memorial page for Bonnie Crest Walter Blair (18 Sep 1907-20 Mar 1998), Find a Grave Memorial ID 41060206, citing Oleander Memorial Gardens, Wilmington, New Hanover County . Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964) is a retired American speed skater. I don't see any torture in this at all.". She died on 13 May 1977, in Lima, Allen, Ohio, United States, at the age of 49, and was buried in Wells Mill, Floyd, Kentucky, United States. Blair was the only American to win two medals at these games, and was given the honor of carrying the American flag at the closing ceremonies. To become an Olympic champion, Blair needed further training as well as racing experience on the long track. [4] At age 7, Blair won her age group at the Illinois Speed Skating Championship. When the gun goes off, I don't worry about the person next to me. 5-time Olympic gold medalist speedskater Bonnie Blair Cruikshank is still hitting the ice at 57-years-old. She was the daughter of Charlie and Eleanor Blair, who raised their large Catholic family in Champaign, Illinois. Although Ye claimed the crossover cost her the gold, the referee's rejected China's protest. 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. At the beginning of the 2002 Winter Olympics, Blair again took the spotlight when she became the last torchbearer on the Wisconsin segment of the Olympic torch run in January. Before American speed skaters Eric Heiden and Bonnie Blair raced to fame as Olympic champions, Soviet sp, Ashford, Evelyn Learn How rich is She in this year and how She spends money? Occupation Singer Family Father - David Glyndwr Hopkins Mother - Elsie Hopkins She became almost as well known for her entourage of family and friendsa group deemed the Blair Bunch that had grown to more than 60 people by 1994who went with her to each of her Olympic competitions to cheer her on from the stands. Her life has been a furious blur of flashing blades,. [5]:44 The breathing problem lingered through the 1991 World Sprint Championships where she finished fifth. [2][25] Blair's third and final event of the 1988 Winter Olympics was the 1,500 meters, in which she placed fourth. Discover Bonnie Blair's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. She won gold at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary. [1][3] Already a hobby for her siblings, Bonnie first tried skating at age two. Sports Illustrated (February 17, 1992): 38. 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. Bonnie Hoellein - Net Worth 2023. Notable Sports Figures. In early 1995, she set another world's record in the 500 meters skating on the Olympic oval in Calgary where she won her first medal. Encyclopedia.com. World class track-and-field athlete "One-woman ice show." Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964) is a retired American speed skater. "Blair, Bonnie She dominated the sprint events at three Olympic Games (1988, 1992, and 1994), winning five gold medals and one bronze. Blair finished fourth in a national sprint competition for cyclists. The youngster was named for a close family friend, who was also a skater. After a decade in the broadcast booth working as a commentator for the Olympics for the CBC and CTV, Priestner later became associated with the Olympics as a member of the organizing committee for the Calgary games in 1988, Salt Lake City in 2002, and Turin, Italy in 2006. Facebook gives people the power to. [34][35] At the 1993 World Sprint Championships, Blair did not win any of her four races finishing behind rival Ye Qiabo. [7], 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. In 1992, Blair received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. 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. She was considered the best American hope for a medal, and did not disappoint. [12][13] She failed to medal and finished eighth in the 500 meters. [19] Blair held a world record at 500 meters until December 1987 when Christa Rothenburger beat her time at the World Cup. [51][52] Grant Cruikshank played hockey at Colorado College and as of 2021 for the University of Minnesota. 9.04M subscribers Subscribe to @olympics: http://oly.ch/Subscribe Highlights as Bonnie Blair takes part in her third Olympic Games. Blair's athletic achievements, combined with her friendly, down-to-earth manner, earned her recognition from journalists as an "All-American girl." Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Denver Rocky Mountain News (February 15, 2002): 23S. 1994); Steve Rushin, "Child of Innocence: Bonnie Blair Grew up with the Ideal That CompetingNot Just WinningIs Everything," Sports Illustrated (19 Dec. 1994); and Steve Rushin, "The Last Lap: After Racing to Another World Title, Bonnie Blair Leaves the U.S. She also won two gold medals at the '92 . Blair won her first gold medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics held in Calgary, Canada. [4] At age 15, Blair tried out for the national team, earning a spot on her first attempt. The Olympic style favored Blair's small stature and emphasis on technique. "The kids eat cereal on top of it," she told Parrish, "but it's got a heavy top, so nothing gets underneath." American track and field athlete "Bonnie's bounty." The . To win the 500-meter event, Blair beat Chinese skater Ye Qiaobo by 18 hundredths of a second. . Celebs Wiki Bonnie Blair fans also viewed: Her death was announced in a statement that. . She signed with Advantage International, a sports marketing group, and did a number of commercials endorsements including Jeep, Evian, National Frozen Foods, and Rollerblades. [5]:45 Blair also began to pick-up more endorsements, including sports marketing group Advantage International. American speed skater Bonnie Blairwas born on the 18 March 1953in Cornwall, New Yorkto Eleanor and Charlie Blair. The following summer Blair moved to Butte, Montana, where she enrolled at the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/blair-bonnie, "Blair, Bonnie For Blair, a skater in the prime of her career, the new schedule was an opportunity to try again for Olympic gold. After the Olympics, Blair continued her education, studying physical education at Montana Tech University. 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. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964) is a retired American speed skater. Wolff, Alexander. Jeansonne, John. "I'm like, 'She's my mom.' It's never really a thought, and I guess I won't ever really . Serendipitously, Milwaukee opened a new indoor skating rink in 1992, allowing her to train there all year. Parrish, Paula. [39] On March 18, 1995, she retired. Professionally, Charlie Blair was an engineer while Eleanor Blair worked in real estate. She did some television commentary for speed skating. That's where Bonnie, born in Illinois, moved to train. Most of all, she told Karen Rosen in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution in 1998, "I'm really grateful for VCRs so I can go back and relive it. Witteman, Paul A. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 6, 2002; February 18, 2002. Blair returned to the Olympics in 1988 competing in long-track at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. Blair also continued to improve her already great technique. Address: c/o 306 White Pine Rd., Delafield, WI 53018-1124. Bonnie Blair Olympic Legend - Part 9 - Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Film | Olympic History 22,552 views Jan 7, 2015 99 Dislike Save Olympics 9.04M subscribers Subscribe to @olympics:. Blair won events at 1984, 1985 and 1986 short-track world championships and was the 1986 overall short-track world champion. American speed skater ." Sports Illustrated (February 27, 1995): 52. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, winning five gold medals and one bronze medal. The victories led to more endorsements, and even more important to Blair, the popularity of speed skating. Charlie had dreamed of Bonnie becoming an Olympic speed skater. During this last season, she shattered her world record time for the 500-meter sprint twice. Now a world-class speed skater, Blair went on to set a world speed skating record in 1987, racing 500 meters in 39.43 seconds. As the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France, approached, Blair regained her focus on speed skating. Siblings. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Bonnie E Blair of Texas was born c. 1944. [1] Her godmother is Canadian speed skater Cathy Priestner. She went on to ISU to get her degree in criminal justice. 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. Bonnie worked at the Sleezer Home in Freeport until retirement in 2016. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, and in her Olympic career won five gold medals and one bronze medal. Their names are Jeff and Bonnie.. How many siblings does. ." So, the police department in Champaign stepped in to raise money for her trip, holding a series of raffles and bake sales. This is an individual sport.". Rushin, Steve. Boston Globe (January 9, 2002): F7. Omissions? The 53-year-old champion has stayed close to the sport, serving on the Pettit's board of directors and promoting Milwaukee, which is hosting. "I just thought it was the right time," she said of her retirement to [15] In May 1985, at a time when U.S. speed skating lacked unity, U.S. International Speedskating Association replaced national team coach Dianne Holum with Mike Crowe. She has been married to Dave Cruikshank since June 23, 1996. "Child of innocence." 