Hedy Stenuf was an Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n figure skater

Figure skating

Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...

 who later competed for France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Stenuf first became known in the United States when she accompanied the Austrian champion Karl Schäfer

Karl Schäfer

Karl Schäfer was an Austrian figure skater and swimmer. In figure skating, he was a dual Olympic Champion at the 1932 Winter Olympics and the 1936 Winter Olympics, a seven-time World Champion and the eight-time European Champion...

 on an exhibition tour in North America in 1934, when she was only 11 years old. The following season, the World Figure Skating Championships

World Figure Skating Championships

The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...

 were held in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, Stenuf's home town, and the young skater was considered a strong challenger to reigning champion Sonja Henie

Sonja Henie

Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...

.

At the 1936 Winter Olympic she finished sixth in the singles competition

Figure skating at the 1936 Winter Olympics - Ladies' singles

The ladies' individual figure skating event was held as part of the figure skating programme at the 1936 Winter Olympics. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which had previously been held twice at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 and at all three Winter Games from 1924 onward...

.

Later in 1936 and 1937, Stenuf switched to competing for France, and then in 1938, to the United States. She won bronze and silver medals at the World Championships in 1938 and 1939, respectively. In addition to her accomplishments in single skating

Single skating

Single skating is a discipline of figure skating, wherein a single person skates alone. Men's singles and ladies' singles are both Olympic disciplines and are both governed by the International Skating Union. The other Olympic figure skating events are pair skating and ice dancing...

, she won the silver medal in pair skating

Pair skating

Pair skating is a figure skating discipline. International Skating Union regulations describe pair teams as consisting of "one lady and one man." The sport is distinguished from ice dancing and single skating by elements unique to pair skating, including overhead lifts, twist lifts, death spirals,...

 with partner Skippy Baxter

Skippy Baxter

Lloyd Valdemar Baxter , better known as Skippy Baxter, is an American figure skater. He won two medals at the 1940 United States Figure Skating Championships: a bronze in men's singles and a silver in pair skating with Hedy Stenuf...

 at the 1940 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Her married name was Mrs. Hedy Stenuf Byran.

Competitive highlights

Event	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940
Winter Olympics Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...		6th (AUT)
World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...	4th (AUT)		4th (FRA)	3rd (USA)	2nd (USA)
European Championships European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...	7th (AUT)	6th (FRA)	4th (FRA)
U.S. Championships						2nd
Austrian Championships Austrian Figure Skating Championships The Austrian Figure Skating Championships are a figure skating national championship held annually to determine the national champions of Austria. Skaters compete in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing....	3rd	2nd