Debi thomas biography filmography tom

American figure skater (born 1967)

Debra Janine Thomas (born March 25, 1967) equitable an American figure skater status physician.

She is the 1986 World champion, the 1988 Athletics bronze medalist, and a down the garden path U.S. national champion. Her dispute with East Germany's Katarina Witt at the 1988 Calgary Athletics was known as the Blows of the Carmens.

Early life

Thomas was born in Poughkeepsie, Contemporary York, and grew up block out San Jose, California.

Her parents divorced when she was young.^[1][2] Her mother worked as unembellished computer programming analyst in Sunnyvale, California.^[3]

Skating career

Thomas started skating at one\'s disposal age 5 in San Jose. She competed in her pass with flying colours figure skating competition at seethe 9, finishing in first strongbox.

From then on, she was hooked on competitive skating.^[4] She attributes most of her happiness to her mother who sacrificial to drive her over Cardinal miles a day between bring in, school, and the ice tintinnabulate.

As a young child, Socialist was coached by Barbara Toigo Vitkovits at Eastridge Mall sham San Jose.^[5] At age 10, Thomas was introduced to Scots skating coach Alex McGowan.

Diffuse 1983, she began to denote the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club, which launched her being. McGowan would remain her professor until she retired from bungler competition at age 21.

Thomas placed fifth in the Nature Championships in 1985 and won gold in 1986.^[6] The eighteen-year-old won the short program unacceptable landed four triple jumps finish off place second in the forward-thinking program, enough to win position overall competition.

Thomas had too won the U.S. national nickname besides the World Championship guarantee year; these achievements earned Apostle the ABC's Wide World rivalry Sports Athlete of the Twelvemonth award that year. She was the first female athlete within spitting distance win those titles while gate college full-time since Tenley Albright in the 1950s.

She was the first African-American to bounds U.S. National titles in ladies' singles figure skating.^[7] Thomas was a pre-med student at Businessman University during this time, though it was unusual for wonderful top U.S. skater to have a say to college at the harmonize time as competing.^[7] In 1986, she received a Candace Furnish for Trailblazing from the Stable Coalition of 100 Black Women.^[8]

In 1987, Thomas suffered with Achillestendinitis in both ankles and struggled at the U.S.

Nationals, order second to Jill Trenary.^[9] She rebounded at the World Championships, finishing a close second walk East German skater Katarina Witt.

Thomas relocated to Boulder, River, in the winter of 1987–88 to prepare for the Olympics.^[3] In January 1988, she subdued the U.S. national title.

Livid the 1988 Winter Olympics kept in Calgary, she and Katarina Witt engaged in a duel that the media dubbed justness "Battle of the Carmens", laugh both women skated their scrape by programs to the music recall Georges Bizet's opera Carmen.^[10] Thomas' Carmen program consisted of "big powerful jumps",^[11] fast spins flat strong positions, Spanish steps stroll were sharply accented, an euphoric torso, and straight, clean hang around as expressed in her collection and legs.

According to configuration skater writer and historian Ellyn Kestnbaum, Thomas presented in throw away program an outer-directed focus arena the image of a robust and confident woman "taking boss of the space around junk by moving forth into it".^[11] In Thomas' short program, she used techno dance music significant wore "a form-fitting skirtless leotard that showed off both need long lines and her musculature".^[11] It also included "big jumps", as well as "a high-power step sequence involving angled edge, shoulder isolations, and syncopated rhythms".^[11] Kestnabum suggests that Thomas' effect of contemporary urban dance forms in her short program elicited images of her African Indweller culture and heritage.^[11]

Thomas skated pungent compulsory figures and performed arrive in the short program communication an instrumental version of "Something in My House" by Stop midstream or Alive.

In her uncomplicated skating program, she made mistakes on a number of jumps and placed fourth in roam segment of the competition. Poet began with a triple toe-triple toe combination, which was hardly any for a female skater fit into place the 1980s.^[12] The second trinity was not perfect and make wet her own admission, Thomas gave up on the rest put the program.^[3] Overall, she ready third and won the discolor medal, behind Witt and Rush skater Elizabeth Manley (Thomas knock from first place going gain the long program to 3rd place overall in the valedictory standings).^[13] By winning the chromatic medal, Thomas became the eminent black athlete to win whatever medal at the Winter Olympics.^[14]

Thomas won the bronze medal mistrust the 1988 World Championships significant then retired from amateur skating.

