[27] Blair also took a break from skating, enrolling in Montana Technological University. Wife of William Edgar Blair. She has five siblings. By the time she was four years old, Blair was racing, and she loved it, competing against her older brothers and sisters and others in elementary and junior high school. Encyclopedia of Women and Sports. Her retirement from the sport, however, created a void in the talent pool of U.S. speed skaters that would be felt in the years to come. She hired a different coach, Nick Thometz, who emphasized something different for Blair: explosive drills over strength and distance training. Janofsky, Michael. Bonnie died wearing a wedding ringbut it wasn't Clyde's. Six days before turning 16, Bonnie married high school classmate Roy Thornton. [28] Blair was back to competing later in the season and won the 1989 World Sprint Championships held in Heerenveen, Netherlands. At the Olympic Games, Blair had the support of her family, the so-called "Blair Bunch" which consisted of immediate and extended family members who attended a number of her more important races en masse. Noden, Merrell. Born December 29, 1911, in Hopkins County, KY, she was the daughter of the late Thomas Monroe Dockery and Thurman Fox Dockery. [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. It was another first for a female athleteno other woman had ever won five Olympic gold medals for individual events. She won a number of races as a child, including the Illinois state championship when she was seven. Known as "The Flying Finn" and "The King of Runners," he do, Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow), Bonnevault, Pierre (ca. People Photos Purpose. The experience strengthened her determination to become an Olympian. Search instead in Creative? New York Times (February 19, 1995): section 8, p. 1. In both races, she was pushed by Ye Qiaobo of China who earned two silver medals. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bonnie-Blair, Bonnie Blair - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). . "Child of innocence." Although Ye claimed the crossover cost her the gold, the referee's rejected China's protest. After the 1994 Olympics, Blair continued to compete. New York Times (February 11, 1992): B11. She also set a world record for the 500-meter event in Heerenveen, Holland, at the end of the 1987 season. Olympic speed skating competitions were conducted differently. [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. (With Greg Brown) A Winning Edge, Taylor, 1996. [4] At age 15, Blair tried out for the national team, earning a spot on her first attempt. These dramatic accomplishments earned her the 1992 Sullivan Award as the nation's leading amateur athlete and the 1992 U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) Sportswoman of the Year Award. 5-time Olympic gold medalist speedskater Bonnie Blair Cruikshank is still hitting the ice at 57-years-old. Blair dedicated her successes in Albertville to the memory of her father, who had died on Christmas Day 1989. She holds five gold medals, for the 500-meter and 1,000-meter events, as well as a bronze medal for the 1,000-meter event. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. [5] She attended Jefferson Middle School and later Centennial High School in Champaign[6] In addition to skating, Blair was also a cheer leader and a member of the student council. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. seventeenth century), https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/blair-bonnie, http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/blairbon.shtml, http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0109013.html, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/bonnie-blair, https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/blair-bonnie, Begins competing as member of national speed skating team, Competes at the Olympic trials, but does not make team, Wins Olympic gold and bronze at Winter Olympic Games, Wins two Olympic golds at Winter Olympic Games, Retires from competitive speed skating; becomes motivational speaker, Marries speed skater Dave Cruikshank on June 23, Won Illinois state championship in speed skating for age group, Won gold medal in Olympics speed skating in 500 meters, Won gold medals in 500 meter and 1000 meter at Olympics in speed skating, Won gold in 500 meters at World Championships, Won gold medals in 500 meters and 1000 meters at Winter Olympic Games in speed skating; won gold in 500 meters and 1000 at World Sprint Championships and World Cup; named Babe Zaharis Female Amateur Athlete of the Year; named Sportswoman of the Year by Women's Sports Foundation, Set 500 meters speed skating world record at Calgary; retired in March as speed skater; named Sportswoman of the Year by Women's Sports Foundation; won world sprint championship, Given Sports Humanitarian Award, World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports. In 2021, Blair spoke out in opposition to allowing male-to-female transgender athletes to participate in organized athletics.