Maribel Owen

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexFemale
Full nameMaribel Yerxa•Owen
Used nameMaribel•Owen
Born25 April 1940 in Boston, Massachusetts (USA)
Died15 February 1961 in Berg-Kampenhout, Vlaams Brabant (BEL)
AffiliationsSkating Club of Boston, Boston (USA)
NOC United States

Biography

Maribel Owen was the daughter of US figure skating royalty, her mother being Maribel Vinson-Owen, who competed at three Winter Olympics and won 13 national titles, nine in singles and four in pairs. Maribel Owen competed in pairs with Dudley Richards. Together they placed third at the 1959 US Championships and sixth that year at the Worlds, having come to national prominence in 1956 when they were US Junior Pairs Champions. In the 1960 season Owen and Richards finished second at the US Championships, and 10th at the Olympics and Worlds. In 1961 they won the US pairs title, with much expected of them in coming years. But they never competed again. Travelling to the 1961 World Championships aboard Sabena 548, their plane crashed near Brussels, killing the entire US figure skating team. The plane’s passengers included Maribel’s mother, a coach of the team, and her sister, Laurie Owen, the 1961 US singles champion. At the time of her death, Maribel Owen had been a student at Boston University, majoring in sociology and anthropology.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1960 Winter Olympics Figure Skating (Skating) USA Maribel Owen
Pairs, Mixed (Olympic) Dud Richards 10

Olympic family relations

Special Notes