The hand-painted dolls, unautographed, sold for slightly more than $30 to rabid souvenir-seeking tourists at the Olympic Store in Salt Lake City.
Though the Mleczko doll bears her name, it’s debatable as to whether it is a better resembles to her likeness than the Barbie. USA Hockey did little to distinguish the anatomy of the female bobbleheads from the male ones.
Front Row
Mleczko wasn’t the only Harvard name to earn a shout out at Wednesday night’s festivities. Harvard crew coach Harry Parker earned an emotional thank you from rowing legend Anita DeFrantz towards the end of her acceptance speech for the New England Women’s Fund’s 2002 Billie Jean King Pioneer Award.
DeFrantz, a graduate of Connecticut College, was the first American woman and African-American woman to be elected to the International Olympic Committee in 1986, and in 1997 she became the organization’s first female vice president.
DeFrantz’s international rowing career began with the 1976 Olympics, the first year women’s rowing was offered. Parker was the coach who selected DeFrantz for that team.