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Barbara Ann Scott

Statistics:

  • Sport: Figure skating
  • Born: May 9, 1928 in Ottawa, Ontario 

Achievements:

  • 1948 – Gold medal at the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland
  • 1947, 1948 – World figure skating champion
  • 1946, 1948 – Bobbie Rosenfeld Award winner
  • 1945, 1947, 1948 – Lou Marsh Trophy winner
  • 1955 – Inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame
  • 1991 – Named to the Order of Canada

Barbara Ann Scott (1928-2012), known as Canada’s Sweetheart, is the only Canadian to have won Olympic gold in singles figure skating. Scott began skating at the age of seven with Ottawa’s Minto Skating Club. She was the Junior Figure Skating Champion of Canada in 1940 at the age of 11. In 1942, she became the first woman to land a double lutz jump in competition. Scott was the North American Women’s Singles Champion from 1945 to 1948. Her 1948 gold medal victory at the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland captured the hearts of Canadians and made her a national sporting hero. Along with extraordinary media coverage after her win, dolls, skates and other toys were created in tribute to the skater. She was welcomed home after the Olympics to a crowd of 70,000 in Ottawa’s Confederation Square.

Explore photographs and artifacts on the Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame website.

See a Barbara Ann Scott doll on the Canadian Museum of History’s website.