Frank Thomas

Turner Notable Sports Figures
Chronology
1962 Born April 10 in Rochester, New York
1979 Becomes U.S. National Champion in short-track speedskating
1981 Leaves speedskating for lounge singing
1988 Returns to skating competitively
1992 Albertville Winter Olympics, wins the silver medal in the 3000
meter race and the gold in the 500 meter sprint
1992 Graduates from Northern Michigan University with honors,
degree in computer systems
1993 Retires from speedskating and joins the Ice Capades.
1993 Fired from the Ice Capades and begins training for 1994
Olympics
1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, wins gold in 500 meter race
and bronze in 3000 meter relay
1994 Retires to be with husband and open a fitness center in New
York
1998 Comes out of retirement to defend her title in the Olympics but
fails to get a medal in Nagano Olympics
1999 Begins to repair her image by promoting causes close to the
heart, including young athletes, mental health charities and the
American Heart Association
cuit, quickly garnering the U.S. championship. But there
was one big problem that all of her determination couldn’t
overcome; the Winter Olympics, a goal so many
young athletes aspire to, did not include short-track
speedskating in its lineup. Disillusioned with the sport,
she left it for another love, music. Under the name Nikki
Newland, she performed as a lounge singer around the
United States. But after a few years passed, speedskating
was again beckoning to her. The decision to compete
again got a lot easier when the Olympic committee finally
saw fit to include short-track speedskating in the winter
Olympics of 1992. Even though Turner had found
some success in her singing career she decided to get
back into competitive skating at twenty-six years old.
There were many people who had serious doubts
about Turner’s ability to stage a comeback at her age.
But she decisively overcame the skepticism by quickly
qualifying to compete in the 1992 Winter Olympics in
Albertville, France. After dreaming of the Olympics
throughout her childhood, she didn’t want to miss the
debut of her sport as an international competition. Her
performance was almost perfect. She won the gold in the
500 meter race by 4/100th of a second and helped the
U.S. team win the silver in the 3000 meter relay, showing
off her incredible short sprints of speed to the world.
A Horse Race on Ice
Turner developed a reputation as a tough competitor
over the course of her interesting career, some would say
a little too tough. Turner’s own perception of her sport
sums it up best. “I describe it as a horse race on ice with a
lot of passing and position changes,” she told Sara Walker
of Sports Illustrated for Kids. “There are tight, fast turns
and lots of spills.” Indeed, speedskating on an Olympic
level can see the athlete hitting thirty-five miles per hour
on the ice, the kind of speed that usually requires a seat-
1650
Awards and Accomplishments
1979 U.S. national champion, short-track speedskating
1992 Gold medal in 500 meter sprint, Albertville Winter Olympics
1992 Silver medal in 3000 meter relay, Albertville Winter Olympics
1994 Gold in 500 meter sprint, Lillehammer Winter Olympics
1994 Bronze in 3000 meter relay, Lillehammer Winter Olympics
1999 Named to U.S. Speedskating Gold Council, created to promote
the sport and inspire speedskaters to achieve Olympic
ambitions
belt. The sport can get very physical, with skaters jostling
for position with cunning and, many times, elbows. Some
skaters would argue that part of the sport is getting away
with whatever device you can to grab the lead and Turner
always embraced that philosophy.
The infamous example of this reputation was in the
Lillehammer Olympic Games in 1994 when, among
other things, Turner crossed skates on the course with
favorite and champion, Nathalie Lambert. Lambert was
knocked out of contention as a result. Later in the
games, after settling for the silver behind Turner in the
500 meter sprint, China’s Zhang Yanmei stormed off the
ice and threw her bouquet on the track, frustrated and
upset by what she thought was an illegal shove by Turner
during the competition. It was reported in Macleans,
that when Zhang was asked in a news conference if
Turner was the sport’s dirtiest skater she was quick to
answer, “Yes. Absolutely.” Turner was hurt by this but
defended herself by saying she was simply very competitive
and that the others were upset because their performances
had been so dismal. “It’s nothing new. It’s an
ongoing thing,” she told Leigh Montville of Sports Illustrated.
“They say I’m too aggressive. They’re not used
to someone fighting for the turns the way I do.”
Later in the competition Turner went up against
Zhang one last time in the 1000-meter race. She needed
to place second to qualify for the finals, but after what
appeared to be a brilliant victory on her part, she was
disqualified for cross tracking. Cross tracking is a difficult
call for a referee to make since it means one competitor
illegally prevented another competitor from
passing; a subjective call that is always open for debate.
Many believe this was just a way for the Olympic officials
to punish Turner for what she was accused of a
couple of nights prior. Turner, at age thirty-one, had
planned to leave the sport for the last time in the world
championships in England. But after her experience at
the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics she decided it was time
to go home. “I have a husband and a life,” she told
Montville. “I don’t want to be around these people. The
Olympics were fine, but this day was not fun.”
As if to prove her talent she went on to race pro hockey
player Al Lafrate of the Washington Capitals in a post-
Olympics exhibition race. Lafrate was one of the fastest
skaters in the league at the time, but Turner beat him easily.