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How the first skater in history competed with men and defeated them

'19.01.2020'

Source: Lenta.ru report

Initially, only men were allowed to engage in figure skating and participate in competitions. The woman was first allowed to speak only in 1902. The English loner Mej Sayers competed with men and even defeated them, and in 1908 won the first Olympic gold medal. Then she was already 27 years old: thus, Sayers remains the oldest Games champion in history. In 1981, an Englishwoman was introduced to the Figure Skating Hall of Fame in Colorado. "Lenta.ru" - about the difficult sports fate of the first skater of the planet.

Фото: Depositphotos

First champion

The first world championship in figure skating was held in 1896 in St. Petersburg. Gold went to the German loner Hilbert Fuchs. Silver was taken away by the Austrian Gustav Hugel, and the Russian Georgy Sanders took third place. Competitions were held exclusively among men. It was assumed that women can only be spectators. Although there are cases when they were not allowed into the stands during performances.

This went on for another six years: only in 1902 at the World Championships, which took place in London, a girl, the English loner Mej Sayers, first appeared on the ice with men. She presented full-fledged programs, practically without making mistakes, and in the end she lost only to the Swede Ulrich Salkhov - the reigning world champion at that time, who later became the tenfold holder of this title. Salkhov was so amazed by the courage and skill of the Englishwoman that right on the pedestal he took off his gold medal from his neck and presented it to the skater.

How she was allowed to take part in the tournament is not known for certain. The most plausible version is that no one took Medzh seriously, so no one was against her speech. In addition, the tournament regulations did not spell out the division into men and women, since sports functionaries could not even assume that one day it might be required. The world championship was held under the auspices of the recently created International Skating Union (ISU), whose leadership also did not manage to foresee a nuance.

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Needless to say, Sayers created a sensation? After the end of the tournament, ISU began looking for a reason to officially exclude women from the competition, but could not come up with anything worthwhile. When the organizers of the World Cup said that women should not participate, because long skirts prevent judges from evaluating the skill of sliding and the cleanliness of the figures, Sayers put on a shorter skirt. This was a very bold move.

“She shortened the dress to win. Her short skirt stunned the crowd, ”later recalled the English skater Thomas Richardson, who performed in pairs skating. Nevertheless, it was no longer possible to find fault, and skirts with an open shin became fashion for many years. And every time Mej went out onto the ice in the same beret so that long hair would not interfere, and in the same brooch - for beauty.

The first full-fledged world championship among women took place only in 1906 in Davos. Sayers, tempered by rivalry with skilled men, naturally won. A year later, now in Vienna, she repeated the success. She was head and shoulders stronger than all rivals.

Photo: Wikipedia, public domain

“It's hard to compare a woman with men”

But who is this Mej and how did she get into figure skating?

There is not much data about her. It is known that she was born in London, but there is no information about her family. In addition to the surname - Cave. Mej got up on skates early. True, the institute of coaching was not developed then, the girls were reluctant to study, and sports schools in the modern sense simply did not exist. So the skater had to end her career without starting it. Fortunately, she was lucky to meet a good mentor.

The fact is that at that time there were two styles of skiing - British and international. The division is unofficial, but quite logical. The peculiarity of the British style was stiffness and "raggedness" of movements. The judges did not like him very much and did not appreciate him much. International style implied soft riding, expressiveness of hands, flexibility. Mej needed a specialist who owned the latest technology, and it was such a coach who started working with her as soon as she turned 16.

Edgar Sayers, her future husband, undertook to teach the girl the wisdom of sports. He was 18 years older than Mej and he was engaged in figure skating. Relations "teacher - student" quickly gave way to a romantic. This did not interfere with the work: they got married long before the first major success of the Mej, in 1899. The Englishwoman always recognized that Edgar made her a great athlete, not only due to coaching talent, but also because he believed in her and always supported him morally. And even when she defeated him at the UK Championship.

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Edgar persuaded her to pair up on ice and perform at the Olympics together. Mej agreed, but she decided to continue competing in singles. In 1908, the 27-year-old Sayers won the Olympics in London. In singles competitions, she was stronger than German Elsa Rendschmidt and compatriot Dorothy Greenhaw Smith. By the way, not a single gold of the Olympics has since been won by a skater who would be over 27 years old.

Together with her 45-year-old spouse, Mej at the Games became the third in the tournament of sports couples, letting the Germans forward another English duet. In fairness, only three couples participated in the Olympics then, and only one of the judges, compatriot figure skaters Harry Fays, put them above the last place according to the results of the rental. For this reason he was reproached for bias, which, however, did not matter - the final decision was not for him, but for the majority.

Фото: Depositphotos

The English skater Richardson once said: “The dress prevented her from skating, the judges could hardly see her legs. It is difficult to compare a woman with men. But all this did not stop her from winning. " Later, by the way, he denied the information that Sayers has kept Salkhov's medal from the first world championship. What reasons he had for that is not known.

Shortly after the Games, Sayers was forced to quit the sport due to heart problems. Mej has never been in good health, and some sources say that she suffered from heart failure. In addition, the skater suffered from colds due to constant exposure to the cold. After completing her career, Sayers decided to devote herself to writing memoirs. In total, the first Olympic champion published two books - “On Winter Sports” and “The Art of Figure Skating”. Even an Englishwoman began to train children, but not one of her students managed to lead to great victories.

Mej died on September 9, 1917 in Weybridge, she was only 35 years old. The reason, according to unconfirmed information, was the flu. In 1981, an Englishwoman was introduced to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, which is located in Colorado. The candidacy of the former athlete was not disputed by anyone.

And Edgar survived his wife by more than 30 years. He left the sport with her, because, by his own admission, riding did not see any more sense. Throughout the years after her death, he called Mej the only love in his life.

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