Megan Devenish Taylor (later Mandeville, later Ellis, 25 October 1920 – 23 July 1993) 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

Figure skating

Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...

 competitive in the 1930s. She won the 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...

 in 1938 and 1939.

She was born in Rochdale

Rochdale

Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...

 and died in Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

. Taylor's father was Phil Taylor, a speed skater.

Career

Megan and fellow Brit Cecilia Colledge

Cecilia Colledge

Magdelena Cecilia Colledge was a British figure skater. She was the 1936 Olympic silver medalist, the 1937 World Champion, the 1938-1939 European Champion, and a six-time British national champion....

 participated in the 1932 Winter Olympics

1932 Winter Olympics

The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1932 in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 15. It would be the first winter olympics held in the United...

. They were virtually the same age—Colledge was 11 years and 68 days old, and Taylor was 11 years and 102 days. They are the youngest ever female competitors in any Olympic sport and the youngest ever competitors at the Winter Olympics. Taylor finished seventh, with Colledge following in eighth in the singles competition

Figure skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics - Ladies' singles

The ladies' individual figure skating event was held as part of the figure skating programme at the 1932 Winter Olympics. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which had previously been held twice at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 as was as twice at the Winter Games in 1924 and 1928...

. 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...

, the dominant figure in women's figure skating at the time, won her second Olympic gold medal here.

Taylor finished second behind Henie at the World Championships in 1934 and 1936. After Henie retired in 1936, Taylor and Colledge competed for prominence. Colledge won the Worlds in 1937, while Taylor won in 1938 and 1939. Taylor placed second behind Colledge three times at the 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...

 (1937, 1938, and 1939).

After her retirement from amateur competition, Taylor toured with the Ice Capades

Ice Capades

The Ice Capades was a traveling entertainment show featuring theatrical performances involving ice skating. Shows often featured former Olympicand National Champion figure skaters who had retired from amateur competition....

.

Competitive highlights

Event	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
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...	7th
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...	7th	4th	2nd		2nd	2nd	1st	1st
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...			4th		3rd	2nd	2nd	2nd
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	1st	*	*	2nd	2nd	2nd

*Did not participate

Further reading

• E.R. Hall
  E.R. Hall
  Edward "Eddie" Ramsden Hall was an English racing driver. He was born in Milnsbridge into a wealthy Yorkshire family in 1900, the heir to a successful textiles business which funded his motor racing and other sporting exploits...
  
  & T.D. Richardson - Champions all: camera studies by E.R. Hall (Frederick Muller, 1938)
• Richardson T.D - Modern Figure Skating (Methuen, 1938)

External links

• profile
• World Figure Skating Championships results, 1930-1939
• European Figure Skating Championships results, 1930-1939

Navigation