| Theresa Weld | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Theresa Weld Blanchard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | August 21, 1893 Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | March 12, 1978 (aged 84) Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | SC of Boston | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1934 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Theresa ("Tee") Weld Blanchard (August 21, 1893 – March 12, 1978) was an American figure skater who competed in the disciplines of single skating and pair skating. Her pair's partner was Nathaniel Niles.[1] She has been called the "grande dame" of American figure skating.[2] According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, she earned 32 medals in her career, "was a voice of encouragement to several generations of skaters, and was of assistance to many coaches".[2]
As a singles skater, she won the gold medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships six times and competed three times in the Olympics, capturing a bronze medal in 1920.[citation needed] She came in first place in women's singles at three of the five regional championships held in the U.S. prior to and immediately after World War I.[2] She was the first North American to win a medal at the Olympics.[3] With Niles, she won the national pairs title nine times and also participated in the Olympics three times.[citation needed] After her marriage in 1920, she competed under her married name.[2]
Blanchard was also the long-time volunteer editor of the United States Figure Skating Association's official publication, Skating magazine; first jointly with Niles from the magazine's founding in 1923, and then as sole editor after his death in 1931, until 1963.[2] The magazine was originally published from her home. Her long competitive career gave her many contacts throughout the skating world. She also served as the first chair of the association's Professionals Committee from 1937 to 1947.
- ^ "Theresa Weld". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Hines, James R. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-8108-6859-5.
- ^ Hines, James R. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. xxii. ISBN 978-0-8108-6859-5.