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Bonnie Blair - Lost Focus As A Skater

After the Olympics, Blair continued her education, studying physical education at Montana Tech University. In 1989, she won the World Sprint Championships, though she did not train as hard as she had for the Olympics. Blair lost focus for a while after the death of her father on December 25, 1989. She stopped training as a skater for a brief period, spending four months training as a cyclist. Blair finished fourth in a national sprint competition for cyclists.

Chronology

1964 Born March 18 in Cornwall, New York
1966 Begins skating
1979 Begins competing as member of national speed skating team
1980 Competes at the Olympic trials, but does not make team
1984 Competes in the Winter Olympic Games
1988 Wins Olympic gold and bronze at Winter Olympic Games
1992 Wins two Olympic golds at Winter Olympic Games
1995 Retires from competitive speed skating; becomes motivational speaker
1996 Marries speed skater Dave Cruikshank on June 23

Related Biography: Coach Cathy Priestner

One of Blair's most influential coaches was Cathy Priestner (later known as Cathy Priestner-Allinger when she married Todd Allinger in 1986). Priestner had been a speed skater since her teen years, winning a national championship within a year of taking up the sport. Priestner had been an Olympic medalist herself, winning silver when she represented Canada at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1976. She was the first Canadian woman to win a medal in speed skating. She also represented Canada in speed skating in the 1972 games in Sapporo, Japan. 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. She also managed the oval built for the Calgary games after the Oympics ended for a number of years.

Another problem for Blair was the lack of competition among the American women speed skaters in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The trials were a breeze for her. The only real competition came internationally, but because of her lack of training in 1989-91, she did not have much success in races in 1990-91. For example, Blair finished fifth in the 1991 World Sprint Championships, though she was also suffering from bronchitis at the time.

Bonnie Blair

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