1. Florence Madeline "Madge" Syers was a British figure skater.
19 Facts About Madge Syers
1. 2.
Madge Syers became the first woman to compete at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1902 by entering what was previously an all-male event and won the silver medal, which prompted the International Skating Union to create a separate ladies' championship.
3.
Madge Syers competed as a pairs skater with her husband Edgar Syers, winning the bronze medal at the 1908 Olympics.
4.
Madge Syers was a proficient figure skater, as well as a gifted swimmer and equestrienne.
5.
Madge Syers became a regular at the Prince's Skating Club in Knightsbridge, which had been formed in 1896 and was popular with aristocratic society in London.
6.
In 1899, Madge met her future husband Edgar Syers, a figure skater and coach who was 18 years her senior.
7.
Edgar was an exponent of the international skating style, which was freer and less rigid than the traditional English style, and encouraged Madge Syers to adopt this style.
8.
The Madge Syers' co-authored The Book of Winter Sports in 1908.
9.
The World Figure Skating Championships, first contested in 1896, was regarded as an all-male event since competitive skating was generally viewed as a male activity, but there was no regulation barring women, enabling Madge Syers to enter and compete at the 1902 Championships in London.
10.
Madge Syers won the silver medal behind Ulrich Salchow, who was reputedly so impressed with her challenge that he offered her his gold medal.
11.
Madge Syers continued to compete elsewhere and, in 1903, won the inaugural British Figure Skating Championships, which began as a mixed competition.
12.
Madge Syers won again the following year, beating her husband, who won the silver medal.
13.
Madge Syers entered the 1904 European Championships but withdrew due to injury after the first stage of the competition, the compulsory figures.
14.
Madge Syers won the inaugural event held in Davos, Switzerland in 1906, finishing first in a field of five competitors.
15.
Madge Syers won her second title in Vienna at the 1907 Championships.
16.
Madge Syers entered both the ladies' event and the pairs with Edgar.
17.
Madge Syers retired from competitive skating after the Olympics due to fading health.
18.
Madge Syers died of heart failure caused by acute endocarditis on 9 September 1917 at her home in Weybridge, Surrey, seven days shy of her 36th birthday.
19.
Madge Syers was elected to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1981.