She lived in Whitesburg, Letcher, Kentucky, United States for about 10 . Blair dedicated her successes in Albertville to the memory of her father, who had died on Christmas Day 1989. [32] Blair won her second gold of the 1992 Olympics in the 1,000 meters (1:21.90). Brand, David. Speed skating. Fundraising was spearheaded by the Champaign police force in 1982, and Blair received support from such disparate sources as one of her brother's college fraternity brothers, professional basketball player Jack Silma who played with the Milwaukee Bucks. [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. Russian speed skater Family (1) Spouse Dave Cruikshank (23 June 1996 - present) (2 children) Trivia (4) Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2004. . Overall, Blair won 4 of 18 women's medals at the 1987 World Cup; East German skaters, including Rothenburger, won 13. With her gold medals and winning personality to match, Blair captured the imagination of the American public, becoming a media darling and a favorite among fans. 5-time Olympic gold medalist speedskater Bonnie Blair Cruikshank is still hitting the ice at 57-years-old. Blair was the youngest of six children of Charlie, a civil engineer, and Eleanor Blair, a homemaker. [2][3] To end the games, Blair was chosen to carry the American flag at the closing ceremonies. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2001. "It was a nice ending.". [31] Although she had won gold at the prior Olympics, Blair felt that her small stature made her an underdog against much larger East German competitors. Blair entered the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, Canada, as a veteran of hundreds of races, a world record holder, and the favorite to win the 500-meter event. Washington Post (February 11, 1994): H5. Her 1.38 second margin in the 1,000 meters race is the largest margin of victory in the history of the event. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/blair-bonnie, "Blair, Bonnie She is one of the top skaters of her era, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Though she did well at the meet, she did not make the team. In December, Blair Cruikshank competed at the USA Speedskating Long Track National Championships in Utah. Blair was forced to rely on superior technique and a ferocious will to win because of her physical limitations. Instead, she skated vicariously through her husband, who competed in international events. She signed with Advantage International, a sports marketing group, and did a number of commercials endorsements including Jeep, Evian, National Frozen Foods, and Rollerblades. Blair lives in Delafield, Wisconsin, with her husband and their son Grant and daughter Blair. Bonnie (Blair) Roos. During her gold medal-winning race, she also set a world's record with a time of 39.1 seconds. 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. For example, Blair finished fifth in the 1991 World Sprint Championships, though she was also suffering from bronchitis at the time. She again won the world sprint title in 1994, also winning the World Cup 500- and 1,000-metre races that year. All of Blair's two sisters and three brothers speed skated competitively because of their father. "The kids eat cereal on top of it," she told Parrish, "but it's got a heavy top, so nothing gets underneath." "Blades of gold." I just want to go fast. Blair won her fourth career gold medal with a . In 1982, when Blair was 18 years old, her trainers wanted to take her to Europe to compete outside of the United States for the first time. 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. [42] As of 2002, Blair served on U.S. Speedskating's board of directors. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/bonnie-blair, "Bonnie Blair [18], Early in 1987, Blair won World Cup titles in the 500 and 1,000 meters. Olympic speed skating competitions were conducted differently. Charlie had dreamed of Bonnie becoming an Olympic speed skater. Blair continued to have success on the international level, though she also challenged herself to find ways to win. "Blair, Bonnie Bonnie Blair C Retweeted. At the Olympics, Blair was cheered on by her large extended family, including her parents, her brother Chuck, her sister Mary, along with Mary's husband and children, her sister Susie, her brother Rob and his wife and child, her sister Angela, and her uncle Lennie, along with the friends of all of her family members. After being born in Cornwall, N.Y., Blair moved with her family to the Midwest and was raised in Champaign, Ill. She took to speed skating like her older siblings. [7] Blair topped her own World Record the following year, achieving a time of 38.69 on February 12, 1995 in Calgary. [37] Blair's success at Lillehammer placed her among the most decorate American Olympians of all time. and its Licensors Born December 29, 1911, in Hopkins County, KY, she was the daughter of the late Thomas Monroe Dockery and Thurman Fox Dockery. Though she knew she was retiring, she left on top. Cruikshank's mother is five-time Olympic gold medalist Bonnie Blair and her dad is four-time Olympian Dave Cruikshank. Sports Illustrated for Women, February 2002. ." Blair herself was introduced to the sport when she was just two years old. Matson, Barbara. She contracted a severe case of bronchitis that affected her breathing. https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/blair-bonnie, Petruso, A. The year following her return from Europe, she won the 1983 U.S. indoor speed skating championship, a title she won again in 1984. Who are Scott disick parents? 1939- [7][9], Blair made her international competitive debut at the 1984 World Sprinting Championships where she placed tenth. Now unquestionably a star, in 1994 Blair went on to her third Winter Olympics, which were held in Lille-hammer, Norway. [39] The Blair Bunch, the name given to Blair's family and friends, accounted for 12% of the crowd at the Pettit National Ice Center. So, the police department in Champaign stepped in to raise money for her trip, holding a series of raffles and bake sales. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Sherrow, Victoria. Her stellar performance at the 1992 Olympics also earned Blair the Sullivan Award as the Best Amateur Athlete in the United States. But while skating eventually. In fact, Charlie Blair had his children at a competition while his youngest child was being born. ." Best. Blair also continued to improve her already great technique. Blair finished 0.36 seconds ahead of the second best time in the 500 meters. As Jere Longman wrote in the New York Times, "Blair has no mountains to climb. Bonnie Blair, in full Bonnie Kathleen Blair, (born March 18, 1964, Cornwall, New York, U.S.), American speed skater who was one of the leading competitors in the sport. (February 23, 2023). Priestner had been an Olympic medalist herself, winning silver when she represented Canada at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1976. Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964) is a retired American speedskater. She repeated her victories in both 500m and 1000m speed. She also began serving on the board for U.S. In Champaign, I'd miss a workout or two. When training in Milwaukee, she enrolled at Parkland College but did not graduate. Known as "The Flying Finn" and "The King of Runners," he do, Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow), Bonnevault, Pierre (ca. [11] Her time was only 0.02 seconds faster than Ye. Cazeneuve, Brian. Genealogy profile for Bonnie Elaine BlaIr Bonnie Elaine BlaIr (1925 - 2016) - Genealogy Genealogy for Bonnie Elaine BlaIr (1925 - 2016) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. She was the youngest of six children, all of whom learned to skate at an early age. In 2021, Blair spoke out in opposition to allowing male-to-female transgender athletes to participate in organized athletics.[54]. 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. Looney, Douglas S. "Sprinting to Calgary." The . When Derek Parra set a new world record in the men's 1,500-meter speedskating competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics, h, Paavo Nurmi She would win this championship every year through 1994. She also was a cheerleader and on student council. Blair began to succeed on the international speed skating stage. 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. The coaching switch took place ten months before the 1992 Olympics. Place of Burial: Paintsville, Johnson, Kentucky, United States. [19] Blair held a world record at 500 meters until December 1987 when Christa Rothenburger beat her time at the World Cup. She has five siblings. In 1986, Blair set her first world's record in the 500 meters. After the Olympics, Blair continued her education, studying physical education at Montana Tech University. They settled in Milwaukee, where Blair has spent much of her time on the Bonnie Blair Charitable Gift Fund and as a celebrity representative for Olympic sponsors. [26], Despite her success at the 1988 Olympics, Blair did not enjoy a windfall from endorsements. All of Blair's two sisters and three brothers speed skated competitively because of their father. 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. Recognized as one of track and field history's most accomplished sprinters, Evelyn Ashford is, Moses, Edwin 1955 Encyclopedia.com. [4] At age 7, Blair won her age group at the Illinois Speed Skating Championship. And, as she told Barbara Matson in the Boston Globe, "Crossing that [finish] line was the happiest moment of my life.". After the Albertville games ended, Blair again took the opportunity created by her celebrity. She was the daughter of Charlie and Eleanor Blair, who raised their large Catholic family in Champaign, Illinois. In 1987, she won the World Cup in both the 500 and 1000 meter races. Biography Bonne Blair began competing as a speed skater when she was four years old. Copyright 2023 Web Solutions LLC. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/blair-bonnie. She dominated the 500-meter and 1,000-meter women's events at three consecutive Olympic Games during her career. A short biography of Blair is Cathy Breitenbucher, Bonnie Blair: Golden Streak (1994). Speed skating and also worked for the Olympic Committee. It's fun to set goals, reach goals, reset goals. So far, this channel has garnered over 758.4 million views and more than 1.35 million subscribers. She used a low crouch and had a solid stroke. Petruso, A. Bonnie was born March 18, 1964. After the games ended, she received a number of commercial endorsements that funded her training, including Disney World and other commercials, though these opportunities were not as numerous or long-lived as originally hoped. Phillips, Angus. She is one of the top skaters of her era, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. . Blair returned to the Olympics in 1988 competing in long-track at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. She was raised in Illinois, but she moved to Milwaukee to further her speed-skating career. 12. Blair made the 1984 U.S. Olympic team and competed in the 500-meter event at the Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. . . Jenkins, Sally. Sports Illustrated (January 27, 1988): 236. Sports Illustrated (March 7, 1994): 42. [17], During this time, Blair trained in both short-track and long-track. Though four of Blair's other siblings went on to win national championships, it was Blair who did the best as a competitive speed skater. This sensational run made Blair the top gold medalist at the festival. As the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France, approached, Blair regained her focus on speed skating. Bonnie Parker was born on October 1, 1910. She counts herself lucky in being able to maintain such an active retirement, noting that not all Olympic gold medalists have been as fortunate. She and Apolo Anton Ohno are both world-famous speed skaters. 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. Paavo Nurmi (1897-1973) was one of the greatest distance runners of all time. [24][25] Rothenburger skating first, setting a new world record. American track and field athlete Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. "I'm like, 'She's my mom.' It's never really a thought, and I guess I won't ever really . Discover Bonnie Blair's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Although Ye claimed the crossover cost her the gold, the referee's rejected China's protest. Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964) is a retired American speed skater. Scottish-born prime minister of Great Britain British politician and Prime Minister Tony Blair represented a new era in Parliament and made major changes to the Labour Party along the way. During this last season, she shattered her world record time for the 500-meter sprint twice. She won a number of races as a child, including the Illinois state championship when she was seven. Bonnie Blair, 92, of Dawson Springs, KY, died Friday, January 9, 2004, at 7:13 A.M., at her residence.