Suzi Morrow

With partner Wallace Diestelmeyer, Suzanne “Suzi” Morrow not only won a bronze medal in figure skating pairs at the 1948 Winter Olympics, but developed and first performed figure skating’s “death spiral” with only one hand. Previously this move, which entails the man pivoting with one toe on the ice while the woman circles him with her body almost parallel to the ice, had been performed professionally with two hands, and thus the female was not lowered entirely to the ice. The previous year she and Diestelmeyer had been the North American pairs champions and together they spent two years (1947-1948) as Canadian champions in the event, and had claimed a bronze medal at the World Championships in the pairs event earlier that year. Morrow also had a successful career in the singles category and was Canadian champion for three consecutive years from 1949 through 1951. At the World Championships, however, she went from 13th (1948) to 4th (1950-1952), then back down to 5th (1953). She competed in this event twice at the Winter Olympics, placing 14th in 1948 and 6th in 1952. After her retirement, she worked as a figure skating judge for more than fifty years, including at World Championship and Olympic events. At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, she became the first woman to take the Olympic judge’s oath. She obtained a degree in veterinary medicine in 1952 and worked as a veterinarian until 1995, as well as a dog show judge with the Canadian Kennel Club. She, along with partner Diestelmeyer, was made a member of the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 1992.