Barbara Day Lockhart is a professor and two-time Olympian speed skater. She dedicated over 25 years to teaching in the Exercise Sciences Department at Brigham Young University, where she taught courses on philosophy, the science of wellness, ontology, and religion.
Outside of teaching, Lockhart has a passion for sports, particularly football, basketball, and ice-skating. She competed in the 1960 and 1964 Winter Olympics as a speed skater. The year 1960 was the first year that the Olympic games included a women’s speedskating event, and she became the first woman to qualify for the US Olympic speed skating team. At this event, she won the first speed-skating race for women. Four years later, she competed in the 1964 Olympics as well. Her Olympic achievements and continued contributions to the sport earned her induction into the US Speedskating Hall of Fame in 2023.
Lockhart pursued a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Michigan State University. While in her third year at Michigan State University, she was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She later received a doctorate of education from BYU. She taught at various universities, including Temple University and the University of Iowa, before returning to BYU as a faculty member in 1991.
