Blair, Bonnie

Bonnie Blair

1964-

American speed skater

American speed skater Bonnie Blair won six medals competing in three Winter Olympics Games, the second most medals won by a woman in the Winter Olympic Games (the first was Lydia Skoblikova ). Of the six, five were gold, making Blair the only American woman to ever win five gold medals in the games. Blair was also the first American speed skater to win in more than one Olympic Games (1988, 1992, and 1994). As a speed skater, Blair had exemplary technique which contributed to her success.

Blair was born on March 18, 1964, in Cornwall, New York, the youngest of six children. She was the daughter of Charlie and Eleanor Blair, who raised their large Catholic family in Champaign, Illinois. All of Blair's two sisters and three brothers speed skated competitively because of their father. In fact, Charlie Blair had his children at a competition while his youngest child was being born. 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. Professionally, Charlie Blair was an engineer while Eleanor Blair worked in real estate.

Began Skating

Blair first donned skates at the age of two, and was competing as a speed skater by the age of four. She won a number of races as a child, including the Illinois state championship when she was seven. While Blair focused on speed skating, she also competed in other sports and activities. When she was attending Centennial High School, she competed in track and field events, including 100 meter to 800 meter races, long jump, and triple jump. She also was a cheerleader and on student council.

By the time Blair was fifteen, she decided to make speed skating her sole sport, training in a vigilant and dedicated fashion. At fifteen, Blair was named to the U.S. speed skating team. 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.

Priestner profoundly affected Blair's direction as a speed skater. Before Priestner, Blair only competed in short-track, pack-style racing. That is, races that were conducted with a number of skaters competing against each other in a pack. Olympic speed skating competitions were conducted differently. In Olympic style, skaters skated in pairs against the clock. Priestner had Blair train in the Olympic style on both short and long-track races. The Olympic style favored Blair's small stature and emphasis on technique. From early in her career, Blair's father was convinced that she would win Olympic Gold.

Competed at Olympic Trials

When Blair was sixteen, she competed at her first Olympic trials for the 1980 Winter Olympics. Though she did well at the meet, she did not make the team. Blair wanted to continue to train for the 1984 Olympics and beyond, but had problems getting funding for her training. She received help from the local Champaign community. 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. This allowed Blair to train seriously, including one stint with the U.S. men's speed skating team in Butte, Montana. Blair remained a popular figure in Champaign for many years, and was even given the key to the city. She graduated from Centennial High School, and later took some courses at Parkland Junior College in Champaign.

Blair had more success in 1984, making the U.S. women's speed skating team for the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. She did not medal, but finished eighth in the 500-meter race. 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. Her hard work paid off when in 1985, she won the U.S. sprint championship. She would win this championship every year through 1994. In 1986, Blair set her first world's record in the 500 meters. Blair would also hold a number of world's and American records over the course of her speed skating career.

Blair's success came despite the fact that she was smaller and lighter than an average female speed skater. She was only 5'5" and 125-130 lbs. Blair was forced to rely on superior technique and a ferocious will to win because of her physical limitations. Blair knew how to win and took advantage of it. She used a low crouch and had a solid stroke. Speed skating coach Bob Fenn told Angus Phillips of Washington Post in 1992, "From a technical standpoint, she's the most efficient skater in the whole world. And as far as skating goes, she's got a lot of class."

Won Olympic Gold

Blair began to succeed on the international speed skating stage. In 1987, she won the World Cup in both the 500 and 1000 meter races. 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. She lived up to the hype by winning a gold medal in the 500 meters and a bronze in the 1000 meters. During her gold medal-winning race, she also set a world's record with a time of 39.1 seconds. (She finished fourth in the 1500 meter race.) 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.

During the Olympics, Blair was given the nickname "Bonnie the Blur." 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. Though Blair briefly considered not competing in the 1992 games, she told Douglas S. Looney of Sports Illustrated, "Skating has always been a pleasure and a joy. I love to go fast and create the wind. It's fun to set goals, reach goals, reset goals. I don't see any torture in this at all."

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.

Won Two More Golds

As the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France, approached, Blair regained her focus on speed skating. She was considered the best American hope for a medal, and did not disappoint. She won the first American gold of the games when she won the 500 meter race. 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. Blair also won gold in the 1000 meter race. In both races, she was pushed by Ye Qiaobo of China who earned two silver medals. Blair won the 1000 meter race by only .02 seconds. Ye trained by watching tapes of Blair. Blair's only disappointment was finishing 21st in the 1500 meter race.

After the Albertville games ended, Blair again took the opportunity created by her celebrity. She signed with Advantage International, a sports marketing group, and did a number of commercials endorsements including Jeep, Evian, National Frozen Foods, and Rollerblades. She also began serving on the board for U.S. Speed skating. Training remained her focus, however. Because an indoor training oval, Pettit National Ice Center, opened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Blair moved there from Champaign.

Blair continued to have success on the international level, though she also challenged herself to find ways to win. In 1993 and 1994, she won gold medals at the World Championships in 500 meters. Still Blair changed her training a bit. She hired a different coach, Nick Thometz, who emphasized something different for Blair: explosive drills over strength and distance training. Blair also continued to improve her already great technique. Blair told Brian Cazeneuve of The Sporting News, "I'm the one who puts pressure on myself. I just want to go fast. When the gun goes off, I don't worry about the person next to me. This is an individual sport."

Competed in Last Olympics

When the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer, Norway, came around, Blair was again favored to win. She continued to compete in part because there were only two years between these Olympic Games. (The International Olympic Committee wanted Summer and Winter Olympic Games to alternate every two years.) Though Blair trained for the Olympics like they were any other meet, she dominated the trials in the 500, 1000, and 1500 meter races.

