Other Free Encyclopedias :: Famous Sports Stars :: Famous Sports Stars Du-Go :: Peggy Fleming Biography - Showed Early Promise, Chronology, Thrown Into Spotlight, Awards And Accomplishments, The Long Program: Skating Toward Life's Victories - SELECTED WRITINGS BY FLEMING:

Peggy Fleming - Raised Breast Cancer Awareness

At the U.S. Nationals in Philadelphia in January 1998, Fleming discovered a lump in her left breast. Although she continued to work through the next few weeks, a biopsy showed that the lump was malignant. Undergoing surgery to remove the cancer on February 10—exactly thirty years after she had won her gold medal in Grenoble—Fleming later underwent radiation therapy and made a speedy recovery.

Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1974, Fleming was also honored with an induction into the USFSA Hall of Fame and World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1976. In 1981 she was inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame and in 1997 was the recipient of the U.S. Olympic Committee's Olympic Spirit Award. Each of these honors has highlighted Fleming's contribution to figure skating and to athletic endeavors in general. In combining sheer athletic power with aesthetic grace, Fleming was one of the first figure skaters to be able to integrate impressive jump sequences with choreographed ballet. As a National, World, and Olympic champion, she also has helped to popularize the sport of figure skating and expand the range of professional opportunities available to skaters after they had left the amateur ranks. More than thirty years after her last competition, Fleming remains a popular and admired personality, not only in the sports world but for her contributions to publicizing women's health issues as well.

Where Is She Now?

The mother of two sons, Andy and Todd, Fleming makes her home inthe San Jose suburb of Los Gatos with her husband, Dr. Greg Jenkins. Inearly 1998, after noticing a lump in her left breast, Fleming confronted a di-agnosis of breast cancer that required surgery. The procedure was per-formed in February 1998; after undergoing radiation therapy, Fleming madea full recovery. "I have no explanation for it," Fleming told Karen S. Schnei-der of People about her speedy return to health. "Something must be liningup right. Whatever the case, I am very grateful." Fleming subsequentlymade numerous personal appearances to heighten awareness of breastcancer, particularly the importance of frequent self-examinations andprompt medical treatment.

After more than twenty years as a skating analyst for the ABC net-work, Fleming also remains a fixture on television. In addition to her dutiesas a broadcaster, Fleming appears frequently in advertisements for Os-Cal, a calcium dietary supplement. The recipient of numerous awards during hercareer, Fleming was honored in 1997 by the U.S. Olympic Committee withits Olympic Spirit Award.

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