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1960 Olympic Figure Skating Champion Carol Heiss

By Jo Ann Schneider Farris, About.com

Carol Heiss in 2008 - 1960 Olympic Figure Skating Champion

Carol Heiss in 2008 - 1960 Olympic Figure Skating Champion

Photo by Jerry Lai - Getty Images for USOC

Two-Time Olympic Medalist:

Carol Heiss won the 1960 Olympics in women's figure skating and she also won the silver medal at the 1956 Olympics. When she won the 1960 Olympic Gold Medal, all nine judges awarded her first place.

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Married Another Olympic Figure Skating Champion:

Carol Heiss married another Olympic champion: 1956 Men's Olympic Figure Skating Champion Hayes Alan Jenkins. Additionally, Hayes Jenkins was the world figure skating champion in men's singles from 1953 through 1956. After retiring from competitive skating, Jenkins graduated with a law degree from Harvard. His brother, David Jenkins, won the 1960 Olympic Men's Figure Skating title.

Carol Heiss - Five-Time World Champion:

Carol Heiss won the world championship every year from 1956 through 1960.

Born:

Carol Heiss was born on January 20, 1940 in New York. She grew up in Queens.

Young Carol Heiss:

Carol was only six years old when she began skating. She had two other siblings that also were serious figure skaters. Carol's mother, Marie Heiss, died of cancer in October of 1956 when Carol was only sixteen years old.

Coaches:

Pierre and Andrée Brunet, two-time Olympic pair skating champions from France, coached Carol.

Movie Debut :

In 1961, Carol Heiss made her movie debut as Snow White in "Snow White and the Three Stooges."

Some of Carol's solo skating footage was edited out because the producers thought there was "too much skating." She did a double axel in the movie.

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Outstanding and Unique Figure Skating Moves:

In 1953, Carol Heiss made history by being the first woman to land a double axel in competition. She also had a unique trademark: she was able to do alternating axels in a seies in both the clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. She jumped clockwise and did spins counterclockwise most of the time.

Carol Heiss Jenkins - Coach:

Carol Heiss Jenkins did become one of the top figure skating coaches in the United States. She has coached Timothy Goebel, Tonia Kwiatkowski and Miki Ando. She did not begin coaching figure skating until the 1970s since her first priority was to concentrate on being a full-time wife and mother.

Video of the 1960 Olympic Figure Skating Champion Carol Heiss:

1957 Carol Heiss Program Content:

All jumps are clockwise unless noted. All spins are counterclockwise unless noted.

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