Dorothy Morkis

Dorothy Morkis was a member of the winning team (with John Winnett and Hilda Gurney and won a bronze medal in the individual event at the 1975 Pan American Games. At the 1976 Olympics she was the best placed of the American individuals, finishing in fifth place and winning a bronze medal in the team event, alongside Gurney and Edith Master.

Morkis was the daughter of Abe Sarkis, a well-known building contractor in Boston, and her brother was Charlie Sarkis, who later established the Back Bay Restaurant Group in Boston and ran Wonderland Greyhound Park. Dorothy studied at the Jeanne d’Arc Academy, Chandler School for Women, and Mary Brooks School, later marrying Dr. Edward S. Morkis Jr., a veterinarian.

After the 1976 Olympics she took a long break from competition but returned to dressage events in the early 1980s. Morkis competed in high-level dressage through the 1990s and later became a coach and trainer of dressage, at Sunny Dutch Farm in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and at the Peaceful Valley Equestrian Center at Harveys Lake, near Beaumont, Pennsylvania. She served a short term as the equestrian sports representative to the Athlete’s Advisory Council and chaired the United States Olympic Committee’s Apparel Committee.