Peggy Fleming
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Peggy Fleming (born July 27, 1948 in San Jose, California) is an American figure skater who won an Olympic gold medal in 1968.
In 1961, when Fleming was 11 years old, her coach William Kipp was killed in the crash of Sabena Flight 548 along with the rest of the United States team while en route to the 1961 World Figure Skating Championships. Fleming was subsequently coached by Carlo Fassi. She would be forced to define her own style in figure skating, a style that would lead to five U.S. titles, three World titles and the Gold Medal in the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, France.
Within six months, she would star in the first of five television specials. She has skated for four Presidents, and was a featured performer at the 1986 rededication of the Statue of Liberty. For more than twenty years, she has been a commentator on figure skating for ABC Sports, as well as a spokesperson for the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
In 1970, she married dermatologist Dr. Greg Jenkins. They live in the San Francisco Bay area. They have two sons and two grandsons. Born in 1977 and 1988.
In 1998, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and survived due to early detection and successful surgery.
External links
- Peggy Fleming's official website (http://www.peggyfleming.net/)