The Dragon Ladies (Mommy Dearest)

[jesslily]

These skating mothers at least just did something rude to their own daughters, and maybe their daughters could do a lot better and somehow did not focus. They never intended to hurt other skaters, such as their daughters' competitors.

In reality, some mothers are a lot worse than these elite skaters' mothers. There are mothers who are active in clubs, and in every way not to let her daughters' competitors showing their talent in club activities.
There are mothers who can make skating dresses, charging their daughters' competitiors huge amount deposit when they trust them to do dresses, and delaying the dress making process for 3 months, so they could not compete for the season's most important competitions.
There are mothers sitting through each practice and making one big popular group and isolating a few quiet mothers whose daughters normally are very talented, and making them feel like they are not welcomed.

 

[SkateFan4Life]

Peggy Fleming wrote about her mother in her book, "The Long Program". It seems she felt she had to say something because of the stories out there about her mother. As I recall, there was one instance in the book where she was in the hotel room for Worlds reading the love letters from her boyfriend (who would become her husband) and her mother came in and ripped them up. Peggy said she got mad and skated very well at the competition because of it. She said her mother knew how to get her to do well. Seemed like a rationalization or jusitification for her mother's behavior either for herself or for the public or both.

Yes, that incident occurred just prior to the 1966 Worlds at Davos, in which Peggy Fleming won the first of three straight titles. She was writing letter to her then-boyfriend, and future husband, Greg Jenkins, when her mother entered her room and tore up the letters. Peggy cried and was very upset. Her mother beraided her for concentrating too much on "frivilous" stuff instead of the very serious business of winning her first World title. Whatever occurred between mother and daughter, Peggy skated her heart out at Davos. She convincingly won the school figures, and she won the long program. She unseated defending World champion, Canadian Petra Burka, who finished third. The silver medal was won by East German Gaby Seyfert.