Jill Marilynn Watson (born March 29, 1963, in Bloomington, Indiana)[1] is an American retired pair skater and coach. With her partner Peter Oppegard, she is the 1988 Olympic bronze medalist and a three-time U.S. national champion.
| Jill Watson | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | March 29, 1963 Bloomington, Indiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 4 ft 11 in (150 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Watson was initially paired with Burt Lancon, with whom she won two national bronze medals in 1983 and 1984. She began competing with Oppegard in 1985. In their career, Watson and Oppegard won three national titles, a world bronze medal, an Olympic bronze medal, and various other medals. During Watson and Oppegard's free skate at the 1988 Olympics, a photographer dropped his camera bag onto the ice and an usher walked onto the ice to pick it up while the pair was performing an overhead lift on the other side of the rink.[2]
She is now a coach at AZ Ice in the United States. [1] She coached Rena Inoue/John Baldwin for five seasons.[3]
Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2004.[4]
Results edit
Pairs with Peter Oppegard edit
| International | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 84–85 | 85–86 | 86–87 | 87–88 |
| Winter Olympics | 3rd | |||
| World Championships | 4th | 6th | 3rd | 6th |
| Fujifilm Trophy | 1st | |||
| NHK Trophy | 2nd | |||
| Skate America | 1st | |||
| National | ||||
| U.S. Championships | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st |
Pairs with Burt Lancon edit
| International | ||
|---|---|---|
| Event | 1982–83 | 1983–84 |
| Winter Olympics | 6th | |
| World Championships | 11th | WD |
| Skate America | 2nd | |
| National | ||
| U.S. Championships | 3rd | 3rd |
| WD = Withdrew | ||
References edit
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jill Watson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 17, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
- ^ Janofsky, Michael (February 17, 1988). "Soviet Skaters Prevail in Pairs". The New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ^ "U.S. Figure Skating Bio for Rena Inoue & John Baldwin". Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2006-04-27.
- ^ "HickokSports.com - History - Figure Skating Halls of Fame". Archived from the original on 2002-02-23. Retrieved 2006-04-04.