Retrospective: The 1988 Olympics

[essence_of_soy]

But a Manley Meltdown was not a rare occurrence. Trenary definitely had a chance for a medal.

If memory serves me correctly, Sports Illustrated in their medal predictions listed Witt for gold, Thomas for silver, and TRENARY for bronze.

[Clay]

Maybe should start a different thread, but I was able to get some of the Olympic results through the way back web. It would probably be best to back these results up on your own computer. I wasn't able to get all of the results. The official reports don't even list ordinals like this!
For example
http://web.archive.org/web/200710240...igure_w_ex.htm

[Alex Forrest]

Maybe should start a different thread, but I was able to get some of the Olympic results through the way back web. It would probably be best to back these results up on your own computer. I wasn't able to get all of the results. The official reports don't even list ordinals like this!
For example
http://web.archive.org/web/200710240...igure_w_ex.htm

Thanks for posting that url, Clay. Zayak sure was hosed there in Sarajevo, wasn't she.

[snoopysnake]

If memory serves me correctly, Sports Illustrated in their medal predictions listed Witt for gold, Thomas for silver, and TRENARY for bronze.

IIRC they predicted KADAVY as the bronze medalist.

[DarrellH]

Thanks for posting that url, Clay. Zayak sure was hosed there in Sarajevo, wasn't she.

Zayak had seemed to fall out of favor. TPTB were seemingly all too happy to embrace skaters perceived to be more graceful and refined.

[Vash01]

IIRC they predicted KADAVY as the bronze medalist.

That's my recollection too.

[Alex Forrest]

IIRC they predicted KADAVY as the bronze medalist.

Houston Chronicle predicted Witt, Thomas, and Trenary. Maybe that was also the AP article, but I remember that. Looking back, Kadavy was spoken about with such codewords like "sensitive", "vulnerable", or "delicate". Remember that? You just know they wanted to say she was a mental trainwreck, a wuss, and not reliable at all as a competitor. But she seemed like a nice young woman and no one wanted to call her on her BS.

And going back down memory lane, I was taken aback by Jill. Or mesmerized, I have no idea. You knew instantly (and I was an 80s child) her personality just by that snappy hairdo. It was not cheap to maintain that hairdo, and she just had that overwhelming sense of B*tch. First of all, you know she hated her parents just for naming her "Jill". I mean WTF kind of name is that? I was friends with a varsity cheerleader like her and NO one's boyfriend was safe or off limits if she came in to a party and was in a mood. I could watch Jill's SP all day just because of the shoulder pads (is she the first and only to skate with shoulder pads?) the snappy 'do, and just the total b*tchiness she skated with. She also skated to Irma La Douce like Manley, but while Manley portrayed basically a girl-woman cartoon, Jill was all business and took no prisoners. If Jill entered a room, other girls (and guys) would hold on to their boyfriends extra closely. Who knows what she's up to.

[essence_of_soy]

Houston Chronicle predicted Witt, Thomas, and Trenary. Maybe that was also the AP article, but I remember that. Looking back, Kadavy was spoken about with such codewords like "sensitive", "vulnerable", or "delicate". Remember that? You just know they wanted to say she was a mental trainwreck, a wuss, and not reliable at all as a competitor. But she seemed like a nice young woman and no one wanted to call her on her BS.

And going back down memory lane, I was taken aback by Jill. Or mesmerized, I have no idea. You knew instantly (and I was an 80s child) her personality just by that snappy hairdo. It was not cheap to maintain that hairdo, and she just had that overwhelming sense of B*tch. First of all, you know she hated her parents just for naming her "Jill". I mean WTF kind of name is that? I was friends with a varsity cheerleader like her and NO one's boyfriend was safe or off limits if she came in to a party and was in a mood. I could watch Jill's SP all day just because of the shoulder pads (is she the first and only to skate with shoulder pads?) the snappy 'do, and just the total b*tchiness she skated with. She also skated to Irma La Douce like Manley, but while Manley portrayed basically a girl-woman cartoon, Jill was all business and took no prisoners. If Jill entered a room, other girls (and guys) would hold on to their boyfriends extra closely. Who knows what she's up to.

Well, the 'Jill' factor certainly got Christopher Dean hooked for a time.

When he did commentary for Australian TV, he said Trenary had a cover girl look about her. I bet Isabelle made him sleep on the couch that night for that comment.

[olympic]

Didn't the pairs competition at Calgary '88 resemble a 3-country competition between the USSR, USA and Canada? - 3 Soviet teams, 3 American teams, and 3 Canadian teams. There was a GDR team thrown in for good measure who I thought were promising but inconsistent.

Outside of G/G and V/V, it was IMO actually rather mistake ridden and uneventful. I never considered W/O even one of the great teams from the U.S. and w/ mistakes, they ended up w/ a bronze. The Canadian teams of B/J and B/E were rather new and not fully realized. W/W had a few nice qualities but they didn't even seem to enjoy skating w/ one another.

