1980 OLYMPICS — Lake Placid


Ladies competitor Lisa-Marie Allen missed the bus to one of her prac- tices, so she caught a ride to the arena with the U.S. hockey team en route to their medal-winning game, sitting next to goalie Jim Craig. At the conclusion of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, Allen and fellow U.S. Olympians rode Air Force One to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Jimmy Carter at the White House. Allen was reunited with her hockey pals at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City when they participated in the Opening Ceremony and she was an assistant choreographer for Sarah Kawahara.


OLYMPIC RECORD BOOK


Since figure skating first made its Olympic debut in 1908, the United States has been leaving its mark in the history books, win- ning at least one figure skating medal at the last 17 consecutive Olympic Games. Here are some other Olympic records currently held by the United States:


1994 OLYMPICS — Lillehammer


Figure skating team leader Gale Tanger’s father was born in Norway and still has family in the country. Her father found housing in Hamar for the parents and friends of U.S. figure skaters and speedskaters. First alternate Michelle Kwan was brought to Norway on the chance she might be called upon to compete. Kwan and her father, Danny, stayed at the Hamar apart- ment of Tanger’s aunt Gunvor, since only official Olympic team members were permitted to stay in the Olympic village.


1994 OLYMPICS — Lillehammer


One thing often forgotten about the Olympics in Norway is that the figure skating competition didn’t actually take place in Lillehammer. It took place in Hamar, a town about 40 miles away, which had its own small Olympic village that was unsophisticated compared to today’s Olympic villages. The athletes had to make their way over snow and ice to get inside. Soon after arriving, two-time U.S. men’s champion Scott Davis was navigating an icy corner when he slipped and fell. He looked up and saw speedskater Dan Jansen, who helped the extremely embarrassed Davis get up. Most of the members of the U.S. figure skating team stayed there — on the second floor of the four-story dormitory-like building. Each skater had his or her own small room, but they shared a communal bathroom in the middle of the floor.


1998 OLYMPICS — Nagano


The Internet was pretty new back in 1998, and the AT&T Internet Lounge was pretty cool for the athletes. Ice dancer Charles Butler, who skated with Jessica Joseph, totally enjoyed spending time surfing the net. A couple of months prior to the Olympics, Joseph and Butler had become the first American ice dancers to win gold at the World Junior Championships. Surprisingly, Butler wasn’t one for meditating or intense preparation before competing. He’d grab a slice of pizza (no joke) about 60 minutes before they skated and then about 15 minutes prior to competing he would run up and down the stairs to warm up. While Butler’s regimen drove Joseph crazy, it relaxed him and put him in the mood to compete.


Most Olympic figure skating titles by country: • Unites States: 14 (7 men’s, 7 ladies)


• *Soviet Union: 13 (1 men, 8 pairs, 4 ice dance)


• *Russia: 11 (4 men, 4 pairs, 3 ice dance)


Most Olympic figure skating medals by country: • United States: 46 (14 gold, 16 silver, 16 bronze)


• *Soviet Union: 30 (13 gold, 11 silver, 6 bronze)


• Canada: 22 (4 gold, 7 silver, 11 bronze)


*The Soviet Union last competed in the 1992 Olympic Winter Games. The Commonwealth of Indepen- dent States (CIS) competed in the 1992 World Figure Skating Cham- pionships. Russia and Ukraine be- gan competing as separate nations at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games.


Youngest Olympic champions: Ladies: • Tara Lipinski (USA), 15 (1998) – Date of birth: 6/10/1982


• Sonja Henie (NOR), 15 (1928) – Date of birth: 4/8/1912


• Oksana Baiul (UKR), 16 (1994) – Date of birth: 11/16/1977


2002 OLYMPICS — Salt Lake City


Skaters are always looking for quiet spots in busy Olympic arenas to focus and prepare for their competitive performances. The day of the men’s free skate, Timothy Goebel sought refuge in the ladies locker room, which was much less crowded and much quieter than the men’s. After winning the bronze medal, Goebel found a much noisier spot to hang out — the bar at the Hotel Monaco.


Men: • Dick Button (USA), 18 (1948) – Date of birth: 7/18/1929


• Alexei Urmanov (RUS), 20 (1994) – Date of birth: 11/17/1973


• Wolfgang Schwartz (AUT), 20 (1968) – Date of birth: 9/14/1947


Most Olympic medals won by a U.S. skater: • Beatrix Loughran: 3 (2 silver, 1 bronze) — Loughran is the only U.S. skater to win three Olympic medals (ladies silver in 1924, ladies bronze in 1928, pairs silver in 1932)


SKATING 19


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