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Taft HS remembers its Olympic champion Ken Henry
by BRIAN NADIG
As the 2026 Winter Olympics continue, Taft High School is reminding Northwest Siders that one of the school’s alums, Ken Henry, was an Olympic champion.
In 1952 Henry won the gold medal in the 500-meter speed skating event at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway.
In 1948, as youngest member of the U.S. Olympic Speed Skating Team, he came in 5th in the 500-meter event, according to the Taft Alumni Association, which in 1989 inducted Henry into its “hall of fame.” He also competed in the 1956 Olympics.
Taft principal Dr. Ryan Glowacz said that the Taft memory case at the varsity campus has a pair of Henry’s skates.
Henry, who died at age 80 in 2009, served as class president at Taft, where he graduated 1947, according to the alumni association. He later majored in physical education at Northern Illinois University and was an avid golfer.
Henry also won “Silver Skate” titles in 1946 and 1947, and he captured the 1949 and 1950 World Allround Championships.
Taft, whose varsity campus is located at 6530 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., opened in 1939. Its freshman campus at 4071 N. Oak Park Ave. opened in 2019.
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