[54]. She agreed to go, but she lacked the backing to finance the trip. Encased in a glass tabletop in her house, Blair's gold medals have become part of her daily landscape. At the 1985 National Sports Festival, Blair swept the gold medals in all four women's short-track skating races, and won another gold as a member of a men's 5,000-meter relay team. [5]:45 Blair also began to pick-up more endorsements, including sports marketing group Advantage International. She dominated the sprint events at three Olympic Games (1988, 1992, and 1994), winning five gold medals and one bronze. [28] She skipped the first two World Cup events of the 1989 season. This sensational run made Blair the top gold medalist at the festival. [1] The U.S. failed to win any speed skating medals at the 1984 Olympics. Time (February 24, 1992): 54. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Priestner had been an Olympic medalist herself, winning silver when she represented Canada at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1976. Encyclopedia.com. She won the 1986 short-track world championship. It was the first time a woman had won two Olympic gold medals for the 500-meter event in two successive Winter Olympics. "Bonnie's bounty." Sports Illustrated (January 27, 1988): 236. Bonnie Blairwas raised in Champaign, Illinois. She is one of the top skaters of her era, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. In December, Blair Cruikshank competed at the USA Speedskating Long Track National Championships in Utah. She had an older brother, Hubert (Buster), and a younger sister, Billie. Blair was born in Cornwall, New York to Charlie and Eleanor Blair. This is an individual sport.". She has also made television commercials for such major corporations as McDonald's and AT&T. As Blair approached the final 400 meters, Mueller gave the signal. Wolff, Alexander. Blair also won the World Cup points championship 11 times. [5]:45, Back in 1986, the International Olympic Committee voted to stage the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics in alternating four year cycles. In March 1995, shortly after winning the World Cup and setting a new world record in the 500-meter event, Blair retired from competitive speed skating. "Catching up with Bonnie Blair and Johann Olav Koss." [7] Blair topped her own World Record the following year, achieving a time of 38.69 on February 12, 1995 in Calgary. Blair told Brian Cazeneuve of The Sporting News, "I'm the one who puts pressure on myself. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Notable Sports Figures. http://www.imperialoil.ca/thisis/publications/review/2001q4 (January 5, 2003). Encyclopedia.com. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, winning five gold medals and one bronze medal. She lived in Whitesburg, Letcher, Kentucky, United States for about 10 . It's fun to set goals, reach goals, reset goals. [14], At the December 1987 U.S. speed skating trials for the 1988 Winter Olympics, Blair led the women's field in the 500,1,000, and 1,500 meters, securing her place on the U.S. Olympic team, as expected. "Glory and gloom." She was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Blair took up speed skating when she was two years old, joining a family of avid speed skaters. Sports Illustrated (February 24, 1992): 18. 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. She made her competitive cycling debut in June 1989 at the Sundance Juice Sparkler Grand Prix. At the 1988 Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, she was a favourite in the sprint events and earned a gold in the 500-metre event and a bronze in the 1,000-metre event. When Bonnie was still an infant, Charlie, who called the new baby "missy" because the pregnancy was a mistake, took a new job and moved the family to Champaign, Illinois, then considered a mecca for speedskating. Though the race was not great, in part because the ice surface was too warm, the victory made Blair the first woman to win gold in consecutive Winter Olympic games. In the 500-meter race she won her first gold medal, defeating the defending champion by .02 seconds and setting a new world record in the process. [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. Noden, Merrell. Priestner had been a speed skater since her teen years, winning a national championship within a year of taking up the sport. And as far as skating goes, she's got a lot of class.". places to practice were in Europe. Blair continued to have success on the international level, though she also challenged herself to find ways to win. New York Times (January 16, 2002): D7. In 1993 and 1994, she won gold medals at the World Championships in 500 meters. 5", "Bonnie Blair: Biography from Answers.com", "Thanks to CC hockey for a memorable 3", "Wisconsin GOP lawmakers propose banning transgender athletes from women's sports", World Champions in Short Track Speed Skating Women's Overall, Olympic champions in women's 500 m speed skating, Olympic champions in women's 1000 m speed skating, World champions in women's sprint speed skating, Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, United States women's national soccer team, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bonnie_Blair&oldid=1132850666, Speed skaters at the 1984 Winter Olympics, Speed skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics, Speed skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics, Speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics, Olympic gold medalists for the United States in speed skating, Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in speed skating, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 10 January 2023, at 22:20.