Sonya Klopfer
Full nameSonya Dunfield
Born (1934-12-26) December 26, 1934
New York City, United States
Figure skating career
CountryUnited States
Retired1952
Medal record
Ladies' figure skating
Representing the  United States
World Championships
Silver medal – second place1952 ParisLadies' singles
Bronze medal – third place1951 MilanLadies' singles
North American Championships
Gold medal – first place1951 CalgaryLadies' singles

Sonya Klopfer (married name: Dunfield, born December 26, 1934) is an American former competitive figure skater and coach. She is a two-time World medalist (bronze in 1951, silver in 1952) and the 1951 U.S. national champion.

Personal life

Klopfer was born in New York City and was named after Sonja Henie.[1] She married Canadian figure skater Peter Dunfield, with whom she had two sons.[2]

Career

Klopfer won silver on the senior level at the 1950 U.S. Championships. She was then sent to Wembley, England to compete at her first World Championships and finished fifth.

In 1951, Klopfer was awarded the gold medal at the U.S. Championships. Having won at age 15, she was the youngest U.S. senior ladies' champion until Tara Lipinski won in 1997 at age 14.[3] Klopfer obtained the bronze medal in Milan at the 1951 World Championships, standing on the podium with Jeannette Altwegg and Jacqueline du Bief.

In February 1952, Klopfer competed at the Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway and finished fourth at the event. Her final competition was the 1952 World Championships in Paris, France. She won silver behind du Bief and then retired from competition.

From the early 1960s, Klopfer coached with her husband in New York City at the Sky Rink.[4] When the rink closed around 1983, they moved to the Gloucester Skating Club in Orleans, Ontario.[5] Her students included Dorothy Hamill, Elizabeth Manley,[4] Scott Smith, and Charlene Wong (from 1986 to 1990).[6] She was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 2001[7] and into the Professional Skaters Association' Coaches Hall of Fame in 2005.[8]

Results

International
Event 1950 1951 1952
Winter Olympics4th
World Championships5th3rd2nd
North American Championships1st
National
U.S. Championships2nd1st

References

  1. ↑ "Sport: Olympic Figures". Time. December 31, 1951. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Skating community saddened by the death of Peter Dunfield". Skate Canada. May 27, 2014.
  3. ↑ Swift, E.M. (February 24, 1997). "Kid Stuff". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Elfman, Lois (May 29, 2014). "Dunfield remembered as teacher, motivator". IceNetwork.
  5. ↑ Rosewater, Amy (February 14, 2010). "Manley says "she feels like a million dollars"". IceNetwork.
  6. ↑ Elfman, Lois (January 31, 2008). "Behind the scenes of figure skating – Jan. 31". IceNetwork.
  7. ↑ "Skate Canada Hall of Fame: Honoured Members 2001". Skate Canada. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Hall-Of-Fame". Archived from the original on 2013-03-08. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
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