Skating

Sonja Henie(1912-1969)

She is an Norwegian figue skater and film star.She is also known as the Queen Of Ice.

Won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater.Won Gold medals at three consecutive Olympics in 1928, 1932, and 1936.Won ten consecturive World Figure Skating Championship titles from 1927-1936.Won six consecutive European Championships.first place titles from 1931-1936.At the height of her acting career she was one of the highest paid movie stars in Hollywood.

Sonja Henie was born in Kristiania, current Oslo, the only daughter of Wilhelm Henie (1872–1937), a prosperous Norwegian furrier and his wife Selma Lochmann-Nielsen (1888–1961). In addition to the income from the fur business, both of Henie's parents had inherited wealth. Wilhelm Henie had been a one-time World Cycling Champion and the Henie children were encouraged to take up a variety of sports at a young age. Henie initially showed talent at sking, and then followed her older brother Leif to take up figure skating. As a girl, Henie was also a nationally ranked tennis player and a skilled swimmer and equestrienne. Once Henie began serious training as a figure skater, her formal schooling ended. She was educated by tutors, and her father hired the best experts in the world, including the famous Russian ballerina Tamara Karsavina, to transform his daughter into a sporting celebrity.

Henie's connections with Adolf Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi officials made her the subject of controversy before, during, and afterWorld War II. During her amateur skating career, she performed often in Germany and was a favorite of German audiences as well as of Hitler personally. As a wealthy celebrity, she moved in the same social circles as royalty and heads of state and made Hitler's acquaintance as a matter of course.

Controversy appeared first when Henie greeted Hitler with a Nazi salute during an exhibition in Berlin some time prior to the 1936 Winter Olympics; she was strongly denounced by the Norwegian press. She did not repeat the salute at the Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, but after the Games she accepted an invitation to lunch with Hitler at his resort home in nearby Berchtesgaden, where Hitler presented Henie with an autographed photo with a lengthy inscription. After beginning her film career, Henie kept up her Nazi connections, for example personally arranging with Joseph Goebbels for the release of her first film, One in a Million, in Germany.

During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, German troops saw Hitler's autographed photo prominently displayed in the Henie family home. As a result, none of Henie's properties in Norway were confiscated or damaged by the Germans. Henie became anaturalized citizen of the United States in 1941. Like many Hollywood stars, she supported the U.S. war effort through USO and similar activities, but she was careful to avoid supporting the Norwegian resistance movement, or making public statements against the Nazis. For this, she was condemned by many Norwegians and Norwegian-Americans. After the war, Henie was mindful that many of her countrymen considered her to be a quisling. However, she made a triumphant return to Norway with the Holiday on Ice tour in 1953 and 1955.

Ladies singles

Event	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936
Winter Olympics		8th				1st				1st				1st
World Championships		5th		2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
European Championships									1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Norwegian Championships	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st

Pairs (with Arne Lie)

Event	1926	1927	1928
World Championships	5th
Norwegian Championships	1st	1st	1st