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. Cazeneuve, Brian. [28] The win made Blair the first U.S. woman to win a world sprint championship in nearly a decade. Bonnie Blair Cruikshank is our local Olympic superstar: five time gold medalist, six medals overall. [3] She participated in her first skating meet at age 4. Recognized as one of track and field history's most accomplished sprinters, Evelyn Ashford is, Moses, Edwin 1955 Overall, Blair won 4 of 18 women's medals at the 1987 World Cup; East German skaters, including Rothenburger, won 13. . Bonnie Blair was born on 18 March, 1964 in Cornwall, New York, United States, is an American speed skater. A year later she captured her first World Short-Track Championship by winning three of the four events. She entered her first competition at age four and won her first race at age seven. 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. Bonnie Blair Dream, Distance, Accomplishment 11 Copy quote I never could have achieved the success that I have without setting physical activity and health goals. She lived up to the hype by winning a gold medal in the 500 meters and a bronze in the 1000 meters. Corrections? login . Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. "The last lap." [21][22] 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. This victory was bittersweet for Blair, since she knew it was to be the last Olympics in which she would compete. [20] Blair also proved she could beat East-German world champion Karin Enke-Kania in head-to-head match-ups. Bonnie Blair, 92, of Dawson Springs, KY, died Friday, January 9, 2004, at 7:13 A.M., at her residence. While Blair focused on speed skating, she also competed in other sports and activities. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. All these elder siblings became a canopy of extra moms and dads under which Bonnie grew up. She is one of the top skaters of her era, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Blair dedicated her gold medal to her father, Charlie, who had died from lung cancer two years earlier. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. [23] 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. By the time of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Alberta, Blair was regarded as one of the hopes for the future of American speed skating. ABC-CLIO, 1996. I just want to go fast. [2] Blair's family friends in the stands, affectionately known as the "Blair Bunch," became a staple of her competitive career. Blair was also the first American speed skater to win in more than one Olympic Games (1988, 1992, and 1994). 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. ." Thus, the next Winter Games would be held in February 1994. Moving on, she has a net worth of approximately $1.5 million dollars. "Blair, Bonnie Training remained her focus, however. Jenkins, Sally. She was a pupil at Jefferson Middle School and Centennial High School. At the time, Blair trained in both short-track and long-track speed skating. 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 Blair, whose stage and screen career spanned eight decades, died early on Thursday morning. Also at the 1988 Olympics, Blair won the bronze medal for the 1,000-meter event. She also was a cheerleader and on student council. Copyright 2023 Web Solutions LLC. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Blair was born on March 18, 1964, in Cornwall, New York, the youngest of six children. She also tried her hand at gymnastics for a while. [11] Her time was only 0.02 seconds faster than Ye. 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 came from a family of avid skaters and began entering races when she was four years old. But Blair is going out on top." [20] Blair continued on to the 1995 World Championships in her adopted home town of Milwaukee. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, winning five gold medals and one bronze medal. A new record and a gold medal At the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary, she watched as Christa Rothenburger broke the world record at 500m. Encyclopedia.com. When Blair was sixteen, she competed at her first Olympic trials for the 1980 Winter Olympics. Bonnie graduated from Warren High School in 1969. (She finished fourth in the 1500 meter race.) She hired a different coach, Nick Thometz, who emphasized something different for Blair: explosive drills over strength and distance training. . The Life Summary of Bonnie. [28] At the event, Blair won the 500 meters twice and finished third and second in two 100 meters races for an overall victory. "He's the hardest worker on the team," Blair later told Angus Phillips in the Washington Post, "and he got me into that, too. [7][9], Blair made her international competitive debut at the 1984 World Sprinting Championships where she placed tenth. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. [24] Blair responded to the challenge with her best start ever in the 500 meters, winning the gold medal in world record time of 39.10 seconds. How many siblings does Bonnie Blair have? [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. Phillips, Angus. [5]:44, The 1990-1991 season had setbacks for Blair. . 