The memories flood back at random times and stir the ache etched in Carol Heiss’ heart 60 years ago, when a plane crash devastated American figure skating and changed the course of the sport. You don’t know what they would have done in the future.”Advertisement× Laurence Owen’s free-skate performance at the 1961 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships. She was coached by her mother, nine-time U.S. women’s champion Maribel Vinson Owen, who dispensed tough love by the barrel. Vinson Owen was the first female sportswriter published in the New York Times; Laurence wrote soulful poems. Figure Skating Memorial Fund, which has disbursed more than $20 million to support skaters’ training and educational costs.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 15, 2021 13:52 UTC