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Albright, Tenley
- Became the first American woman to win a gold medal in figure skating at the 1956 Olympics in Cortina, Italy
- Won a silver medal at the 1952 Olympics in Oslo, Norway, and was the first American woman to win a world championship in figure skating in 1953
- Elected to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1976 and the Olympic Hall of Fame in 1988
- Tenley began skating at age 8 on a flooded backyard that was frozen-over
- She had a bout with non-paralytic polio at age 11. She healed quickly, returning to skating four months after she was released from the hospital and winning the Eastern Juvenile Skating Championship
- After winning a silver medal at the 1952 Olympics at age 16, Tenley returned to the U.S. and won her first of five consecutive national titles
- In 1953, Tenley became the first triple crown winner ever, as she captured the world, North American and U.S. titles
- Tenley won her second world championship in 1955 while attending Radcliffe College as a pre-med major
- Two weeks prior to the 1956 Olympics, Tenley fell and cut her right ankle so deeply that it slashed a vein and scraped a bone. Her father, a surgeon, flew to Italy and did emergency repair work on the ankle allowing her to win the gold medal at the Games
- Tenley graduated from Radcliffe at the age of 21 and attended Harvard Medical School. She was one of only six women in a class of 130 students
- She eventually became a surgeon like her father and an expert in sports medicine
- She also became the first woman to serve as an officer on the U.S. Olympic Committee
Dr. Tenley Albright has three grown daughters and lives with her husband, Gerald Blakeley, in Brookline, Mass. She has built a successful career as a surgeon and blood plasma researcher in Boston. She has also served on the American Cancer Society's Board of Directors and was Chair of the National Library of Medicine Board of Regents. Dr. Albright has also led international polio eradication efforts as a member of the World Health Assembly.
On her experience as a figure skater preparing her for her career as a surgeon: "When I was competing, we were outdoors. I never knew whether I would be skating in a snowstorm or whether it would be raining. I've learned to expect the unexpected."
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Born: 18-July-1935
Hometown: Newton Centre, Mass.
Sport: Figure Skating
Event: Figure Skating
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