Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964) is a retired American speed skater. She is one of the top skaters of her era, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, winning five gold medals and one bronze medal.
Blair made her Olympic debut in Sarajevo in 1984 where she finished eighth in the 500 meters. At the time, Blair trained in both short-track and long-track speed skating. She won the 1986 short-track world championship. Blair returned to the Olympics in 1988 competing in long-track at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. There she won her first Olympic gold medal in the 500 meters and a bronze medal in the 1,000 meter. Blair won two gold medals in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and her final two Olympic gold medals at the 1994 Lillehammer games. Blair continued competing through 1995 when the World Championships were held in Milwaukee, finally retiring in March 1995.
After retiring from speed skating, Blair became a motivational speaker. 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.
Blair was born in Cornwall, New York to Charlie and Eleanor Blair. She was the youngest of six children. Her godmother is Canadian speed skater Cathy Priestner. The family moved to Champaign, Illinois when Bonnie was a toddler. Bonnie first tried skating, already a hobby for her siblings, at age two. She participated in her first skating meet at age 4. Early on, Blair competed in "pack style," or short track speed skating, where several skaters race on the ice at once. At age 7, Blair won her age group at the Illinois Speed Skating Championship. She attended Jefferson Middle School and later Champaign Centennial High School In addition to skating, Blair was also a cheer leader and a member of the student council.
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. At age 15, Blair tried out for the national team, earning a spot on her first attempt. With her increased focus on the 1984 Olympics, Blair went to train in Europe. To finance the expense of training in Europe, the Champaign Policemen's Benevolent Association began helping to sponsor Blair. She completed her high school diploma through the mail in 1982. She moved to the Milwaukee area to train with the United States national speed skating team, living with a family friend while she trained. Blair took classes at Parkland College, although college classes were less of a priority than training and she did not receive a degree.
Early career and first Olympics (1984–1986)
Blair made her international competitive debut at the 1984 World Sprinting Championships where she placed tenth. Later that year, Blair appeared at her first Olympic games at age 19 in Sarajevo. 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. She failed to medal and finished eighth in the 500 meters. The U.S. failed to win any speed skating medals at the 1984 Olympics. After the 1984 Olympics, Blair worked closely with coach Mike Crowe to improve her skating skills to compete with the powerful East German skaters.
A strong performance at the United States International Skating Association Metric All-Around Championships, held in West Allis, Wisconsin, earned Blair a spot on the U.S. long track women's sprint team for the 1985 World Championships. Blair won both the 500 meter and 1500 meter at the West Allis event, and was considered one of the U.S. team's strongest medal contenders. On the 1985-1986 World Cup Circuit, Blair finished fourth in four distances: the 500 meter, 1,000 meter, and 1,500 meter. 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.
During this time, Blair trained in both short-track and long-track. Blair won events at 1984, 1985 and 1986 short-track world championships and was the 1986 overall short-track world champion.
Rise and becoming an Olympic medalist (1987–1989)
Early in 1987, Blair won World Cup titles in the 500 and 1,000 meters. She followed up her World Cup titles in by setting her first world record in the 500 meters with a time 39.43 seconds. Blair also proved she could beat East-German world champion Karin Enke-Kania in head-to-head match-ups. Although Blair was four inches shorter than Enke-Kania, Blair's technique and fast start time made her a formidable competitor. Blair held a world record at 500 meters until December 1987 when Christa Rothenburger beat her time at the World Cup. Blair, under the weather with a cough and cold, finished second in the event. Overall, Blair won 4 of 18 women's medals at the 1987 World Cup; East German skaters, including Rothenburger, won 13.
At the December 1987 U.S. speed skating trials for the 1988 Winter Olympics, Blair led the women's field in the 500,1,000, and 1,500 meters, securing her place on the U.S. Olympic team, as expected. 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. 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.
Blair went on to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, where her first event was the 500 meters. Rothenburger skating first, setting a new world record. 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. For her second event of the games, Blair had a personal best and briefly set an Olympic record in the 1,000 meters. Two of Blair's competitors, who skated after her, subsequently beat her time; thus Blair won the bronze in the 1,000 meters. Blair's third and final event of the 1988 Winter Olympics was the 1,500 meters, in which she placed fourth. Blair's family friends in the stands, affectionately known as the "Blair Bunch," became a staple of her competitive career. To end the games, Blair was chosen to carry the American flag at the closing ceremonies.
Despite her success at the 1988 Olympics, Blair did not enjoy a windfall from endorsements. Holding Blair back from more advertisements was both her choice of sports, which was thought to be less marketable, and ABC's coverage of the games, which failed to resonate with viewers. Blair also took a break from skating, enrolling in Montana Technological University. She skipped the first two World Cup events of the 1989 season. Blair was back to competing later in the season and won the 1989 World Sprint Championships held in Heerenveen, Netherlands. At the event, Blair won the 500 meters twice and finished third and second in two 100 meters races for an overall victory. The win made Blair the first U.S. woman to win a world sprint championship in nearly a decade.
Following the 1988 Olympics, Blair also tried track cycle racing, and was coached by former speed skater and cycling world champion Connie Paraskevin. Cycling became part of Blair's speed skating training as both sports utilized the same muscle groups. She made her competitive cycling debut in June 1989 at the Sundance Juice Sparkler Grand Prix. After placing fourth at U.S. Nationals and missing the opportunity to compete at the World Championships, Blair opted to give up competitive cycling and focus solely on speed skating.
Repeat Olympic gold (1990–1992)
The 1990–1991 season had setbacks for Blair. She contracted a severe case of bronchitis that affected her breathing. The breathing problem lingered through the 1991 World Sprint Championships where she finished fifth. As confidence in coach Crowe had waned in the lead up to the 1988 Olympics, Blair helped to recruit Peter Mueller to coach the U.S. team. The coaching switch took place ten months before the 1992 Olympics. Training with Mueller in the summer before the Olympics, Blair regained her competitive edge.