Megan Taylor

Megan Devenish Taylor (later Mandeville, later Ellis, October 25, 1920 – July 23, 1993) was a British figure skater competitive in the 1930s. She won the World Championships in 1938 and 1939.

She was born in Rochdale and died in Jamaica.

Taylor's father was Phil Taylor, a Speed skater. Megan and fellow Brit Cecilia Colledge participated in the 1932 Winter Olympics. They were virtually the same age--Colledge was 11 years and 74 days old, and Taylor was 11 years and 108 days. They are the youngest ever female competitors in any Olympic sport and the youngest ever competitors at the Winter Olympics. Taylor finished seventh, with Colledge following in eighth in the figure skater. Sonja Henie, the dominant figure in women's figure skating at the time, won her second Olympic gold medal here.

Taylor finished second behind Henie at the World Championships in 1934 and 1936. After Henie retired in 1936, Taylor and Colledge competed for prominence. Colledge won the Worlds in 1937, while Taylor won in 1938 and 1939. Taylor placed second behind Colledge three times at the European Championships (1937, 1938, and 1939).

After her retirement from amateur competition, Taylor toured with the Ice Capades.

Competitive highlights[]

Event	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937		1938	1939
Olympic Games	7th
Worlds	7th	4th	2nd		2nd	2nd		1st	1st
Europeans			4th		3rd	2nd		2nd	2nd
British Championships	1st	1st	1st	*	*	2nd**	2nd	2nd

*Did not participate
**Two British Championships took place in 1937, one in March and another in December, after the competition schedule was changed so that British champions could go to international events as champions. Taylor finished 2nd behind Cecilia Colledge both times.

Megan Taylor

Competitive highlights[]

Further reading[]

External links[]

Fan Feed