Mollie Phillips

At the age of 22, Mollie Phillips was, by a long way, the oldest of the four British female skaters at the 1932 Winter Olympics. She was the daughter of George Phillips, the owner of the Phillips Rubber shoe-soling company, and she received skating lessons from Howard Nicholson, the man who coached Sonja Henie. Phillips skated pairs with Rodney Murdoch, and they finished second in the British Championships in 1932, before winning the title the following year, when they also won a bronze medal at the European Championships in London. After Murdoch broke his two wrists, and had to give up the sport, Mollie concentrated on a singles career. She had skated in the individual event at the 1932 World Championships, and also at the Lake Placid Olympics, were she had the distinction of becoming the first woman to carry a national flag at an Olympic Opening Ceremony.

After she finished skating, Phillips was elected on to the Council of the National Skating Association, becoming not only the youngest person to be elected, but also the first woman to join the Council. She later became a skating judge, and had the distinction of becoming the first woman to officiate at the Winter Olympics. In addition to competing in two Olympics she officiated at four more. Groundbreaking for most of her life, Phillips became the first woman to hold the office of High Sheriff of Carmarthenshire in 1961 – a post her father had held before her.