Wendy Griner

Wendy Griner
Personal information
Full nameWendy Elizabeth Griner
Other namesBallantyne
Born (1944-04-16) April 16, 1944
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Height1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)
Figure skating career
Country Canada
CoachSheldon Galbraith[1]
Skating clubTCS & CC
Retired1964
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Figure skating: Women's singles
World Championships
1962 Prague Women's singles
North American Championships
1963 Vancouver Women's singles
1961 Philadelphia Ladies' singles

Wendy Elizabeth Griner, later surname: Ballantyne (born April 16, 1944) is a Canadian former figure skater who competed in women's singles. She is the 1962 World silver medallist, the 1963 North American champion, and a four-time (1960–63) Canadian national champion. She competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley and 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, placing 12th and 10th, respectively.

Career

In 1959, Griner won the junior Canadian title. Skating magazine said she resembled Barbara Ann Scott both physically and in terms of skating style.[2] In September, Griner was second at the Canadian Olympic trials behind Sandra Tewkesbury.[3]

Griner won her first of four consecutive senior Canadian titles in 1960. She competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where she placed 12th.[4] At her first World Championships that year, she came 7th.[5] In 1961, at the North American Championships, she won the silver medal.[4] Griner had intended to travel with the US figure skating team to the 1961 World Championships, along with several other Canadian skaters; however, they ended up taking a different flight. The flight the American skaters took, Sabena Flight 548, crashed, killing the entire team.[6]

At eighteen years old, she won the silver medal at the 1962 World Championships, the first World medal won by a Canadian woman since Barbara Ann Scott.[4][7] In 1963, she placed 4th at the World Championships and won the North American Championships.[4][5]

Griner lost her Canadian title to Petra Burka in 1964, which she said lowered her morale.[8] Competing at the 1964 Winter Olympics, Griner was in 18th place after a bad first day in the compulsory figures but moved up to end that segment in 13th. John Noel, writing for Skating magazine, praised her free skate as one of the most artistic of the competition, along with that of Nicole Hassler. She skated to Swan Lake and Méditation (Thaïs), and after double-footing her double Axel jump, she came in 8th place in that segment. Griner finished in 10th place overall.[9]

She went on to place 11th at the 1964 World Championships.[5] After the 1963–1964 season, she retired from competition to focus on her studies.[10]

Personal life

Griner has a brother, David, who played hockey. Besides skating, she also participated in swimming and tennis.[2] She attended Branksome Hall.[7]

After her competitive career, she married Don Ballantyne, with whom she has two sons and a daughter. They live in Thunder Bay, Canada.[11]

Competitive highlights

International[5]
Event 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964
Winter Olympics 12th 10th
World Champ. 7th 2nd 4th 11th
North American Champ. 2nd 1st
National[12]
Canadian Champ. 3rd J 1st J 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd
J: Junior level

References

  1. ^ Meet the Champions, Skating magazine, May 1961
  2. ^ a b "Meet the New Champions" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 36, no. 4. April 1959. p. 12. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  3. ^ "Canadian Olympic Trials" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 36, no. 7. November 1959. p. 22. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d Hines, James R. (2011). Historical dictionary of figure skating. Historical dictionaries of sports. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-8108-6859-5.
  5. ^ a b c d "Skate Canada Results Book - Volume 1 - 1896 - 1973" (PDF). Skate Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 22, 2010.
  6. ^ Imrie, Diane (January 16, 2014). "Competition a showcase of Canadian skating history". Chronicle Journal. p. 13.
  7. ^ a b "Meet the New Champions" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 39, no. 5. May 1962. p. 16. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  8. ^ "Wendy Griner seems to be Petra-fied". Winnipeg Tribune. February 1, 1964. p. 36.
  9. ^ Noel, John (April 1964). "Olympic Drama" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 41, no. 4. pp. 8–11. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  10. ^ Pender, Peter A. (April 1965). "1965 North American Championships" (PDF). Skating. Vol. 42, no. 4. p. 14. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  11. ^ "Ontario Inductees in the Skate Canada Hall of Fame". Skate Ontario. July 17, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  12. ^ "Canadian Figure Skating Championships" (PDF). Skate Canada. pp. 13–14. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 24, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
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