Sharon Kay Burley Sullivan (born 8 May 1956 in Tripoli, Libya) is an Australian figure skater who competed in ladies singles. She finished first at the Australian Figure Skating Championships four times and competed at the 1976 Winter Olympic Games, coming in twentieth.
She now coaches at the Gold Coast ice rink: Iceland, Bundall as the only figure skating Olympian from Queensland.
Burley is the daughter of Olympic figure skater Nancy Burley and the sister of Australian champion Robyn Burley.
International | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Event | 71–72 | 72–73 | 73–74 | 74–75 | 75–76 | 77–78 |
Olympics | 20th | |||||
Worlds | 19th | 21st | 26th | 25th | 22nd | |
Prague Skate | 6th | |||||
National | ||||||
Australian Champ. | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
Australia first competed in the Winter Olympic Games in 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and has participated in every games since, with the exception of the 1948 Games in St. Moritz.
Australia sent a delegation to compete at the 1952 Winter Olympics from the 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, Norway. This was the nation's second appearance at the Winter Olympic Games with their last appearance being in 1936.
Suzanne Morrow Francis or Dr. Suzanne Morrow Francis was a Canadian figure skater and a veterinarian. She competed in Ladies' Singles in the 1948 and 1952 Winter Olympics. Between 1947 and 1948, Francis competed in Pairs Mixed competitions with Canadian figure skater Wallace Diestelmeyer. Together they won the bronze medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics and the 1948 World Figure Skating Championships. They were the first pair team to perform the death spiral one-handed, with the man holding the woman in position with one hand, at the 1948 Olympic Games.
Herma Szabo was an Austrian figure skater who competed in ladies' singles and pairs. As a single skater, she became the 1924 Olympic champion and a five-time world champion (1922–1926). She also won two world titles in pairs with Ludwig Wrede.
Country changing is a phenomenon in the figure skating world in which skaters change the country they represent in competition. There are many different reasons why competitors switch countries, but it mostly comes down to maximizing the possibility of being able to compete at the World Figure Skating Championships and the Winter Olympic Games. A skater who cannot do that representing their home country often looks for another one. Because spots to Worlds and the Olympics are allotted by country, not by skater, a skater can hope to transfer to a new country and have a better chance of becoming national champion, being sent to Worlds, and qualifying for a spot in the Olympics.
Elizabeth Jane "Liz" Cain is an Australian former pair skater and current figure skating coach. With brother Peter Cain, she is the 1976 World Junior bronze medalist and four time Australian national champion. Their highest placement at the World Figure Skating Championships was 12th, in 1977. They competed in the 1980 Winter Olympics, finishing eleventh. She is the mother and coach of Australian national champion Sean Carlow.
Danielle Vanessa McGrath, née Carr is an Australian former pair skater. With her brother, Stephen Carr, she is a nineteen-time (1980–1998) Australian national champion. They competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics, placing 13th, the 1994 Winter Olympics, placing 11th, and the 1998 Winter Olympics, again placing 13th. They retired from competitive skating following the 1998 Olympic season. During their amateur career, they were coached by Sergei Shakhrai and Kerry Leitch.
Cheltzie Lee is an Australian former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 national champion and represented Australia at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She also competed at seven ISU Championships, achieving her best result, tenth, at the 2011 Four Continents.
Gweneth Molony is an Australian figure skater. She is the 1949–1951 Australian national champion. She represented Australia at the 1952 Winter Olympics, where she placed 21st. She and Nancy Burley were the first ladies singles skaters to represent Australia at the Olympics. Molony also competed in pair skating; she is the 1949 Australian national champion with partner Adrian Swan. In 2020 at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, she was recognised as Australia's first female Winter Olympian. She was presented with her Olympian certificate, and became the earliest Olympian to sign the athletes wall at the new IOC headquarters.
Nancy Burley was an Australian figure skater. She represented Australia at the 1952 Winter Olympics, where she placed 14th. She and Gweneth Molony were the first ladies singles skaters to represent Australia at the Olympics.
Nicole Schott is a German figure skater. She is the 2016 CS Warsaw Cup champion, the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy bronze medalist, a two-time NRW Trophy champion, and a seven-time German national champion. She has finished within the top ten at two World and four European Championships.
Brooklee Han is an American-Australian retired figure skater who represented Australia in ladies' singles. She is the 2018 CS Alpen Trophy bronze medalist, the 2013 Volvo Open Cup champion, the 2013 Australian national champion, and a five-time Australian national silver medalist.
Kailani Craine is an Australian former figure skater. She is the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy champion, the 2016 CS Warsaw Cup silver medalist, the 2015 Toruń Cup silver medalist, and a six-time Australian national champion (2014–2019). She represented Australia at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, finishing 17th and 29th, respectively.
Figure skating at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games was held at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, South Korea. The five events took place between 9 and 23 February 2018.
Ekaterina Dmitriyevna Alexandrovskaya was a Russian-Australian pair skater. With her skating partner, Harley Windsor, she was the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy champion, the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy bronze medallist, the 2018 CS U.S. Classic bronze medallist, and a two-time Australian national champion.
Australia competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 50 competitors in 10 sports. They won three medals in total, two silver and one bronze, ranking 23rd in the medal table.
Belinda Noonan, née Coulthard is an Australian former competitive figure skater. Competing in ladies' singles, she won silver at the 1977 Golden Spin of Zagreb, bronze at a 1978 competition in Heerenveen, and the Australian national title during the 1979–1980 season.
Holly Harris is an Australian figure skater who currently competes in ice dance. With her skating partner, Jason Chan, she is the 2019 Australian national champion.
Mary Lynette Wilson is an Australian former competitive figure skater. She represented Australia at the 1960 Winter Olympics.
Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. The five events took place between 4 and 20 February 2022.