Speed skater Eric Heiden won five gold medals in the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York. [1] Her godmother is Canadian speed skater Cathy Priestner. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. Father's influence Anthony Charles Lynton Blair was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on May 6, 1953. Blair wanted to continue to train for the 1984 Olympics and beyond, but had problems getting funding for her training. Bonnie Blair Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Famous family following newly signed forward Grant Cruikshank to Occupation Singer Family Father - David Glyndwr Hopkins Mother - Elsie Hopkins When was Bonnie Parker born? Then she went out and bettered Rothenburger's time by two hundredths of a second to win her first gold medal. Blair, whose stage and screen career spanned eight decades, died early on Thursday morning. [19] She followed up her World Cup titles in by setting her first world record in the 500 meters with a time 39.43 seconds. She dominated the sprint events at three Olympic Games (1988, 1992, and 1994), winning five gold medals and one bronze. All Rights Reserved Blair told Brian Cazeneuve of The Sporting News, "I'm the one who puts pressure on myself. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. At the time, Blair trained in both short-track and long-track speed skating. The . "Time after time." After fellow speed skater Johann Olav Koss founded Right to Play in 2000, he recruited Blair to serve as one of the charities first celebrity ambassadors. Blair was touched by the adulations of the crowd, saying that she had never heard any group of spectators cheer so hard for her. She graduated from Centennial High School, and later took some courses at Parkland Junior College in Champaign. A year later she twice set a world record for the 500-metre event on the standard circuit. Bonnie Blair Cruikshank is our local Olympic superstar: five time gold medalist, six medals overall. Bonnie Blair. With a new world record of 39.1 seconds, Blair became the first American woman since 1976 to win a gold medal in speed skating. She embarked on a whirlwind travel schedule in Europe, taking on the world's best. Blair later credited her husband's continuing involvement in the sport with helping her to make the transition from competition to civilian life. Speed skating. See also Alexander Wolff, "Bonnie's Bounty: Unassuming Bonnie Blair Sped to Victory in 1,000 Meters to Become the U.S.'s Most Gilded Woman Olympian Ever," Sports Illustrated (7 Mar. [32], Her success in the 1992 Olympics led to more attention for Blair. 'Your mom is Bonnie Blair!': Junior speedskating champ Blair Cruikshank [2][25] For her second event of the games, Blair had a personal best and briefly set an Olympic record in the 1,000 meters. [11] 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. . Blair has also become an accomplished motivational speaker, addressing audiences on such topics as "Achieving Your Personal Best." Professionally, Charlie Blair was an engineer while Eleanor Blair worked in real estate. Boston Globe (January 9, 2002): F7. ." During the Olympics, Blair was given the nickname "Bonnie the Blur." When Blair was sixteen, she competed at her first Olympic trials for the 1980 Winter Olympics. "People on the outside are like, 'Your mom is Bonnie Blair!' " Cruikshank said. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. She soon regained her form and confidence, winning dozens of 500- and 1,000-meter races leading up to the 1992 Olympics. Though Blair briefly considered not competing in the 1992 games, she told Douglas S. Looney of Sports Illustrated, "Skating has always been a pleasure and a joy. Notable Sports Figures. Mother of bonnie Fay wiszniewski; Private and Private. Cruikshank's mother is five-time Olympic gold medalist Bonnie Blair and her dad is four-time Olympian Dave Cruikshank. Bonnie Blair generally travels from Milwaukee, WI, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances . Blair also won the World Cup points championship 11 times. New York Times (January 16, 2002): D7. It's fun to set goals, reach goals, reset goals. Looney, Douglas S. "Bring back Bonnie." She won five gold medals and one bronze over her career. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. By the time she was in grade school, speed skating had become her number-one leisure activity. "Bonnie Blair is a 5-4 Colossus on Skates." "History (Never) Lessens: Bonnie Blair was textbook good, and her legacy still is quoted chapter and verse." "Blair Has a FlairFor Gold." Blair won events at 1984, 1985 and 1986 short-track world championships and was the 1986 overall short-track world champion. She was the daughter of Charlie and Eleanor Blair, who raised their large Catholic family in Champaign, Illinois. "Olympic Profile: Bonnie Blair; A Life of Skating Leads to Calgary." 5 What actress portrayed. Bonnie Kathleen Blair is the most decorated woman in Winter Olympic history. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Alice Blair, 86, of Tioga, an accounts processor for the Aramark Co. and a caregiver to her older siblings and neighbors, died in her sleep Dec. 17, of complications from dementia at Caring Heart Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Germantown. ABC Sports - Wide World of Sports - ESPN Also at the 1988 Olympics, Blair won the bronze medal for the 1,000-meter event. Sports Illustrated named Blair their Sportswoman of the Year for 1994. "Blair, Bonnie She was so small at the time that her parents could not find skates that fit her, so she had to wear shoes under her skates. Blair told Shannon Brownlee of Sports Illustrated, "Skating is a joy. "Introspective Blair Rebuffs Outside World in Pursuit of Gold." Family (1) Spouse Dave Cruikshank (23 June 1996 - present) (2 children) Trivia (4) Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2004. . It was an expensive undertaking, but with the help of her family, friends, and money from the Champaign police department, Blair was able to go. She has also made television commercials for such major corporations as McDonald's and AT&T. Bonnie Hoellein - Net Worth 2023. Winter Olympics Memorable Moments: Bonnie Blair - InfoPlease To win the 500-meter event, Blair beat Chinese skater Ye Qiaobo by 18 hundredths of a second. Before Priestner, Blair only competed in short-track, pack-style racing. She also won two gold medals at the '92 . Bonnie Kathleen Blair I don't see any torture in this at all.". In her teens, Blair began to apply herself to the sport of speed skating as she never had before, largely at the encouragement of her friend Dave Silk, who competed on the men's