Tenley Albright, who overcame a significant injury two weeks before the start of the competition, was the Olympic champion.

[1] The event was held outdoors at the Ice Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, the host city for the Games.

[3] Temporary seating was added for the figure skating competition that swelled the stadium's capacity to 14,000 people.

After the first day of competition Tenley Albright had the lead with 9 of 11 judges' first-place ordinals, with Carol Heiss second.

She later won gold at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, and married Hayes Jenkins, the men's champion at the 1956 Games.