JEAN WESTWOOD
1931 - 2022
Jean Westwood MBE, with partner Lawrence Demmy MBE, was the World Champion for four consecutive years, 1952 – 1955 and European Champion in 1954 and 1955. With Lawrence, she was part of the very first team to win the World Figure Skating Championships in ice dancing at the 1952 event in Paris, France. They also won the trial event the year prior to the first World Championships.
Jean was also an NSA Gold Medal holder in all three disciplines – Singles, Pairs and Ice Dance. This was a rare achievement. She later became an elite-level skating coach in the United States and Canada where she enjoyed a hugely successful professional career coaching national and international champions from both Canada and the U.S. Jean coached many World competitors and achieved podium success over many years.
Jean was honoured by the skating fraternity when she became a member of the Canadian, U.S. and World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
She was born of Scottish parents and started her training in Manchester before the Second World War but later moved to be trained by the legendary Dame Gladys Hogg in London. After retiring from competitive skating and shows, she settled in Canada where she raised her family and gained Canadian citizenship.