SYERS, MADGE CAVE

born 1881, Eng. died September 1917 byname of Florence Madeleine Cave Syers British ice skater who was the first woman to compete at the highest level of international figure skating. At the 1908 Olympic Games in London she won the first Olympic gold medal ever awarded in women's figure skating, as well as the bronze medal for pairs with her husband and coach, Edgar Syers. Madge Cave was an accomplished figure skater, as well as a talented swimmer and equestrienne, when she was introduced to a freer, less-rigid international skating style by a new coach, Edgar Syers. The couple married and competed, both individually and together, from 1899. In 1902, having discerned that the annual world figure-skating championship did not actually bar women, Syers became the first woman ever to enter the competition. She finished second to Ulrich Salchow, a feat that induced the officials to ban female athletes and later to establish a separate event for women. Syers confirmed her supremacy in the sport by winning the newly created women's world championship in 1906 and again in 1907. Ill health forced her to retire from skating soon after the 1908 Olympics.