Valda Osborn

Valda Rose Mary Osborn ( born September 17, 1934) is a former British figure skater who started in a single run. It is the European champion in 1953 and is so far the last British woman who was able to win the European title in the women's competition.

Career

The protégé of the successful Swiss coach Arnold and Jacques Gerschwiler from Richmond took the first time in 1944 at the age of 9 years and 263 days at British title fights in part and thus is regarded as the youngest competitor in the history of British Figure Skating Championships. Similarly, Osborn joined in 1947 and 1948, in 1949, in addition to the European and World Championships, where she finished ninth or twelfth. In the following years she pushed in the results forward. In 1950, the competition for the Richmond Trophy, the British Senior title, Osborn was together with Jeannette Altwegg and Barbara Wyatt as one of the UK's leading skaters. A year later at the European Championships where she finished 4th place, the young British woman with the placed in front of her Altwegg, the French Jacqueline du Bief and Wyatt was among the best European.

In January 1952 Osborn took together with other international skating stars such as the Australians Gweneth Molony and A. Swan at the Swiss Oetzen Cup in Davos, ranked at the Olympic Winter Games 1952 in Oslo in Oslo 11th place and won in March of the same year the British title in absence of the retired Jeannette Altwegg and a positive weak Barbara Wyatt. The highlight of her career reached Osborn until 1953 when she returned in Dortmund a " big fight " for the vacant European crown skating with the German champion Gundi Busch. After a very good duty program Osborn rushed while in the freestyle at the double toe loop, but benefited from four falls Busch and won the European title in the women's competition. In the same year, the British reached at the World Championships their best finish and won bronze behind the US-American Tenley Albright and Gundi Busch.

Results

Medal 1953 World Figure Skating Championships 1953 European Figure Skating Championships Single skating Arnold Gerschwiler 1951 European Figure Skating Championships Toe loop jump Winter Olympic Games 1949 World Figure Skating Championships 1950 World Figure Skating Championships 1951 World Figure Skating Championships 1952 World Figure Skating Championships 1949 European Figure Skating Championships 1952 European Figure Skating Championships Sonja Henie Cecilia Colledge Barbara Ann Scott Eva Pawlik Hanna Walter Regine Heitzer Gabriele Seyfert Trixi Schuba Christine Errath Dianne de Leeuw Claudia Kristofics-Binder Claudia Leistner Carolina Kostner Sarah Meier (figure skater)
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