Background
Kit Klein was born in Buffalo, New York and started competing on the local level
Kit Klein was born in Buffalo, New York and started competing on the local level
Later, Klein finished first in the 1500 metres event and third in the 500 metres competition at the 1932 Winter Olympics of Lake Placid, where speed skating for women was a demonstration sport.
She also participated in the 1000 metres event but was eliminated in the heats. After the 1936 Winter Olympics, Klein toured Europe before sailing home. During the voyage home Klein actually threw her skates overboard to mark her retirement from competitive skating.
Foreign a while, Klein toured around North America with the Ice Follies skating show.
After her husband"s retirement in 1967, they moved to Holmes Beach, Florida, where Catherine "Kit" Klein-Outland died in 1985 at the age of 75. Klein-Outland was inducted in the National Speedskating Hall of Fame in 1964, and posthumously in both the International Women"s Sports Hall of Fame and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.
Over the course of her career, Klein skated two world records: To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Klein skated her personal records.
She also won the 1,000 m race, as well as the overall bronze medal, at the Unofficial World Allround Championships in Oslo, Norway in 1935. At the 1936 first official World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Women in Stockholm, Sweden, Klein won gold. An overview of medals won by Klein at important championships she participated in, listing the years in which she won each. In addition, Klein won the following championships, amongst others:.
