Yvonne Dowlen, Who Does What She Loves

When Yvonne Dowlen was 80, she had a car accident and suffered a brain injury. A doctor told her to hang her skates on a nail and consider her athletic career finished. Today, 86-year-old Yvonne goes out onto the ice just as before and participates in competitions. “When Iʼm in a bad mood, I look at people my age with their oxygen pillows. Then I just put on my skates, and smile.”

When Yvonne Dowlen isnʼt competing, she coaches children in figure skating. The main thing she teaches her fledglings is to be themselves and not to worry about someone else’s opinion. “Those who walk leaning on someone else will never tread lightly,” she says.

Her doctors strictly forbade her from skating after the accident, but Yvonne perceived this prohibition very badly. In her own words, “it was like a red rag to a bull.” She recommenced her training right after she could physically stand on her skates again and agreed to exclude only one move from her routine, the axel (a jump with one and a half rotations).

Yvonne became a figure skater more than 70 years ago, but never took so much pleasure in skating as now. “For me, itʼs very important just to stand on ice,” she explains, being very humble. Humble, because Yvonne Dowlen doesnʼt just “stand on ice.” She does pivots, step sequences, and rotations. Celebrating her mastery, the audience and the jury explode in applause at every competition.

Every day, Yvonne Dowlen spends about an hour training. She is certain that the secret to her youthful health lies in these training sessions, in taking vitamins and in the fact that she is doing the thing she loves.

“If you enjoy being on ice, go all out and give it your best. But if youʼre not having fun while skating, just do something else.”

Yvonne Dowlen, a great skater and a lovely lady, passed away in the beginning of May, 2016. She was 90, and never stopped to compete and coach.