Blanchard, Theresa (Weld)
Figure skating
b. Aug. 21, 1893, Brookline, MA
d. March 12, 1978
Her father, A. Windsor Weld, was a charter member of the Skating Club of Boston, which championed the free, graceful international style of figure skating as opposed to the formal, stiff English technique. Known as "Tee," she began driving her pony cart to the club to take lessons when she was twelve.
Although some judges lowered her marks because her athletic jumps and loops were considered unladylike, Theresa was the U. S. singles champion six times, in 1914 and from 1920 through 1924. She also teamed with Nathaniel W. Niles to win nine national pairs titles, in 1918 and from 1920 through 1927.
In 1920, she won the first U. S. medal in the Winter Olympics, a bronze. She was also on the 1924 and 1928 Olympic teams. Married to Charles Blanchard in 1920, she kept competing until 1934, when she was a member of the U. S. champion fours team.
Blanchard and Niles in 1923 founded Skating magazine, which is now the official publication of the U. S. Figure Skating Association. After retiring from competition, she became a world judge and served on the USFSA executive board for thirteen years.