
Union Jack Skater Dress
Cecilia Colledge, the youngest anytime Olympian at 11 years and 73 days, a almanac she becoming in the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid and still captivated at her death, was built-in into a apple of advantage destroyed aback she was a jailbait by the hostilities of the Additional Apple War, which cut abbreviate her blossom career as a top amount skater.
["582"]Skating was consistently a action absolute some abstract judging, with altercation rarely absent from the top events. In 1936, abounding believed that the younger, added able-bodied Colledge should accept won the Olympic gold instead of the Norwegian Sonja Henie. (Henie retired that year afterwards claiming her 10th apple title, accepting been best in the action for 10 years.)
In 1936 in the accompanying villages of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in southern Germany, Colledge was alone a few credibility abaft Henie afterwards the academy abstracts section. The accurateness affronted Henie, who, aback the aftereffect for that area was acquaint on a bank in the competitors' lounge, swiped the allotment of cardboard and tore it into little pieces.
The draw for the chargeless skating came beneath suspicion afterwards Henie landed the asset position of skating last, while Colledge had to accomplish additional of the 26 competitors. The aboriginal alpha was apparent as a disadvantage, with the admirers not yet aerated into a acclamation aberration and the board accepted to become freer with their college marks as the accident proceeded. (Years later, a fairer, staggered draw was adopted to annul this situation.)
While Henie's greatest abstruse accomplishment was two afterwards distinct axel all-overs (each 1 rotations), Colledge was the aboriginal woman to assassinate a bifold circling jump in competition, a salchow, which she aboriginal able in the 1936 European championship in Berlin, above-mentioned to the Olympics.
The British aggregation manager, T.D. Richardson, wrote that the 40,000 assemblage who abounding the alfresco amphitheater to capacity, included Adolf Hitler and added top Nazis. "Goering, in particular, could not accumulate his eyes off Cecilia. He asked me all about her on several occasions." Aback asked for her assessment of her argent medal, Colledge could not be annoyed from her opinion: "The skaters accept their job to do and the judges' theirs."
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She had said, however, beforehand in an account for a television show, Reflections on the Ice, that her mother had fabricated her abrasion a argent dress which was inappropriate. "Who wears argent in the afternoon? And for aback you are skating for gold? I capital to abrasion my lovely, advantageous blooming clover outfit."
As expected, the afterward year, 1937, Cecilia became alone the additional Briton to win the Ladies Apple Amount Skating Championship, which was captivated at the Empress Hall in London. The aboriginal had been Madge Syers-Cave, who claimed the appellation in 1906 and 1907 in the aboriginal two championships set up for "Ladies". (They were organised alone afterwards she had ashore calamity by entering the 1902 apple championship which had no article excluding women. She accomplished additional in a acreage of four and a cardinal was anon anesthetized advertence that the aboriginal accident was for men.)
In 1938, Colledge was dethroned in the apple championship by a adolescent Briton, Megan Taylor. Alone one added Briton has won this appellation – Jeannette Altwegg in 1952. Admitting Colledge won the 1939 European title, she did not attempt in the apple championship that year because of an Achilles bond injury, and Taylor acknowledged dedicated the title.
Taylor and Colledge were the bright favourites for the 1940 Olympics, but the Games were cancelled, and their lives afflicted completely. Taylor fled to accomplish in ice shows as far abroad from Britain as she could get, while Colledge abutting the Mechanised Transport Corps, active an ambulance in London.
Colledge's alone sibling, an earlier brother, Maule, who had abstruse to fly afore the war, abutting the Aristocratic Air Force Volunteer Reserve anon war bankrupt out. He served with 139 "Jamaica" Squadron until 14 September 1943, aback his caught Mosquito aircraft bootless to acknowledgment from a mission over Berlin. His name is honoured on the Runnymede Memorial.
["577.15"]Magdalena Cecilia Colledge was built-in to a arrogant mother, Margaret, babe of Admiral J.W. Brackenburg, and Lionel Colledge, an ex-Royal Navy surgeon who became world-renowned for his assignment on blight of the larynx. They lived on Upper Wimpole Street in axial London.
In 1928 Mrs Colledge was arrive by the mother of the US skating best Maribel Vinson, to accompany her at the Ice Club, Westminster, which had opened the antecedent year. The club was hosting the Ladies and Pairs Apple Championships admitting not the mens' event, which took abode in Berlin. The aristocratic ancestors attended.
Vinson accomplished additional to Henie in the baby acreage of six ladies but their efforts were abundant to affect the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and Cecilia Colledge, to ask for skating lessons. Mrs Colledge threw herself into authoritative her babe the new Henie, which included installing the Swiss skating adviser Jacques Gerschwiler into their home.
When Cecilia took allotment in the 1932 Olympics, the absolute British accidental comprised four adolescent girls. The oldest, Mollie Phillips, age-old 15, became the aboriginal woman to backpack the Union Jack in an Olympics. Taylor, who was alone a few months earlier than Cecilia, accomplished seventh; Colledge eighth; Phillips ninth; and Joan Dix 10th in the acreage of 15.
In 1946, Colledge won her sixth civic appellation in the aboriginal British championship captivated afterwards the war but anon angry able and appeared in an Ice Revue at the Stoll Theatre in London. Afterwards her ancestor died in 1948, Colledge and her mother went to the United States area she appeared in a appearance at the Roxy Theatre in New York.
["578.12"]She was again offered a teaching position in Lake Placid area she had competed in her aboriginal Olympics. From there, she abutting the Skating Club of Boston, again the best celebrated training ability in the United States, area she accomplished from 1952 until her retirement in 1995.
She never married, but from time-to-time wore a brooch ancient from RAF wings absolute to her by a aide of her brother's who additionally absent his activity in the war. Aback asked if she would acknowledgment to Britain, Colledge said, "There was annihilation larboard for me there except black memories." However, her will defined her ambition to be cremated and her ashes to be brought aback to Britain to be placed in the ancestors plot.
Colledge is remembered as the artist of the backbend (now alleged layback) and the catch-foot pull-up alongside (now accepted as biscuit and one-foot Biellmann) spins which are basal accoutrement of every top akin competitors' routines. "They were my mother's idea," Colledge said. "She took me every Wednesday afternoon to a woman in Streatham who had been a bazaar aerialist and she pulled me in every direction. I hated it. It hurt. But bodies admired the admirable spins I was eventually able to do."
Sandra Stevenson
Magdalena Cecilia Colledge, amount skater: built-in London 28 November 1920; died Cambridge, Massachusetts 12 April 2008.
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