Bonnie Blair - WikiHQ

Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964) is a retired American speed skater. She is one of the top skaters of her era, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, winning five gold medals and one bronze medal.

Blair made her Olympic debut in Sarajevo in 1984 where she finished eighth in the 500 meters. At the time, Blair trained in both short-track and long-track speed skating. She won the 1986 short-track world championship. Blair returned to the Olympics in 1988 competing in long-track at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. There she won her first Olympic gold medal in the 500 meters and a bronze medal in the 1,000 meter. Blair won two gold medals in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and her final two Olympic gold medals at the 1994 Lillehammer games. Blair continued competing through 1995 when the World Championships were held in Milwaukee, finally retiring in March 1995.

After retiring from speed skating, Blair became a motivational speaker. She has been inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.

Early life and education

Blair was born in Cornwall, New York to Charlie and Eleanor Blair. She was the youngest of six children. The family moved to Champaign, Illinois when Bonnie was a toddler. Bonnie first tried skating, already a hobby for her siblings, at age two. At age 7, Blair won her age group at the Illinois Speed Skating Championship. She attended Jefferson Middle School and later Centennial High School in Champaign In addition to skating, Blair was also a cheer leader and a member of the student council.

It wasn't until 1979 when Olympic medalist Cathy Priestner Faminow became Blair's coach that Blair switched from pack style to long track speed skating in which skaters compete for the fastest time. With her increased focus on the 1984 Olympics, Blair went to train in Europe.

Career

thumb

Early career and first Olympics (1984–1986)

Blair made her international competitive debut at the 1984 World Sprinting Championships where she placed tenth. Later that year, Blair appeared at her first Olympic games at age 19 in Sarajevo. Blair had not been not considered a front-runner and later recalled she was happy just to be at the games and see her family in the stands. She failed to medal and finished eighth in the 500 meters. After the 1984 Olympics, Blair worked closely with coach Mike Crowe to improve her skating skills to compete with the powerful East German skaters.

A strong performance at the United States International Skating Association Metric All-Around Championships, held in West Allis, Wisconsin, earned Blair a spot on the U.S. long track women's sprint team for the 1985 World Championships. Blair won both the 500 meter and 1500 meter at the West Allis event, and was considered one of the U.S. team's strongest medal contenders.

During this time, Blair trained in both short-track and long-track. Blair won events at 1984, 1985 and 1986 short-track world championships and was the 1986 overall short-track world champion.

Rise and becoming an Olympic medalist (1987–1989)

Early in 1987, Blair won World Cup titles in the 500 and 1,000 meters. She followed up her World Cup titles in by setting her first world record in the 500 meters with a time 39.43 seconds. Blair also proved she could beat East-German world champion Karin Enke-Kania in head-to-head match-ups. Blair was considered a stronger competitor in the shorter distances, where she was seen as the United States' best chance at a gold medal in speed skating. U.S. speed skating failure to win a single medal at the 1984 Olympics added to the pressure and attention focused on Blair leading up to the 1988 games. Rothenburger skating first, setting a new world record.

Despite her success at the 1988 Olympics, Blair did not enjoy a windfall from endorsements. Holding Blair back from more advertisements was both her choice of sports, which was thought to be less marketable, and ABC's coverage of the games, which failed to resonate with viewers. She skipped the first two World Cup events of the 1989 season. After placing fourth at U.S. Nationals and missing the opportunity to compete at the World Championships, Blair opted to give up competitive cycling and focus solely on speed skating. Training with Mueller in the summer before the Olympics, Blair regained her competitive edge.

In her second event, the 1,500 meters, Blair finished 21st. The placement was due in part to the strategy of her coach, Peter Mueller; Mueller told Blair he would give her a signal to coast if he felt she was not on pace for a podium finish, allowing her to conserve energy. As Blair approached the final 400 meters, Mueller gave the signal. Blair won her second gold of the 1992 Olympics in the 1,000 meters (1:21.90). The attempt to compete at her fourth Olympics was not without its challenges; the 1993 season was lackluster for Blair.

The 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, were another success for Blair: She again won gold in the 500 meters (39.25) and 1,000 meters (1:18.74) races. Blair finished 0.36 seconds ahead of the second best time in the 500 meters. Her 1.38 second margin in the 1,000 meters race is the largest margin of victory in the history of the event.

Post-Olympic career

After the 1994 Olympics, Blair continued to compete. The Blair Bunch, the name given to Blair's family and friends, accounted for 12% of the crowd at the Pettit National Ice Center. Blair became involved with Right to Play, When the Winter Olympics returned to the United States in 2002, Blair was one of the final torchbearers to carry the Olympic flame into Rice-Eccles Stadium for the opening ceremony in Salt Lake City, Utah. As of 2002, Blair served on U.S. Speedskating's board of directors. That same year she was a member of the U.S. Olympic delegation to Sochi.

Awards and honors

thumb|Bonnie Blair on Azerbaijani postage stamp, 1995

In 1992, Blair became the third winter athlete to win the Sullivan Award. Blair won the 1992 Oscar Mathisen Award, the first female winner of this award. In 1992, Blair received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. She also was Female Athlete of the Year as selected by the Associated Press in 1994. Blair also won the World Cup points championship 11 times. Sports Illustrated named Blair their Sportswoman of the Year for 1994. In 2004, she was elected to the United States Olympic Hall of Fame. She was awarded a star (#7) on The Flag for Hope on September 29, 2015, in recognition of her outstanding speed skating career and philanthropic efforts.

Personal life

Blair began dating fellow Olympic speed skater Dave Cruikshank in 1990. The pair married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1996. Grant Cruikshank played hockey at Colorado College and as of 2021 for the University of Minnesota.

References

External links

Bonnie Blair at SkateResults.com