People said that I could have come back from that triple-triple combination, she said. In 1986 she won the U.S. National ladies figure skating title, becoming the first African American woman to win a non-novice title. Sign Up Log In Messenger Facebook Lite Watch Places Games Marketplace Facebook Pay Oculus Portal Instagram Bulletin Local Fundraisers Services Voting Information Center Groups Groups Directory Locations Page Categories People If that isnt an example of greatness, I dont know what is. However she did not get serious and begin taking lessons until she was nine years old. I wouldnt do it again because I already did it once, she said. We believe that every person's story is important as it provides our community with an opportunity to feel a sense of belonging, share their hopes and dreams. Less than a month after the Olympics, Debi married Brian Vander Hogen, who was a student at the University of Colorado, on March 15, 1988. [3] He received his schooling at Jan van Riebeeck High School in Cape Town, South Africa, and in 1950 played for the Western Province junior tennis team. Debi Thomas at the U. S. Figure Skating Championships, Kansas City, Missouri, January 31, 1985 | Photo: GettyImages, My mother introduced me to many different things, and figure skating was one of them, Debi told ABC Sports. He has also appeared in several independent films, including director Matthew Leutwyler's Road Kill, Dead and Breakfast, and Unearthed. In Colorado, all I had to do was skate and skate and skate. When a police officer arrived, Debi said she had a gun and wanted to hurt herself. Then, on the podium for the awards ceremony, she ignored the rules of sportsmanship, failing to acknowledge Witt, the gold medalist, and Manley, the silver medalist, even when they tried to congratulate her for winning the bronze medal. Olympian mentality is rough because you just get frustrated with how everybody does everything, Debi explained of her behavior. There were no apologies, just explanations. 1997), who plays defensive tackle for California. Debbie seems like a kind soul but like so many famous people she got lost somehow. Mental illness may sometimes happen, anyway, but I do think that, sometimes, it is deliberately fostered by the challenges and rejection that racist assumptions heap on young athletes of color. She already skates most weekends for Stars on Ice and recently, performing a 007 routine to Diamonds are Forever, won the world professional figure skating championship in Landover, Md. His first husband was Brian Vander Hogen(1988-96), then she was married to sports attorney Chris Bequette(1996-98), with whom she has a son. Debi and Jamies only source of income were the social security checks that he received after the death of his wife, and the little commissions they did working with a gold company called Karatbars. She married and divorced Brian Vanden Hogen, but then married a second time to Chris Bequette. Brian Vanden Hogen girlfriend, wife list. Figure Skating Championship and took fifth place in the World Championship. Deborah Janine Thomas, daughter of McKinley Thomas and Janice Skelton, was born in 1967. In 2015, Debi made headlines and grabbed national attention once again when she appeared in an episode of OWNs Iyanla: Fix My Life to made her struggles public. She said Vanden Hogen is a student at the University of Colorado. Thomas attended Stanford University in California while continuing her training in figure skating. The film also featured performances by Zakk Wylde, Jason Bonham, Myles Kennedy, Blas Elias and Nick Catanese. The speaker, a white woman who certainly had no accomplishments to her name like those of Ms. Thomas, referred to Ms. Thomas attitude as one of a loser. As if someone who wins an Olympic bronze medal could ever be considered a loser, never mind the fact that she was also a student at one of the most prestigious and demanding universities in the country, and in one of its most difficult fields. Debi Thomas at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games on February 27, 1988 at the Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada | Photo: GettyImages. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Thomas started skating at the age of five. 1997), who currently plays defensive tackle for Boston . Figure Skating and a World Figure Skating Championship (1986). That is so technically difficult that no other woman even attempted that in her long program. She was in private practice in Richlands, Virginia, but her practice has since closed. After retirement she focused on education, studying to become an orthopedic surgeon, thus she attended Stanford University and the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Take them or leave them. Debi Thomas spent her childhood with her brother in San Jose, California and she was raised by a single mother, as her parents divorced when she was a young girl; both of her parents were computer programming analysts. Vander Ark's second solo release, Angel, Put Your Face On, was released in May 2006, followed by a self-titled third record in January 2008, produced by Bill Szymczyk. | Photo: GettyImages. Alexander Goulds Biography - Is He Married? Debi Thomas at her home in Fountain Valley, July 6, 2006 | Photo: GettyImages. Thomas struggled in 1987 due to Achilles tendonitis, but she still managed to place second in the U.S. Nationals after losing to Jill Trenary. '', See the article in its original context from. You should try doing a triple jump with a hat and a squirt gun.. During the championships Thomas said she had trouble concentrating. The two met at the University of Colorado when Thomas moved there last year to train. In 1996, she married sports attorney, Chris Bequette. She later married Chris Bequette, a sports attorney in 1996, and they had a son before divorcing. Ogden said he believes her fans can relate to her better than if she had won the gold medal. Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter. In 1991 she graduated from Stanford University with a degree in engineering. She earned her bachelors degree in engineering from Stanford University in 1991 and then retired from skating in 1992 to enroll at the Northwestern University Medical School. The couple resides in sout-west Virginia in what is rumoured to be a somewhat difficult relationship. During her career she won numerous prestigious competitions, and became one of the best figure skaters of all time, for which she was inducted into the Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000. In the latest Q ratings for athletes, which indicate a persons marketability, Thomas finished 12th. Brian felt like it was his fault, she said. Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brian_Vander_Ark&oldid=1118262748, Singer-songwriter, guitarist, public speaker, actor, screenwriter, This page was last edited on 26 October 2022, at 00:49. I have often thought about Debbie Thomas, and wondered to what extent that harsh reality shaped her mind. She was also the first African American to earn the U.S. national titles in ladies singles figure skating. Not only that, but the speaker compared Ms. Thomas attitude to the leadership style of Lee Iacocca (a white male, of course), whose mellow style the speaker considered outstanding. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. She draws large ovations at most performances, particularly on the East and West coasts, and said she still receives numerous fan letters. After Ms. Thomas won her bronze medal at the Olympic games, I attended a workshop on leadership styles. ''My husband will travel with me to some of the upcoming skating exhibitions. Figure Skating Hall of Fame and, in 2002, served as a representative for the U.S. Olympic committee at the winter games in Salt Lake City,[2]. Ark joined the band His Boy Elroy as a guitarist.[when?] Its a no-win situation for me, he said in Baltimore. Are Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue Dating? A small donation would help us keep this available to all. In 2016, Brian released an album of story songs with actor/songwriter Jeff Daniels. She was one of the first female skaters to ever complete a triple toe-triple toe combination during the 1980s. Debis business inexperience and the fact that she chose a less populated town to open her first practice, soon led her to fall behind with her bills as she struggled to make end meets. Man, if that one skate goes differently for her at the 1988 Olympics her whole life would have been dramatically different. When she heard one of those typical reporter questions--would you do it all over again?--she laughed. My husband will travel with me on parts of my upcoming skating exhibitions tour. Press Esc to cancel. They have also lived in Denver, CO and Westminster, CO. Brian is related to Tracy Renee Szobody and Eric James Olson as well as 3 additional people. 2. We all are:). Geneagraphie - Families all over the world : Reigning Deposed Extinct. Inducted into the U.S. She answered all of them. 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Human Capital/Human Resources leader with strong experience as both an internal HR business partner and an external human capital consultant to senior leaders. He really tried to make it happen from his standpoint. Debi Thomas is a 55 year old American Skater. Winning both of these titles in the same year earned Thomas the ABCs Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year award in 1986. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. The 8th Annual Black Achievement Awards (1987)as Herself, The Official 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics Video (1988)as Herself / American Figure Skater Bronze Medalist, Bud Greenspan's Favorite Stories of Winter Olympic Glory (2002)as Herself. Brian Vanden Hogen was previously married to Debi Thomas (1988 - 1991). Basically, I got to see two hockey games. People who have organized various shows in which she has performed, and those who have publicized them, and even some of the other skaters, say that she is demanding and temperamental, as if, they say, she expects to be treated as the gold medalist that she never became. I got sick of skating. The first African-American to win a medal at the Winter Olympics (1988). I thought amateur skating was hard, she said. She later appeared in an episode of Iyania: Fix My Life. Thomas went on to become a practicing orthopedic surgeon specializing in hip and knee replacement. Her agent, Jay Ogden of the International Management Group, said that is the reason she seemed so distant during the awards ceremony. Before divorcing, they had a son named Christopher Jules "Luc" Bequette (b. She is best known for being a former figure skater, who won the World Figure Skating Championship in 1986, the Olympic bronze medal in 1988, as well as the US National Championship twice. Figure Skating and a World Figure Skating Championship (1986). Debi lost her bronze medal to the bank, and she doesnt feel bad about it. Thomas, who celebrated her 21st birthday Friday, was married on March 15 in Boulder, Colo., to Brian Vanden Hogen, who turned 23 that day. View the profiles of people named Brian Vanden Hogen. Thomas said she has to go back home and work hard for her exams, so she can enter medical school. Ogden said he believes the only other woman who will have a significant standing in the next Q ratings is sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner. Figure skater Debi Thomas competing in unident. There has been little desire to do that on the