Peggy Fleming Biography

Fast Facts

• Won the U․S․ National Championships each year from 1964 to 1968 and the World Championships from 1966 to 1968
• Has been involved in breast cancer awareness since she was diagnosed in 1998 on the 30th anniversary of her gold medal win, describing the experience as "another Olympics, a life Olympics․"
• Has served as an honorary chairman for the PTA and the Easter Seals, was the spokesperson for the National Osteoporosis Foundation, and is on the Board of Directors for the V Foundation for Cancer Research
• Her gold medal in the 1968 Grenoble Olympics was the only one for the U․S․ that year
• Began ice skating at the age of 9 and began training with Carlo Fassi at the age of 12 after losing her first coach to the plane crash that killed the entire U․S․ figure skating team in 1961
• Quote: "I became a skater because of my mom․ It is not stretching the point to say, 'We became a skater,' two people, one pair of skates․ We each had a job to do to make me a champion skater, and I certainly didn't do it on my own․"
• Quote: "The first thing is to love your sport․ Never do it to please someone else․ It has to be yours․"
• Best known as a former figure skater and Olympic gold medalist
• Starred in TV series like "Nutcracker on Ice" and "Fantasy Island" in the years after winning her gold medal, and has also served as a commentator for ABC Sports
• Wrote her autobiography "The Long Program: Skating Toward Life's Victories" in 2000