Peggy Fleming

Peggy Fleming, born in 1948, American figure skater, winner of the women's figure skating gold medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. Fleming later toured in professional ice skating shows and was noted for her figure skating specials on television.

Born in San Jose, California, Peggy Gale Fleming began figure skating at the age of 9 and in 1960 won the first of several junior titles at various United States competitions. Fleming won the national title at the 1964 United States Figure Skating Championships; it was the first of her five consecutive national titles. She competed in the Winter Olympics for the first time in 1964 at Innsbruck, Austria, and took sixth place.

After finishing third in the world championships in 1965, Fleming won the world title in 1966, 1967, and 1968. Following the advice of coach Carlo Fassi and former Olympic men's figure skating champion Dick Button, Fleming developed freestyle routines that showed great artistry and her training in ballet. She also excelled in the demanding compulsory figures that were a major part of figure skating competitions at that time. In the 1968 Winter Olympics Fleming defeated her main rival, Gabriele Seyfert of East Germany (now part of Germany), in both the compulsory figures and the freestyle competition. After Fleming's victory at the 1968 world championships, she retired from competitive skating and subsequently performed in ice shows and television specials. She also became a television commentator.