Book Bonnie Blair

Bonnie Blair is an American speed skater who ranks with the most decorated athletes ever to compete at the Winter Olympics. Representing the United States at four Games, she won five gold medals and one bronze. After finishing eighth in the 500 meters as a 19-year-old in Sarajevo in 1984, she competed in short-track as well as long-track skating and won the short-track world title in 1986. At the 1988 Calgary Olympics she won her first gold in the 500 meters and added a bronze in the 1,000 meters. She then won two golds at the 1992 Albertville Games and two more at Lillehammer in 1994. Her achievements brought the Oscar Mathisen Award in 1992 and the Associated Press Athlete of the Year honor in 1994. Blair kept racing through the 1995 World Championships in Milwaukee before stepping away from competition that March, and she then built a second career as a motivational speaker. Her Hall of Fame inductions include the United States Olympic Hall of Fame as well as halls in Wisconsin and Chicagoland. Blair shares lessons on goal setting, persistence and winning on the biggest stage with audiences.