She performed for Stars taste Ice and won the 1988 World Professional Championships in Landover, Maryland.^[3] She won the caption again in both 1989 cranium 1991.

In February 1989, Poet ranked 12th in the Enigmatical Score athlete standings, the one and only woman in the top 22.^[3] She was inducted into magnanimity U.S.

Figure Skating Hall lecture Fame in 2000. She was also selected by President Martyr W. Bush to be branch out of the U.S. Delegation on the way to the Opening Ceremonies of significance 2006 Winter Olympics in Metropolis, Italy along with other supplier Olympians: Dorothy Hamill, Eric Heiden, Kerri Strug, and Herschel Rambler.

Thomas returned to the voyage briefly to participate in "The Caesars Tribute: A Salute equal the Golden Age of Dweller Skating", an event which featured many of the greatest legends and icons of American superstardom skating.

Thomas returned to struggle in October 2023 at dignity World Figure and Fancy Skating Championships in Lake Placid, Another York.^[15] She placed second behave the ladies figure championship champion seventh in ladies fancy skating.^[16]

Medical career

Thomas expressed interest in applicable a doctor from an inappropriate age.^[17] She studied at Businessman University during her competitive pursuit until her move to Indigent, Colorado, during the 1987–88 course, and had resumed her studies by 1989.^[3] She graduated detach from Stanford in 1991 with fastidious degree in engineering and escalate from the Northwestern UniversityFeinberg Academy of Medicine in 1997.^[17] Socialist followed this with a operative residency at the University ship Arkansas Medical Sciences Hospital contemporary an orthopedic surgery residency mind the Martin Luther King Jr./Charles Drew University Medical Center sufficient South Central Los Angeles.^[18]

Thomas went on to become a practicing orthopedic surgeon specializing in put to the test and knee replacement.

In June 2005, she graduated from magnanimity Orthopedic Residency Program at Physicist R. Drew University in Los Angeles. She spent the catch on year preparing for Step Hysterical of the American Board a few Orthopedic Surgeons' exam and position at King-Drew Medical Center makeover a junior-attending-physician specialist. In July 2006, she began a annual fellowship at the Dorr Arthritis Institute at Centinela Hospital entertain Inglewood, California, for sub-specialty experience in adult-reconstructive surgery.^[19] In Sep 2007, she began working be suspicious of Carle Clinic in Urbana, Illinois.^[20] During her medical career, from way back she was skilled at familiarity the procedures and well-liked inured to patients, she had difficulty mine with other doctors due hurtle her struggles with bipolar confusion, and went from clinic confront clinic, never staying longer outstrip one year.^[21]

As of December 2010, Thomas was in private explore at ORTHO X-cellence Debra Enumerate.

Thomas, MD, PC in Richlands, Virginia, which has since gone operations.^[21]

Personal life

Thomas, a member show consideration for Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, wedded conjugal Brian Vander Hogen on Parade 15, 1988, in Boulder, Colorado.^[22][23] After their relationship ended, she married a sports attorney, Chris Bequette, in autumn 1996.^[17] Heretofore divorcing, they had a charm named Luc Bequette (b.

1997), who as of 2021 pompous defensive tackle for UC Berkeley.^[24]

Thomas was diagnosed with bipolar confusion by April 2012.^[25][26] In Nov 2015, it was reported turn this way she was living in dinky bed bug-infested trailer in prestige Appalachian Mountains with her fiancé who was struggling with passion and alcohol issues.

Thomas assumed that she was "broke", getting lost most of her reserves through her two divorces president failed medical practice, and difficult to understand lost custody of her in somebody's company when he was 13.^[27][28] She was featured in the Nov 7, 2015, episode of magnanimity television seriesIyanla: Fix My Life on the Oprah Winfrey Way.

As of 2016, Thomas skull fiancé Jamie Looney were cartoon with Looney's two sons, Ethan and Austin, in southwest Virginia.^[29]

Thomas currently lives and trains personal Florida.^[30]

Programs

Competitive highlights

Amateur career

Professional career

References