Peggy Fleming reflects on the 50th anniversary of her Olympic win in Grenoble

[Sylvia]

Thanks to @skatesindreams for posting the direct link to the Today Show interview with Peggy Fleming originally in the U.S. Ladies thread:

Peggy Fleming remembers her OGM; in this moving interview, broadcast this morning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od0CvXgaD1I

Here's the related Today Show article: https://www.today.com/news/olympic-figure-skater-peggy-fleming-has-1-regret-about-her-t122651

Article in The Atlantic: Peggy Fleming and the 1968 Winter Olympics

 

[Wyliefan]

That Peggy Fleming Trophy Event sounds interesting! I wonder which skaters will go.

 

[Debbie S]

That Peggy Fleming Trophy Event sounds interesting! I wonder which skaters will go.

Whoever is there, I hope IN broadcasts it! It sounds very interesting, but I don't know how many top competitive skaters would want to do it - they'd have to come up with basically another program. A lot have exhibition numbers they've performed in club shows and such, but it's a lot for them to prepare it for a comp, while learning/training their competitive programs for the upcoming season. We'll see.

 

[skatesindreams]

Crossposting to this thread, a French Documentary about Peggy and the 1968 Olympics ; which I found and shared some time ago in the Olympic Retrospective thread:
https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/retrospective-the-1968-olympics.82155/page-3#post-5078724

Direct link:
https://www.ina.fr/video/CPF04006372/peggy-fleming-video.html

 

[Frau Muller]

That Peggy Fleming Trophy Event sounds interesting! I wonder which skaters will go.

I’ve been wishing for something like this to come to pass. I hope that it will be a huge success!

 

[Jayar]

I cried with Peggy as she described her mom. My mom has passed, and I feel the same way about mine. She knew when to push and just the right amount.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

If I'm invited to The Peggy Fleming Trophy, I'll be hair - do ready!

 

[berthesghost]

If I'm invited to The Peggy Fleming Trophy, I'll be hair - do ready!

Just as long as you don’t forget the wide headband!

 

[Aceon6]

They just had a short segment on O Channel as part of the Winter Olympics Daily. Today is the actual anniversary.

 

[glorybox64]

The "Peggy Fleming Trophy" sounds like it's hinting at something resembling a pro competition -- I imagine it would not be top current skaters but maybe skaters from past Olympic cycles? One can dream!

 

[cmk]

The "Peggy Fleming Trophy" sounds like it's hinting at something resembling a pro competition -- I imagine it would not be top current skaters but maybe skaters from past Olympic cycles? One can dream!

I hope its a pro comp. I think I saw footage online of a revived us open ( Rory Flack and Rohene Ward's skates) but that wasn't on tv. Does Scott Williams still have the American open? There are pro events in other countries. It would also be nice to have a pro-am again as well.

 

[aftershocks]

I cried with Peggy as she described her mom. My mom has passed, and I feel the same way about mine. She knew when to push and just the right amount.

Me too. I lost my mother in 2016. I didn't expect a feature on Peggy to bring tears to my eyes, but I could feel Peggy's heartfelt emotions and how much she misses her mother no matter how many years it has been since her mother passed away. Peggy has always been so modest about her accomplishments. I think Peggy realizes her success has been equal parts hard work, dedication, talent and luck, in addition to her parents' and especially her mother's huge sacrifices and support. Peggy also inherited much that was passed down from previous generations, including happenstances and incremental changes the sport was globally impacted by after the Sabena air crash that killed the entire U.S. figure skating team in 1961.

I'm glad to hear about the 'Peggy Fleming Trophy' for excellence in artistry. That sounds like a promising development for the sport of figure skating.

 

[aftershocks]

I hope its a pro comp. I think I saw footage online of a revived us open ( Rory Flack and Rohene Ward's skates) but that wasn't on tv. Does Scott Williams still have the American open? There are pro events in other countries. It would also be nice to have a pro-am again as well.

I don't think Scott Williams still operates that event. There is still a U.S. Open pro comp I believe. At least, it was recently revived and I found these delicious performances on Youtube from 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVEbviSMf4I Derrick Delmore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwBzYeUoHhg Jonathan Cassar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArlY-5b4bHA Rohene Ward 2016 U.S. Open exhibition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkrsfNnOsFE Jonathan 2015 U.S. Open tribute to Robert Waggenhoffer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEeGXke8Ncg Ryan Jahnke 2015 U.S. Open

And since this is a Peggy Fleming thread:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm-IDU3RuZE 1983 Peggy skating to Pachelbel's Canon

Peggy's Olympic moments 1968:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAyJJgWcszk

 

[suki]

Peggy was the whole reason I started skating. I still have my Peggy Fleming scrap book with magazines, newspaper clippings, Ice Follies programs, etc. I had it with me when I attended a speech she made at a local venue in 1997 about breast cancer awareness. I was too timid to ask her to sign it

 

[Karina1974]

...the Sabena air crash that killed the entire U.S. figure skating team in 1962.

1961.

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Thanks, I thought I might have the wrong year, but I forgot to doublecheck the date. A date that will live in memory as one of the most devastating for the sport and for the U.S., and for fans, friends and family. How it fully impacted the sport going forward has yet to be fully examined and writtent about.

I don't have a personal memory of what happened because I didn't begin following skating until later, and the sport wasn't covered on television very extensively until years later. I wonder if the 1961 U.S. Nationals was the first to be broadcast on television?

 

[cmk]

I saw the entry form for the Peggy Fleming Trophy. It mentioned junior/senior skaters so it most likely is an Olympic-elgible event. I was hoping she would come up with something for the pros.

 

[Sylvia]

http://broadmoorskatingclub.com/peggy-fleming-artistic-trophy/

The inaugural Peggy Fleming Trophy will be awarded at the 2018 Broadmoor Open on June 22, 2018. The event will be limited to 16 Senior and Junior Men &/or Ladies entries. Both Men and Ladies will compete in the same event for the Trophy.
The primary focus of the event will be on the skater’s ability to artistically express and present a complete composition while demonstrating technical skills.
...
The Trophy and prize ($3000) will be awarded to the first place finish, and a prize will be awarded to the Silver ($2000) and Bronze ($1000) podium positions.

ETA:

I wonder if the 1961 U.S. Nationals was the first to be broadcast on television?

Yes, on CBS: http://www.frogsonice.com/skateweb/articles/1961-nationals.shtml

 

[suki]

If I'm invited to The Peggy Fleming Trophy, I'll be hair - do ready!

I have spent the last 50 years of my life trying to duplicate Peggy's hairdo from the 1968 Olympics. I asked my mother to do my hair like Peggy's when I was 9. She demurred.

 

[Sylvia]

Bumping up this thread 2 years later with this new interview with Peggy Fleming by Nick McCarvel:

Olympic champ Peggy Fleming calls for more artistry in figure skating

Figure skating is always pushing athletes to the next level athletically. But has the sport lost its artistic roots? 1968 Olympic champ Peggy Fleming thinks so.

www.olympicchannel.com