Debi Thomas
Debi Thomas
Debra Janine Thomasis an American former figure skater and physician. She is the 1986 World champion, the 1988 Olympic bronze medalist, and a two-time U.S. national champion. Her rivalry with East Germany's Katarina Witt at the 1988 Calgary Olympics was known as the Battle of the Carmens...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionFigure Skater
Date of Birth25 March 1967
CityPoughkeepsie, NY
CountryUnited States of America
american-athlete gold meant national needed olympic shot
Plus, it also meant a lot because it was the Olympic year, and if I wanted a shot at Olympic gold I needed to be national champion.
added american-athlete change skated win winning
Then I went on to win worlds, which added to the change in my life. Winning that was outstanding, but I skated better at the nationals.
babies ball brought coming difference fruits grown helped incredible men people sat six somebody taking watched
We helped them unload and while they were here all of the people were coming in and getting meals. We let them go through the stuff, so these six men got to see the fruits of their labor. It was the most incredible thing because we sat and watched six grown men ball like babies as they watched the people taking the things that they had brought and making a difference in somebody else's life.
athlete skills nerves
If you trust your nerve as well as your skill, you're capable of a lot more than you can imagine.
determination focus together
What makes you really come together under pressure is determination and focus and toughness.
memories olympics good-memories
The Olympics: not one of my better memories.
doctors long remember
For as long as I can really remember, I wanted to be a doctor.
ice
I just thought that it was magical having to glide across the ice.
medicine
I am not really sure how I got interested in medicine.
persistence accomplish pure
You can accomplish anything with pure persistence and drive.
motivational athlete winter
I got a bronze medal and I can't complain about that, the only African-American to get a medal in the Winter Olympics.
motivational moving athlete
What was most important to me at the Olympics was going out there and performing my best. When I messed up the first jump combination, which was my big move, it hit me that I messed up the program of my life.
success mean perfect
Just because you didn't start out perfect doesn't mean you can't have an excellent result in the end.
heart emotional skating
My skating is a very emotional thing that comes from the heart, never doing it for the medal.