Maribel Owen

Maribel Yerxa Owen (April 25, 1940 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater.

She was the daughter of skaters Maribel Vinson and Guy Owen and the sister of 1961 U.S. Ladies' Champion Laurence Owen. With pairs partner Dudley Richards, they placed tenth at 1960 Winter Olympics and won the U.S. national championship in 1961. Along with her mother, sister, and the U.S. Figure Skating team and coaches, Owen died in the crash of Sabena Flight 548 en route to the 1961 World Championships.

Life and career Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Owen was the first child born to Guy Owen and Maribel Vinson. She was named after her mother, and was known as "Maribel, Jr." or "Mara". Her younger sister Laurence was also a champion skater. Both were coached by their mother.

Owen began to skate when she was a toddler. She started out with figure skates that had double runners to provide greater balance for a beginning skater. She and her sister stayed with their maternal grandparents in Winchester, Massachusetts for long periods while their parents were touring. Her maternal grandmother, Gertrude Vinson, favored baby Laurence over 5-year-old Maribel, who asked too many questions. When the family lived in Berkeley, California, she competed in girls' singles competitions representing the St. Moritz Ice Skating Club. After her parents' divorce in 1949 and her father's death in 1952, Owen, her mother and sister returned to the Boston area in 1952 to live with her recently widowed maternal grandmother, Gertrude Vinson, in Winchester.

Owen formed a pairs team with Charles Foster, who was later president of the United States Figure Skating Association). In 1956, when she was 15, she and Foster became the U.S. junior national champions. That same year, Owen persuaded the United States Figure Skating Association to schedule the U.S. Figure Skating Championships ahead of the World Figure Skating Championships rather than to continue selecting team members based on their performance in competition during the previous year. Owen said this would enable the United States to select competitors for the world competition who would be in top physical condition at the time they competed. The younger Maribel, who was more reserved than her mother and younger sister, also sometimes felt overshadowed by Laurence. The younger Maribel experienced significant stress from the pressures of her skating career and her university studies, which caused her to lose weight and develop a bleeding ulcer. She continued with her grueling schedule despite her pain.

A memorial service for Owen, her mother, and sister was held February 25, 1961 at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Winchester. Owen was interred next to her mother and sister in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. Her grandmother, Gertrude Vinson, was interred beside her daughter and granddaughters following her own death in 1969.

Legacy On January 28, 2011, Owen was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame as part of the 1961 U.S. World Team. Her sister Laurence Owen also was inducted and her mother Maribel Vinson Owen was inducted for a third time in 2011; in her capacity as a 1961 World Team Coach. Previously, her mother had been inducted in the inaugural Class of 1976 as a singles skater and for a second time in 1994 as a pairs skater.

In Winchester, the Vinson-Owen elementary school was named in her family's honor.

Results (pairs with Dudley Richards) Event 1958 1959 1960 1961 Winter Olympics 10th World Championships 6th 10th North American Championships 2nd U.S. Championships 3rd 3rd 2nd 1st