Sonya Klopfer Dunfield is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 figure skater. She is the 1951 U.S. national champion

United States Figure Skating Championships

The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...

. Having won at age 15, she was the youngest U.S. ladies' champion until Tara Lipinski

Tara Lipinski

Tara Kristen Lipinski is an American figure skater. At the age of 15, she won the Ladies' Singles Olympic gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Lipinski remains the youngest individual gold medalist in the history of the Olympic Winter Games. She is also the 1997 World...

 won in 1997 at age 14. Klopfer is a two-time World medalist (bronze in 1951

1951 World Figure Skating Championships

The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion....

 and silver in 1952

1952 World Figure Skating Championships

The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion....

). She placed 4th at the 1952 Winter Olympics

1952 Winter Olympics

The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games, took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February 1952. Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city wanted to host the 1948 Games, but World War II made that impossible...

.

Following her retirement from competitive skating, she married Peter Dunfield

Peter Dunfield

Peter Dunfield is a Canadian figure skater. He is the 1952 & 1953 Canadian bronze medalist and 1951 Junior national champion. He also competed in the fours discipline. With partner Mary Kenner, Peter Firstbrook, and Vera Smith, he won the silver medal at the 1949 North American Figure Skating...

 and worked as a coach. She coached Dorothy Hamill

Dorothy Hamill

Dorothy Stuart Hamill is an American figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion in Ladies' Singles and 1976 World Champion.-Early life:...

, Elizabeth Manley

Elizabeth Manley

Elizabeth Ann Manley, CM is a Canadian figure skater. She is the 1988 Olympic silver medalist, 1988 World silver medalist, and three-time Canadian champion.-Early life and training:...

, and Scott Smith among many others. She was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 2001. and in 2005 was inducted along with her husband, Peter Dunfield, into the Professional Skaters Association' Coaches Hall of Fame.

Klopfer was named after Sonja Henie

Sonja Henie

Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...

.

Singles

Event	1950	1951	1952
Winter Olympics Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...			4th
World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...	5th	3rd	2nd
North American Championships North American Figure Skating Championships The North American Figure Skating Championships were a former elite figure skating competition for skaters from the United States and Canada. It was a biennial competition held between 1923 and 1971, with locations alternating between the two countries.Although the event was classified as an...		1st
U.S. Championships United States Figure Skating Championships The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...	2nd	1st

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