Peggy Fleming wins Olympic gold...

Item # 652317

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February 11, 1968

NEW YORK TIMES, February 11, 1968 The front page of the sport's section (inside) has a nice banner headline: "MISS FLEMING OF U.S. WINS OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATING" with subhead: "Colorado Girl's Triumph First for American Team" and photo. More on page 3 of this section with another photo. First report coverage on Peggy Fleming winning the Ladies' singles Olympic gold medal in figure skating.
Complete in a thick 150+ Sunday edition, minor margin wear, a little foxing to the central fold and margins on the front page, otherwise quite nice.

wikipedia notes: In 1961, when Fleming was 12 years old, her coach William Kipp was killed in the crash of Sabena Flight 548 along with the rest of the United States figure skating team while on route to the 1961 World Figure Skating Championships. Fleming was subsequently coached by Carlo Fassi. Her unusual style led to five U.S. titles, three World titles and the gold medal in the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, France. Her award in Grenoble was singularly important for the American athletes and the nation as a whole, for this was the only gold medal that the U.S. Olympic team won in the 1968 Winter Games. It signaled a return to American dominance in the sport of women's figure skating following the unprecedented tragedy of the 1961 plane crash.

Within six months, she starred in the first of five television specials. For several years she toured the U.S. as a special guest star in the Ice Follies ice show, cheered on by huge crowds of admirers at certain large cities along the show's tour route. One of the memorable highlights during her ice shows was a solo skate in blue light to the music of "Ave Maria." Peggy Fleming has skated for four U.S. presidents and was a featured performer at the 1986 rededication of the Statue of Liberty. She has been a commentator on figure skating for ABC Sports for over 20 years, as well as a spokesperson for the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

Category: The 20th Century