[dawnie]

And going back down memory lane, I was taken aback by Jill. Or mesmerized, I have no idea. You knew instantly (and I was an 80s child) her personality just by that snappy hairdo. It was not cheap to maintain that hairdo, and she just had that overwhelming sense of B*tch. First of all, you know she hated her parents just for naming her "Jill". I mean WTF kind of name is that? I was friends with a varsity cheerleader like her and NO one's boyfriend was safe or off limits if she came in to a party and was in a mood. I could watch Jill's SP all day just because of the shoulder pads (is she the first and only to skate with shoulder pads?) the snappy 'do, and just the total b*tchiness she skated with. She also skated to Irma La Douce like Manley, but while Manley portrayed basically a girl-woman cartoon, Jill was all business and took no prisoners. If Jill entered a room, other girls (and guys) would hold on to their boyfriends extra closely. Who knows what she's up to.

LOL. How many years did she have that hairdo? I think I've only seen a quick glimpse of her with long hair and she looked 10x better with it.

If you think Jill is a WTF name, what about "Caryn". Just spell it Karen! I don't understand when parents think they are being unique by changing the spelling of common names... I.e. Rachael, Alissa, Caydee, etc.

[orbitz]

Roz had a similar hairstyle in 83 and 84. Tonia K. and even Holly Cook had similar hair. That was THE HAIR to have back in the days.

What's wrong with the name Jill? It's better than say a Martha or an Agnes, IMO.

[Alex Forrest]

Roz had a similar hairstyle in 83 and 84. Tonia K. and even Holly Cook had similar hair. That was THE HAIR to have back in the days.

What's wrong with the name Jill? It's better than say a Martha or an Agnes, IMO.

It's the plainest name on the planet, and Jill was anything but plain. She looked more like a Tiffany or Brittany. IMO. Tiffany Trenary has an attitude to it.

[Maximillian]

And going back down memory lane, I was taken aback by Jill. Or mesmerized, I have no idea. You knew instantly (and I was an 80s child) her personality just by that snappy hairdo. It was not cheap to maintain that hairdo, and she just had that overwhelming sense of B*tch. First of all, you know she hated her parents just for naming her "Jill". I mean WTF kind of name is that? I was friends with a varsity cheerleader like her and NO one's boyfriend was safe or off limits if she came in to a party and was in a mood. I could watch Jill's SP all day just because of the shoulder pads (is she the first and only to skate with shoulder pads?) the snappy 'do, and just the total b*tchiness she skated with. She also skated to Irma La Douce like Manley, but while Manley portrayed basically a girl-woman cartoon, Jill was all business and took no prisoners. If Jill entered a room, other girls (and guys) would hold on to their boyfriends extra closely. Who knows what she's up to.

This post makes me so happy! I love, love, love Jill always have and always will. Loved her skating (she did have great basics), loved her dodgy jump landings, loved her bitchiness (you know she made Faasi's life a living hell), and her looks. The fact that she could remotely pull off that hairdo is a testament to how beautiful she was. She was the epitome of American Ice Princess (in the best and worst possible ways)

[dawnie]

I wonder how Trenary and Kadavy got along when they were training together. Who went to Fassi first? I'm very interested to see how the dynamics were during that time. You know Jill was fuming when Caryn got on the podium at 87 Worlds over her.

I hope Jill doesn't read figure skating message boards because everything down to her programs and hair has been made fun of ad nauseam over the years.
Something about her tells me she has thick skin and could look back and laugh at herself though. Are there any recent pics of her or Caryn? Neither of them seem to make any appearances at all.

[essence_of_soy]

I hope Jill doesn't read figure skating message boards because everything down to her programs and hair has been made fun of ad nauseam over the years.
Something about her tells me she has thick skin and could look back and laugh at herself though.

If you watch interviews with Jill from 1992 onwards, she is a lot more relaxed and happy. There is one interview where she is asked if she'll consider returning to competition along with a few of the other professional skaters at the time. After watching the 1993 World Championships, she just laughs it off and says something along the lines that the new girls coming in have amazing technical merit, as well as that fire and drive that you need to win.

As good as Jill was, competition must have been tremendously stressful (especially being in the United States at the time where the talent pool was so deep), knowing she had to be at her absolute best every time to win.

[Alex Forrest]

I wonder how Trenary and Kadavy got along when they were training together. Who went to Fassi first? I'm very interested to see how the dynamics were during that time. You know Jill was fuming when Caryn got on the podium at 87 Worlds over her.

Jill and Caryn were fierce rivals on and off the ice. Whether competing for skating titles, Fassi's attention, boyfriends, just name it. Caryn was said to be worn down by Jill's competitiveness for years after she left eligible skating. IIRC, Carlo spent more time with Caryn, and Christa with Jill because there was so much bad blood there at the Broadmoor.

[bardtoob]

. . . That was THE HAIR to have back in the days . . .

Yes, yes, the Aquanet Wedge. This hair style was an evolutionary step between the Hamill Wedge of the late 1970s and Aquanet Bangs of the early 1990s. Some skaters, such as Tonya Harding, had careers that spanned the full transition.

[Maofan7]

1988 Olympics - Ladies Event (Free Skate) - Russian Commentary

1988 Olympics - Ice Dance (Free Dance) - Russian Commentary

[Coco]

Thanks!!!!

[Marco]

Jill's competition hair might have been responsible for half of the hole in that ozone layer.