Valda Rosemary Osborn was a British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 figure skater. She was the 1953 European champion

European Figure Skating Championships

The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...

 and World bronze medalist

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...

. She represented Great Britain at the 1952 Winter Olympics

Great Britain at the 1952 Winter Olympics

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland competed as Great Britain at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway.-Medalists:- Alpine skiing:MenWomen- Figure skating:WomenPairs- Speed skating:Men-References:*...

(in Oslo, Norway) where she placed 11th.

Personal life

Valda Osborn was born in Wembley, England in 1934 and started skating at age 2 1/2 at Wembley Ice Rink. She later moved to Richmond Surrey, England when World War II caused the Wembly Rink to be closed for the duration in order to save electricity. She lived close to Richmond Bridge and was a short walk to Richmond Ice Rink which was the only one left open during the War. When she wasn't skating she had private tutors for her schooling. After turning pro in 1953, she lived in Brighton, Whitley Bay, Manchester and Feltham. Later after she retired she travelled around Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. She finally settled in Northern Cyprus and lived there for 13 years. She has now returned to England and lives in Rustington on the South coast.

Career

Valda started skating at 2 1/2 years at Wembley Ice Rink and was coached by Arnold Gerschwiler. Arnold was her only coach during her entire amateur career. At age 5, Valda won her first competition for "Under Sixes". At 9 1/2 years she passed the NSA gold medal at Richmond Ice Rink on June 6, 1944 (D-Day). She was the youngest skater to pass her Gold and she still holds this record to this day. She continued skating at Richmond during and after the War. She became the British Champion in 1952 and again in 1953 under the guidance of Arnold Gerschwiler. In 1953 Valda won the European Championship at Dortmund, Germany. She is the last British women's figure skater to win the European championship to this date. In 1953 Valda won the Bronze medal at the World Championship in Davos, Switzerland.

During her amateur career she was featured in British magazines such as "Everybodys Weekly" (December 20, 1947) and "Illustrated" (January 26, 1952). She was also interviewed on the BBC radio show "In Town Tonight".

She turned professional in 1953 and starred in Tom Arnold's Ice Circus in Brighton and then starred in Tom Arnold's Robinson Crusoe on Ice in the winter of 1953 at the Grand Theatre, Leeds.

Valda then turned to coaching ice skaters in Manchester, Whitley Bay, Brighton and finally in Richmond. When Richmond Ice Rink closed down and the property was redeveloped, Valda retired.

Results

Event	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953
Winter Olympic Games 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...				11th
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...	12th	13th	9th	8th	3rd
European Championships European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...	9th		4th	5th	1st
British Championships British Figure Skating Championships The British Figure Skating Championships are a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United Kingdom...				1st	1st