U.S. team. Blair was born on March 18, 1964, in Cornwall, New York, the youngest of six children. American speed skater After the 1994 Olympics, Blair continued to compete. Also, Jack Sikma, a No matter what the competition is, I try to find a goal that day and better that goal. She was named as the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year and the USOC Sportswoman of the Year. Serendipitously, Milwaukee opened a new indoor skating rink in 1992, allowing her to train there all year. login . She was 16 years old when she began Olympic-style racing, which pits only two racers against each other in a competition based on time. She surpassed her 1988 Olympic performance, taking home the gold medal not only in the 500-meter event, but in the 1,000-meter race as well. Now unquestionably a star, in 1994 Blair went on to her third Winter Olympics, which were held in Lille-hammer, Norway. bonnie blair siblings. At the 1992 Games in Albertville, France, she captured the gold medal in both the 500- and 1,000-metre competitions, a feat that she repeated at the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. Bonnie Tyler is currently 71 according to her birthdate June 08, 1951 Sun Sign Gemini Born Place Skewen, Neath, Wales Nationality Education Bonnie decided to quit school to focus on her music career. "I just thought it was the right time," she said of her retirement to Imperial Oil Web Site. The trials were a breeze for her. A year later she captured her first World Short-Track Championship by winning three of the four events. 2. Blairs greatest success came at the Olympics, though she started slowly. She won a number of races as a child, including the Illinois state championship when she was seven. "Blades of gold." She was the daughter of Charlie and Eleanor Blair, who raised their large Catholic family in Champaign, Illinois. Place of Burial: Paintsville, Johnson, Kentucky, United States. Bonnie Blair C and 7 others. Olympic speed skating competitions were conducted differently. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bonnie-Blair, Bonnie Blair - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). [7] Blair topped her own World Record the following year, achieving a time of 38.69 on February 12, 1995 in Calgary. "The last lap." In Champaign, I'd miss a workout or two. 9.04M subscribers Subscribe to @olympics: http://oly.ch/Subscribe Highlights as Bonnie Blair takes part in her third Olympic Games. Bonnie Blair C Retweeted. [29] 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. Priestner had been a speed skater since her teen years, winning a national championship within a year of taking up the sport. (With Greg Brown) A Winning Edge, Taylor, 1996. She was raised in Illinois, but she moved to Milwaukee to further her speed-skating career. Bonnie Blair (1914-1983) FamilySearch We can also contact her at bonnie.hoellein@gmail.com for more information. Also in 1984, Blair competed at the Winter Olympics held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. However, the date of retrieval is often important. [31], In her second event, the 1,500 meters, Blair finished 21st. Book Bonnie Blair | Speakers Bureau | Booking Agent Info Blair's introduction to competitive skating was as a pack racer on short tracks where she competed against many people in one race. [27] Blair also took a break from skating, enrolling in Montana Technological University. Blair's athletic achievements, combined with her friendly, down-to-earth manner, earned her recognition from journalists as an "All-American girl." Bonnie Blair At the time, Blair worked as the secretary of the Retail Clerks International Union, which has since become part of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1529. Veteran entertainer, TV presenter and dancer Lionel Blair has died aged 92, his agent has said. Because an indoor training oval, Pettit National Ice Center, opened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Blair moved there from Champaign. The Blair Bunch was back even stronger at the 1992 Games in Albertville, France, with about 45 members swaying in unison in their purple team jackets and singing "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean." [3] Early on, Blair competed in "pack style," or short track speed skating, where several skaters race on the ice at once. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, winning five gold medals and one bronze medal. Blair returned to the Olympics in 1988 competing in long-track at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964) is a retired American speed skater. Facebook gives people the power to. She continued to compete in part because there were only two years between these Olympic Games. "Retiring at Top Speed." She achieved personal bests in all four of her events and recorded the fastest time of any junior in three of them. [7][39] Less than a month after Lillehammer Olympics, Blair set another world record in the 500 meters, becoming the first female to complete the race in under 39 seconds, achieving a time of 38.99 seconds. After retiring from skating, Blair had two children (son Grant and daughter Blair), worked as a motivational speaker, and wrote a book about her accomplishments, A Winning Edge (1996). Bonnie Blair (1928-1977) FamilySearch . When Blair returned to the United States, she increased the intensity of her training, including weight training, running, biking, and rollerblading in addition to skating. Bonnie Blair Cruikshank. Having gained five gold medals and one bronze medal in three Olympic Games, Blair became the most decorated female Winter Olympian in U.S. history. Bonnie Blair is a retired American speed skater. Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964) is a retired American speed skater. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/blair-bonnie, "Blair, Bonnie Bonnie Blair Cruikshank talks US speed skating in Olympics - TMJ4 The Olympic style favored Blair's small stature and emphasis on technique. "Repeat for Blair." [16][10] On the 1985-1986 World Cup Circuit, Blair finished fourth in four distances: the 500 meter, 1,000 meter, and 1,500 meter. Sports Illustrated (January 27, 1988): 236. Blair first donned skates at the age of two, and was competing as a speed skater by the age of four. She also began serving on the board for U.S. She dominated the sprint events at three Olympic Games (1988, 1992, and 1994), winning five gold medals and one bronze. Difference Between Good Lumber And Coco Lumber, Why Did Noel Not See His Daughters In 7 Years, When Does The Break Up Hit The Female Dumper, Dave Bowman Mechanic, Articles B
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