1960 Olympic Figure Skating Champion Carol Heiss

Carol Heiss Figure Skating at Olympics
Bettmann / Contributor/Getty Images
By
A Spiral on Ice Hockey Skates
Jo Ann Schneider Farris
    Jo Ann Schneider Farris was a silver medalist in junior ice dancing at the 1975 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships and is the author of two books on skating
    our editorial process
    Jo Ann Schneider Farris
    Updated July 01, 2017

    Carol Heiss is a two-time Olympic medalist and five-time world champion in figure skating won the 1960 Olympics in women's figure skating and she also won the silver medal at the 1956 Olympics. When she won the 1960 Olympic Gold Medal, all nine judges awarded her first place. Carol Heiss won the world championship every year from 1956 through 1960.

    Birth date: Carol Heiss was born on January 20, 1940 in New York. She grew up in Queens.

    Young Carol Heiss

    Carol was only six years old when she began skating. She had two other siblings that also were serious figure skaters. Carol's mother, Marie Heiss, died of cancer in October of 1956 when Carol was only sixteen years old.

    Married Another Olympic Figure Skating Champion

    Carol Heiss married another Olympic champion: 1956 Men's Olympic Figure Skating Champion Hayes Alan Jenkins. Additionally, Hayes Jenkins was the world figure skating champion in men's singles from 1953 through 1956. After retiring from competitive skating, Jenkins graduated with a law degree from Harvard. His brother, David Jenkins, won the 1960 Olympic Men's Figure Skating title.

    Coaches

    Pierre and Andrée Brunet, two-time Olympic pair skating champions from France, coached Carol.

    Movie Debut

    In 1961, Carol Heiss made her movie debut as Snow White in "Snow White and the Three Stooges."

    Some of Carol's solo skating footage was edited out because the producers thought there was "too much skating." She did a double axel in the movie.

    Outstanding and Unique Figure Skating Moves

    In 1953, Carol Heiss made history by being the first woman to land a double axel in competition. She also had a unique trademark: she was able to do alternating axels in a series both clockwise and counter-clockwise. She jumped clockwise and did spins counterclockwise most of the time. Here is a video of Carol Heiss at the 1960 Winter Olympics.

    Carol Heiss Jenkins as a Coach

    Carol Heiss Jenkins eventually became one of the top figure skating coaches in the United States. She has coached Timothy Goebel, Tonia Kwiatkowski and Miki Ando. She did not begin coaching figure skating until the 1970s, since her first priority was to concentrate on being a full-time wife and mother.

    1957 Carol Heiss Program Content

    All jumps are clockwise unless noted. All spins are counterclockwise unless noted.