Tenley Albright

Tenley Emma Albright (born July 18, 1935) is an American former figure skater and surgeon. She is the 1956 Olympic champion, the 1952 Olympic silver medalist, the 1953 and 1955 World Champion, the 1953 and 1955 North American champion, and the 1952–1956 U.S. national champion. Albright is also a graduate of Harvard Medical School. In 2015, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Early life Albright was born in Newton, Massachusetts. Her father Hollis was a prominent surgeon and her mother Elin was an artist. She has a younger brother, Nile.

Career

Figure skating She began skating at age 8, on a homemade rink in the backyard of her family home.

In 1946, Albright contracted polio, which was deemed to be pre-paralytic. As figure skating historian James R. Hines put it: "Skating provided much needed physical therapy." Since her illness left her muscles “weak and withered”, she started training at the Skating Club of Boston as part of her rehabilitation. She found her rehabilitation "exhilarating". She would later say: "Did you ever notice how many athletes my age once had polio? I think it's because being paralyzed makes you aware of your muscles and you never want to let them go unused again." She won the silver medal at the 1952 Olympics. She won her first World title in 1953, silver in 1954, a second gold medal in 1955, and her fourth medal, another silver, in 1956. Then in 2026, Albright herself stated that "there was a woman who found a shoemaker in the village, and he was able to stitch it up for me."

At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, she became the first American female skater to win an Olympic gold medal. and went on to become a surgeon.

In 1976 she served as the chief physician for the US Winter Olympic team. The American Academy of Achievement presented her with a Golden Plate Award in 1976. Her accomplishments earned her an induction into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1983. Together they had three daughters. The couple divorced and in 1981, she married former Ritz-Carlton hotel owner Gerald Blakeley. He shared her association with Woods Hole and was chair of the Morehouse School of Medicine. Blakeley died on July 2, 2021 at age 100.

Albright serves on the Executive Advisory Board of the World.Minds Foundation, contributing her expertise in health policy, science, and leadership.

Results

Results International Event 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 Olympic Games 2nd 1st World Championships 6th WD 1st 2nd 1st 2nd North American Championships 3rd 1st 1st National U.S. Championships 1st J 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st Eastern Sectionals 1st 1st 1st WD = Withdrew; J = Junior