Gweneth Butler

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexFemale
Full nameGweneth Leigh•Butler (-Benn, -Bailey)
Used nameGweneth•Butler
Born1 June 1915 in Kensington, England (GBR)
Died15 November 2006 in London, England (GBR)
AffiliationsFigure Skating Club, Westminster (GBR)
NOC Great Britain

Biography

Although born in England, Gweneth Butler grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and learn to skate at the famous Skating Club Of Boston. The effects of The Stock Market Crash and the death of her grandmother brought the Butler family back to London in the early thirties and she continued to skate at the Westminster Ice Club

Gweneth Butler competed in her first British Championship at the age of 16, and shortly before her 18th birthday finished third in the 1933 English Championship. She also finished second in a St. Moritz international tournament that year, and then competed in her first European Championship, finishing 9th. Part of London’s High Society, Butler was one of the city’s Débutantes in 1933, and spent her time between England and Europe, where she would be seen skating in St. Moritz, or socializing in Monte Carlo. The tallest of the British skaters of that era, Butler severely damaged an ankle in the autumn of 1934, but made a comeback in 1935 to achieve her best result in the British Amateur Championship, when finishing second, in a close fought battle, to Cecilia Colledge. Butler finished fifth in both the World and European Championships that year.

At the Winter Games in Garmisch she placed 5th in her favoured compulsory figures despite suffering from flu and a high fever which forced her to withdraw before the free programme.

She also finished fifth in the Worlds in 1936 and, in January 1937, while training in St. Moritz for the British and World Championships, she broke an ankle which put her out of action for a long time, and effectively ended her competitive career. Having married Arthur Benn (the great-grandson of the American frontiersman and showman “Buffalo Bill” Cody ) in 1938, Butler returned to the United States, worked in an ice show, and taught skating at the New York Ice Club. After divorce and remarriage she again moved back to England where she lived out her later years.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1936 Winter Olympics Figure Skating (Skating) GBR Gweneth Butler
Singles, Women (Olympic) DNF