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. She won the first American gold of the games when she won the 500 meter race. Mary Blair was 19 when her youngest sibling, Bonnie, was born. Bonnie Kathleen Blair was born on March 18, 1964, in the Hudson River town of Cornwall, New York, and grew up in Champaign, Illinois. With the oval in Milwaukee closed in the off-season, the best [36], 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)[35] races. "Time after time." [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. Wolff, Alexander. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Her final, record-breaking time for the 500-meter sprint was 38.99 seconds. 47 No. All of Blair's two sisters and three brothers speed skated competitively because of their father. 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. Her win in the 500-meter event broke the world record, which had been set only minutes before by the East German skater Christa Rothenburger. Bonnie Blairwas raised in Champaign, Illinois. [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. She began training with Cathy Priestner, who had won a silver medal in speed skating for Canada in the 1976 games, at the University of Illinois rink. In addition to her ongoing endorsement commitments, Blair serves as a sports commentator on the ABC television network and sits on the board of directors of the U.S. speed skating team. Her husband, Dave Cruikshank, was also a speed skater and she served as his technical consultant. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. As Blair approached the final 400 meters, Mueller gave the signal. Russian speed skater 1958- Cycling became part of Blair's speed skating training as both sports utilized the same muscle groups. To celebrate, she climbed into the stands, still wearing her skates, to hug her family and friends. In 1989, she won the World Sprint Championships, though she did not train as hard as she had for the Olympics. . Blair lives in Delafield, Wisconsin, with her husband and their son Grant and daughter Blair. [50] Blair and Cruikshank have two children: a son, Grant, and daughter, Blair. Priestner had been a speed skater since her teen years, winning a national championship within a year of taking up the sport. Sports Illustrated (March 6, 1989): 32. She also set a record in the 1000 meters with a time of 1:19.3. In the summer of 1991 Blair resumed full-time training back in Milwaukee under her new coach, Peter Mueller. "Introspective Blair Rebuffs Outside World in Pursuit of Gold." She continued to compete in part because there were only two years between these Olympic Games. When Bonnie Blair was born on 9 August 1914, in Letcher, Kentucky, United States, her father, William Blair, was 31 and her mother, Delia Pratt, was 35. She was the most decorated Winter Olympian in U.S. history when she retired in 1995. private siblings' names; private children's names (1) spouse's name and marriage information; It's a solitary sport, one in which you can claim all the rewards as your own. Sports Illustrated named Blair their Sportswoman of the Year for 1994. As Jere Longman wrote in the New York Times, "Blair has no mountains to climb. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2001. Cruikshank's mother is five-time Olympic gold medalist Bonnie Blair and her dad is four-time Olympian Dave Cruikshank. At the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, Blair again won both the 500- and 1,000-meter races. 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. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures, Skoblikova, Lydia It was another first for a female athleteno other woman had ever won five Olympic gold medals for individual events. Looney, Douglas S. "Bring back Bonnie." Bonnie Parker first met Clyde Barrow through a mutual friend in January 1930, when Bonnie was 19 years old. "Catching up with Bonnie Blair and Johann Olav Koss." Blair trained every morning before school and her discipline paid off; at age fifteen she qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials, but narrowly missed making the team. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [37] By 1994, Blair's hometown of Champaign had renamed one of its streets Bonnie Blair Drive. She entered the Winter Games in Albertville, France, as the favorite in both events. Place of Burial: Paintsville, Johnson, Kentucky, United States. After this, at the age of 31, she felt she was ready to retire from competitive skating. Bonnie Parker was born on October 1, 1910. 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. Born December 29, 1911, in Hopkins County, KY, she was the daughter of the late Thomas Monroe Dockery and Thurman Fox Dockery. When training in Milwaukee, she enrolled at Parkland College but did not graduate. bonnie blair siblings.