Jean Westwood (figure skater)

Jean Westwood
Full nameJean Thomson Westwood
Born1931[1]
Manchester, England[1]
Died26 July 2022 (aged 90–91)[2]
British Columbia, Canada
Figure skating career
Country United Kingdom
PartnerLawrence Demmy
Retired1955
Medal record
Figure skating
Ice dancing
Representing  United Kingdom
Gold medal – first place 1955 Vienna Ice dancing
Gold medal – first place 1954 Oslo Ice dancing
Gold medal – first place 1953 Davos Ice dancing
Gold medal – first place 1952 Paris Ice dancing
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1955 Budapest Ice dancing
Gold medal – first place 1954 Bolzano Ice dancing

Jean Thomson Westwood (1931 – 26 July 2022) was a British ice dancer. With partner Lawrence Demmy, she was the World Champion for four consecutive years, 1952 to 1955[3] (plus the unofficial trial event in 1951), and European Champion in its first two editions in 1954 and 1955.[4] They were inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1977.

She later became an elite-level coach in the United States and Canada (she had switched national teams, via a spell as skating director of the Ice Follies touring show, prior to the 1961 Sabena Flight 548 aviation disaster in which several former students and colleagues were killed).[1] She was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame for her coaching services in 1997.[1][better source needed][2][5]

The Scottish long jumper Alix Jamieson (1964 Summer Olympics) was her second cousin.

  1. ^ a b c d Interview With Jean Westwood, Skate Guard, 7 February 2015
  2. ^ a b Skate Canada celebrates Jean Westwood, Skate Canada, August 4, 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022
  3. ^ "ISU Official Results: World Figure Skating Championships: Ice Dancing" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009.
  4. ^ "ISU Official Results: European Figure Skating Championships: Ice Dancing" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2013.
  5. ^ Jean Westwood Obituary, British Ice Skating, 30 July 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022