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Carol Heiss Jenkins
- Won a gold medal in figure skating at the 1960 Olympics
- Won a silver medal in figure skating at the 1956 Olympics
- Won five consecutive world championships between 1956 and 1961
- Elected to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1976
- Began skating at the age of 6 and won her first competition at the age of 9
- Became the United States Junior Ladies' Champion at age 12 and entered her first international competition, where she won a silver medal at the North American Championships
- Won four consecutive silver medals in the U.S. figure skating championships, beginning in 1953, always finishing runner-up to Tenley Albright. However, she finally won her first gold in 1957, and would go on to win three more after that
- Was one of three siblings that all competed in figure skating on an international scale
- Married fellow figure skater, Hayes Jenkins, also an Olympic and World Champion, in 1960
- Was voted by the athletes to take the Olympic Oath at the Opening Ceremonies of the 1960 Olympics, where she finished with a gold medal
- Carol's mother, Marie, died of cancer when Carol was only 16, giving her extra motivation to win gold at the 1960 Games
- She gave acting a try after retiring from competitive skating in 1960, appearing with the Three Stooges in the movie, "Snow White and the Three Stooges."
- Carol has become a world-renown figure skating coach in Lakewood, Ohio, where her students have included Olympic-caliber skaters such as Timothy Goebel and Tonia Kwiatkowski
Today, Carol is the mother of three children and continues to coach Olympic hopefuls in Lakewood, Ohio. She also served as a skating commentator in the 1980s for various skating broadcasts.
On the significance of winning a gold medal: "The Olympic Gold Medal will not make you a happy person or a healthy person. It will open doors for you that if you are wise enough, will benefit you for the rest of your life."
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Born: 20-Jan-1940
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Sport: Figure Skating
Event: Figure Skating
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