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. They saw Blair win two more golds. She won the 500 meters with a time of 39.1 seconds and the 1000 meters with a time of 1:18.74. For her success, Blair was named the Babe Zaharis Female Amateur Athlete of the Year and sportswoman of the Year by Sports Illustrated for 1994. The victories led to more endorsements, and even more important to Blair, the popularity of speed skating.

Blair's last year as a competitive speed skater was 1995. Though she knew she was retiring, she left on top. 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. Blair broke the 39-second mark by skating it in 38.13 seconds. She also set a record in the 1000 meters with a time of 1:19.3. Blair won the World Sprint Championships, then retired on March 18, 1995, after the competition held on her home ice in Milwaukee. Blair said she quit because there was nothing left for her to prove. As Jere Longman wrote in the New York Times, "Blair has no mountains to climb. Many athletes wait too long, until their skills have begun to melt and slide like snow from a roof. But Blair is going out on top." At her peak, she considered the fastest woman in the world in speed skating. Blair told Shannon Brownlee of Sports Illustrated, "Skating is a joy. It's a solitary sport, one in which you can claim all the rewards as your own. Nobody makes you do it. It's just you."

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: c/o 306 White Pine Rd., Delafield, WI 53018-1124.

Awards and Accomplishments

c. 1971	Won Illinois state championship in speed skating for age group
1985-94	U.S. sprint champion
1986	Set world's record in 500 meters
1987	Won World Cup in 500 meters and 1000 meters
1988	Won gold medal in Olympics speed skating in 500 meters—set world's record—and won bronze in 1000 meters
1989	Won the World Sprint Champions
1992	Won gold medals in 500 meter and 1000 meter at Olympics in speed skating
1993	Won gold in 500 meters at World Championships
1994	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
1995	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
1997	Given Sports Humanitarian Award, World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame

Where Is She Now?

After retiring from skating, Blair had two children (son Grant and daughter Blair), worked as a motivational speaker, and wrote a book about her accomplishments, A Winning Edge (1996). She remained connected to speed skating by serving as a coach and conducting clinics. Her husband, Dave Cruikshank, was also a speed skater and she served as his technical consultant. Blair continued to serve on the board for U.S. Speed skating and also worked for the Olympic Committee. She did some television commentary for speed skating. In addition, Blair was active in charity work and continued to do some commercial endorsements for companies like General Mills products at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

SELECTED WRITINGS BY BLAIR:

(With Greg Brown) A Winning Edge, Taylor, 1996.

FURTHER INFORMATION

books

Christensen, Karen, et al., eds. International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2001.

Johnson, Anne Janette. Great Women in Sports. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1996.

Parry, Melanie, ed. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Chambers, 1997.

Sherrow, Victoria. Encyclopedia of Women and Sports. ABC-CLIO, 1996.

Periodicals

Brand, David. "Bonnie the blue." Time (March 7, 1988): 69.

Brownlee, Shannon. "Yanks on the move." Sports Illustrated (January 27, 1988): 236.

Cazeneuve, Brian. "Skating first." Sporting News (February 14, 1994): S15.

Janofsky, Michael. "Olympic Profile: Bonnie Blair; A Life of Skating Leads to Calgary." New York Times (February 9, 1987): 166.

Janofsky, Michael. "Repeat for Blair." New York Times (February 11, 1992): B11.

Jeansonne, John. "Blair Has a Flair—For Gold." Newsday (February 6, 1994): 16.

Jenkins, Sally. "A Bonnie blare." Sports Illustrated (February 17, 1992): 38.

Jenkins, Sally. "Glory and gloom." Sports Illustrated (February 24, 1992): 18.

Longman, Jere. "Retiring at Top Speed." New York Times (February 19, 1995): section 8, p. 1.

Looney, Douglas S. "Bring back Bonnie." Sports Illustrated (March 6, 1989): 32.

Looney, Douglas S. "Sprinting to Calgary." Sports Illustrated (December 6, 1987): section 2, p. 10.

Matson, Barbara. "Blair has not Slowed Down: Family is her Life, Not Speed skating." Boston Globe (January 9, 2002): F7.

Noden, Merrell. "Catching up with … Bonnie Blair and Johann Olav Koss." Sports Illustrated (January 20, 1997): 4.

Noden, Merrell. "One-woman ice show." Sports Illustrated (January 15, 1990): 92.

Parrish, Paula. "History (Never) Lessens: Bonnie Blair was textbook good, and her legacy still is quoted chapter and verse." Denver Rocky Mountain News (February 15, 2002): 23S.

Phillips, Angus. "Bonnie Blair is a 5-4 Colossus on Skates." Washington Post (January 2, 1992): D3.

Phillips, Angus. "Introspective Blair Rebuffs Outside World in Pursuit of Gold." Washington Post (February 11, 1994): H5.

Reilly, Rick. "To mettle the medal." Sports Illustrated (March 7, 1988): 50.

Rushin, Steve. "Child of innocence." Sports Illustrated (December 19, 1994): 72.

Rushin, Steve. "The last lap." Sports Illustrated (February 27, 1995): 52.

Rushin, Steve. "Time after time." Sports Illustrated (February 7, 1994): 90.

Williams, Lena. "Blair Enjoys Being Olympic Spectator." New York Times (January 16, 2002): D7.

Witteman, Paul A. "Blades of gold." Time (February 24, 1992): 54.

Wolff, Alexander. "Bonnie's bounty." Sports Illustrated (March 7, 1994): 42.

Wolff, Alexander. "Whooosh!." Sports Illustrated (February 28, 1994): 18.

Other

Imperial Oil Web Site. http://www.imperialoil.ca/thisis/publications/review/2001q4 (January 5, 2003).

Sketch by A. Petruso