Boston/Commonwealth Club. She won her first U.S title in 1928 and won the next five championships. She won again in 1935. She competed in three Olympics between 1928 and 1936, losing each time to Sonja Henie, the Norwegian queen of skating. Maribel's best showing was in 1932, when she won the bronze medal. She also won six senior pairs titles, with two different partners. She won with Thornton Coolidge in 1928 and 1929, and with George Hill in 1933, 1935, 1936, and 1937. She coached numerous World and Olympic medalists, including the first American woman to win a gold in figure skating, Tenley Albright. She was married to Canadian skater Guy Owen, who died in 1952. She supported her daughters Maribel, Jr. and Laurence by coaching and by taking writing jobs with the Associated Press. She wrote three instructional books on skating and was the first female sportswriter for the New York Times. Her coaching methods are still being used today, through her pupils Frank Carroll and Ron Ludington, who coach some of today's most well-known skaters.
Biography provided by Nikki Nichols, author of Frozen in Time: The Enduring Legacy of the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Team.
