Happy Birthday, Peggy Fleming

July is birthday month for yet another legendary figure skating champion, Peggy Fleming, who won the gold medal at the Grenoble Winter Olympics in 1968. Those of us who are old enough to remember Peggy remember her artistry, precision, grace, and competitive spirit. She was the complete package - a masterful school figures skater as well as the best free skater of her era. Five US championships, three World titles, and the Olympic title cemented Peggy as one of the best skaters of all time. :thumbsup:

Peggy, her sisters, and her mother moved from southern California to Colorado Springs so that she could be coached by the great Carlo Fassi. She was totally dedicated to becoming the best skater of her era, and she achieved just that.

After Fleming turned pro, she starred in several television specials, including "Peggy Fleming in Sun Valley", with Olympic champion skier Jean-Claude Killy, and the Carpenters. She starred in other television specials, with Robin Cousins and other champion skaters.

Peggy formed her own ice show and toured the country with a troupe of skaters and entertainers. I attended a performance of her 'theatre-in-the-round show when they stopped in suburban Maryland, just outside of Washington. She was gorgeous, and it was amazing how many jumps, spins, and choreography she packed into a very small ice surface.

Peggy was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998, and she successfully underwent surgery and treatments. She always looks gorgeous. I believe she will be 63 years old, if that's possible.

And, I always enjoyed Fleming's commentary at the US Nationals, World, and Olympics. :thumbsup:

Happy Birthday Peggy! You are truly a legend in the world of U.S. figure skating!!

Peggy Fleming one of my favorite skaters, that got be interested in the sport when I was young also shares my birthday July 27th. Happy Birthday Peggy!

July is certainly a felicitous month for American ladies skaters! Peggy was my first favorite, too. I missed her Olympic year but saw her in some of her televised specials. And I saw her live twice as a pro skater. Once I started doing research on her, I was amazed to find that, for all her grace, she was a strong school figures specialist as well. There's a lot of fuss, justifiably, made of Janet Lynn and how her artistry revolutionized skating. But Peggy, who preceded her, also contributed a lot to the progress of skating in that direction.

Interestingly, many male skaters who were themselves strong artistic skaters loved pairing up with her. She skated in a program with John Curry (and he wrote admiringly of her talent), and she also skated with Robin Cousins. I recall a televised program skated to Pachelbel's Canon, though I can't locate it on YouTube, and they also skated together at Radio City in New York. So she continued to develop artistically as a pro, as Dorothy Hamill did.

happy birthday

I did not mention this when I started this thread, but Peggy's father passed away from a heart attack just a few days after she won her first World title in 1966. Peggy received the sad news while enroute to her next stop on the tour, and she continued on with the tour. Peggy dedicated the remaining years of her competitive career to her father's memory.

I recently lost my Dad, so I can understand how Peggy felt. We keep our Dads in our hearts and in our memories, of course.

Happy Birthday, Peggy!

Happy Birthday, Peggy! I miss you, Uncle Dickie & Terry as the ABC fs team.