Anne Henning

Anne Elizabeth Henning (born September 6, 1955) is an American retired speed skater. She grew up in Northbrook, Illinois, and started in short track speed skating, but then, like many short track speed skaters before and after her, switched to long track speed skating. In 1971, 15-year-old Henning won silver at the ISU Sprint Championships, the forerunner of the World Sprint Championships. During those championships, she set new world records in both her 500 m races.

Anne Henning
Henning (center) at the 1972 Olympics
Personal information
Born (1955-09-06) September 6, 1955
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight66 kg (146 lb)
Sport
SportSpeed skating
ClubNorthbrook Speedskating Club
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)500 m – 42.5 (1972)
1000 m – 1:27.3 (1972)
1500 m – 2:27.30 (1972)
3000 m – 5:25.9 (1971)
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1972 Sapporo 500 m
Bronze medal – third place1972 Sapporo 1000 m
World Championships
Silver medal – second place1971 InzellSprint
Henning on a 1972 UAE stamp

In 1972, Henning broke the world records on the 500 m and the 1,000 m, which made her the favorite on those distances at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. During her 500 m race against Sylvia Burka at those Olympics, Henning was obstructed at the crossing by Burka, but she still set the fastest time and a new Olympic record (43.70). In her re-skate, which she was allowed to take according to the rules, she improved her time to 43.33. Aged 16, this made Henning the youngest Olympic Champion in the history of Olympic speed skating. On the 1,000 m, Henning took the bronze medal behind surprise winner Monika Pflug and only 0.01 seconds behind silver medallist Atje Keulen-Deelstra. After that season, a still only 16 year old Henning retired from speed skating. She said, “People know about speed skating, that was not part of the game when I won my medals. I wanted to go to college and see what else I could do."[1]

Anne Henning is a retired fourth grade teacher in Aurora, Colorado.[2] She has 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren. She is married to Erik Palmer and resides in Aurora, Colorado.

World records

Over the course of her career, Henning skated four world records:

DistanceTimeDateLocation
500 m42.91February 20, 1971Inzell
500 m42.75February 21, 1971Inzell
500 m42.5 January 7, 1972Davos
1,000 m1:27.3 January 8, 1972Davos

Personal records

To put these personal records in perspective, the last column (WR) lists the official world records on the dates that Henning skated her personal records.[2]

DistanceTimeDateLocationWR
500 m42.5 January 7, 1972Davos42.75
1,000 m1:27.3 January 8, 1972Davos1:27.7 
1,500 m2:27.30January 16, 1972Madonna di Campiglio2:15,8 
3,000 m5:25.9 December 5, 1970Innsbruck4:50.3 

References
  1. Povich, Elaine. "Olympic Stars—Where Are They Now - AARP Bulletin". AARP. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  2. Anne Henning. sports-reference.com
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