Blair, Bonnie (1964-…), an American speed skater, won five gold medals and one bronze in the Winter Olympic Games. She became the first American athlete to win six medals in the Winter Olympics. Blair was the first American woman in any sport to win a gold medal in consecutive Winter Olympics. She was also the first American long-track speed skater to win a gold medal in more than one Olympic competition.
Blair won her first Olympic medal in 1988. She won the 500-meter race and received a bronze medal for third place in the 1,000-meter race at the games in Calgary, Canada. She won the gold medal in both races at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. At the 1994 games in Lillehammer, Norway, she again won both races and narrowly missed winning a bronze by finishing fourth in the 1,500-meter race.
Bonnie Kathleen Blair was born on March 18, 1964, in Cornwall, New York. She began skating while growing up in Champaign, Illinois. Blair retired from competition in 1995. She later became a television speed-skating commentator and a member of the board of US Speedskating, the governing body of the sport in the United States.
