MILWAUKEE — As Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles announce their return to Olympic Gymnastics, five time Olympic gold medalist speed skater Bonnie Blair gives Wisconsin’s Morning News host Vince Vitrano an inside perspective about the draw of competing at the Olympics.
Blair, who spent some key formative years of her career in West Allis, Wisconsin, began competing in speed skating when she was just four years old. Throughout her career, Blair went on to compete in the speed skating event in the Olympics for the United States in 1988, 1992, 1994.
During her tenure, Blair secure five gold medals and a bronze medal for the United States over the course of her appearances. The decision to leave the Olympics was initially not an easy one. Blair opened up about doubting that choice:
“The year that I finished, and kind of that next year, was a hard year for me. If we take a step back, I kind of feel like I ‘what if’d’ myself to death. ‘What if I go one more Olympics?’ ‘What if I go one more year’,” Blair said.
With Douglas and Biles announcing their decisions to return, Blair feels like it’s not as easy as it may seem.
“I saw that when they retired and they’re like ‘Ah, I shouldn’t have retired,’ or ‘I’ve taken one or two more years off and now I’m gonna come back.’ It’s a lot harder than you think,” Blair said. “You look at Simone and what she does and she was on top of the world and she didn’t go out the way she wanted to go out.”
Douglas last competed in the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. Biles last competed in the 2020 Tokyo games, where she stepped down from competing after developing the gymnastics syndrome the “twisties“. Both Douglas and Biles have announced their intention to compete in Paris at the 2024 Olympic games.
Tune into Wisconsin’s Morning News during the week of July 17 to hear more about Blair’s efforts to drive interest in speed skating in the United States.
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