part of advertisers. The couple also has a son from the wedlock by the name of Christopher Jules who was born in 1997. She was previously married to Christopher Bequette and Brian Vanden Hogen. Brian Van der Hoeven (Only RP Spanish) See Photos Brian Hogan See Photos Brian Hogan See Photos Loading more results. In 1992, he disbanded Johnny with an Eye to form The Verve Pipe with Brad, drummer Donny Brown and guitarist Brian Stout. I begged my mom to let me start skating.. The two met at the University of Colorado when Thomas. Inducted into the U.S. Her mother, a computer engineer, split from her dad when Debi was 9, and she was raised alongside her brother Richard Taylor in San Jose, California. Debi became a practicing orthopedic surgeon, and in 2006, she was offered an orthopedic fellowship at the Dorr Arthritis Institute in Los Angeles. | Photo: GettyImages. Only the Trusted List can access the following: Leave a message for others who see this profile. Debi started skating at the age of five, but first entered skating competition in 1976 when she was nine years old, and never stopped competing until her retirement in 1991. On March 15, 1988 Debi Thomas married, Brian Vander Hogen in Boulder, Colorado. The gold medal within her grasp, needing only good, not great, scores to win the long program at the Olympic Saddledome and finish ahead of defending champion Katarina Witt of East Germany and Elizabeth Manley of Canada, Thomas gave a disappointing performance and finished third. 2 years later they divorced in 1991. She failed her most challenging trick, consecutive triple jumps, in the first two minutes of the performance, and she lost motivation after that. If you compare what I made before the Olympics and what Im making now, Im doing pretty well, Thomas said. Figure Skating championships, Isabeau Levito battles through the pressure to win U.S. figure skating title, Elliott: Mikaela Shiffrin has more wins than any woman in skiing. Less forgivable was the fact that Thomas, whose greatest attribute besides her athleticism was her competitiveness, all but quit on the ice, going through the motions after it became apparent to her that she was not at her best. My coach really felt that if he could get me out there alone, away from school, that I would be like a robot and do whatever he wanted, she said. And Thomas was a champion of those who believe that skaters should leave the sport with knowledge of something other than camel spins and triple-toe loops. After being detained, a psychological evaluation gave Debi a bipolar disorder diagnosis. He said that she did not mean disrespect to Witt or Manley. At a Baltimore press conference recently during the national championships, the first she has attended as a spectator, she was the same Debi Thomas that she has always been in such situations: intelligent, witty and candid. In the year since, Thomas, 21, has developed a less than flattering reputation within the figure skating world. 'I love the sport and I would like to put something back into it, maybe in a center for young athletes, not necessarily skaters. Your email address will not be published. If you prefer to keep it private, She first got married to Brian Vander Hogenbut got divorced, and later she married to Chris Bequette. Its very human stuff really but there is much more help today than ever before. Find contact's direct phone number, email address, work history, and more. The couple has one son, Christopher Jules, who was born in 1997. Graduated from Northwestern Medical School (1997), Graduated from Stanford University with a degree in engineering, On the cover of Time magazine (February 15, 1988). Even though she gave them a reason not to in Calgary, people still seem to like her. By the time she sent her application to Stanford University, Debi had described herself as invincible., American figure skater (and future Olympian) Debi Thomas, Palo Alto, California, 1987 | Photo: GettyImages. They had a son, Luc Bequette (b. Inside the Figure Skaters' Off-Ice Relationship, Caitlyn Jenner Feels That 'Old Bruce' Still 'Lives Inside Her - Kids Call Her Dad Even After Transition. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000. I went for the opening ceremony, then went back home for a week to train. We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. But she sacrificed whatever she had to assure that her daughter could pursue her goals. They were married a few weeks after the Olympics. Governors and Prime ministers Other Music [ edit] Ark joined the band His Boy Elroy as a guitarist. I am thrilled.'. Newspapers.com makes these newspapers available for the purpose of historical research, and is not responsible for the content of any newspapers archived at our site. We are not speaking here solely of the titles--U.S. champion in 1986 and 1988, world champion in 1986--that she won. As the first black skater to achieve international, or even national, prominence, she was a champion, however reluctant, of minorities. In fact, Thomas began a relationship shortly after arriving in Boulder with a University of Colorado student, Brian Vanden Hogen. She was the first athlete since Tenley Albright in the 1950s to win those titles while attending college. BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Former world figure skating champion Debi Thomas married two weeks ago and kept the news a secret - even from her coach. And although she prepared with two college degrees to face the inevitable downfall that some young athletes meet in their adulthood, nothing went according to her plans. Mini Bio (1) Debi Thomas was born on March 25, 1967 in Poughkeepsie, New York, USA. In 1997 she graduated from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. 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