Tonia Kwiatkowski

Last updated September 10, 2024

Tonia Sue Kwiatkowski (born February 12, 1971) is an American figure skating coach and former competitor. She is a two-time Winter Universiade champion, a two-time Champions Series silver medalist, and the 1996 U.S. National silver medalist in women's singles. She finished in the top ten at two World Championships and competed in 13 U.S. Championships. Carol Heiss Jenkins and Glyn Watts were her longtime coaches. Kwiatkowski retired from amateur skating in 1998 and continues to be involved in the sport as a skater and coach.

Personal life

Kwiatkowski was born on February 12, 1971, in Cleveland, Ohio.^[1] She graduated from Lakewood High School in Ohio. In June 1994, she earned a degree in communications and psychology from Cleveland's Baldwin-Wallace College.^[2] According to a March 18, 1996, Los Angeles Times article, Kwiatkowski's college degree was notable as "...most of her competitors have not finished high school."

Kwiatkowski later married and had a child. She divorced after a 2011 FBI investigation exposed her affair with convicted felon William Neiheiser.^[3]

Skating style and repertoire

Kwiatkowski was well-known among skaters for her unusual jump entrance technique into the triple lutz. Skating backward, she would cross her left foot over the top of her right foot, pause with both feet on the ice placed closely together, then unhook the right foot (underneath and behind the left) to pick into the ice.

In addition to the triple lutz, Kwiatkowski frequently performed the triple toe loop, triple flip, and triple loop. She had a higher success rate on toe-assisted jumps, as she frequently struggled on the edge-entrance triple loop, and only added the triple salchow back into her performance repertoire near the end of her amateur skating career. Her spins were fast with clean positions, and her basic skating quality was marked by great speed.

As she matured and as fashions in the sport changed, so did Kwiatkowski's image. By the mid-1990s, she often selected a tight, low bun as an on-ice hairstyle, coupled with elegant dresses with highly detailed beading and design details. During her prime competitive years in the mid-1990s, her adult physique and mode of dress distinguished her from most of her "baby ballerina" (a term frequently used by Dick Button in commentary for the U.S. Nationals as televised on ABC) rivals, who were typically 5 to 10 years her junior and usually did not attempt the mature look that Kwiatkowski achieved. This did not go unnoticed by the press, as evidenced by an AP article dated April 5, 1998, noting of Kwiatkowski's World Championship performances that "...her spins were lovely, and her age gives her a grace few other skaters can match."

1993 season

After several strong finishes at the U.S. Nationals, Kwiatkowski made the World Championship team in 1993, an unusual year in figure skating: it was a post-Olympic year and pre-Olympic year, as the Winter Games were being switched to a different cycle so that they occurred two years after the Summer Games. As such, several 1992 Olympic hopefuls had moved on.

Typically a "rebuilding" year for the sport, this post-Olympic year was different, as the U.S.'s number of Olympic berths would be determined by skaters' performances at the 1993 World Championships. At these critical national championships, Kwiatkowski stood fourth after the short program. When Tonya Harding, reaching the nadir of a two-year skating slump, fell several times in her long program (after having placed second in the short program, during which her dress had come undone), and third-place Nicole Bobek also made several mistakes, fourth-place Kwiatkowski had a chance to move up onto the podium and onto the World team. With a sub-par performance, she managed to move up to third, as Carol Heiss' other pupil Lisa Ervin rose from fifth to second.

Regardless, her third-place finish meant that she was on the World team and heading to the World Championships. However, she skated extremely poorly in the initial round, failing to even qualify for the main draw, leaving the U.S. with just two skaters in the ladies' event. After Ervin finished in 14th place, heavy favorite Nancy Kerrigan skated poorly and fell from first after the short program to fifth overall, leaving the U.S. with just two berths for 1994. While Kerrigan was the logical scapegoat for this outcome, some U.S. officials were rumored to harbor resentment against Kwiatkowski as well.^{[ citation needed ]}

Kwiatkowski did not skate well at the 1994 Nationals and finished fifth, failing to qualify for an Olympic spot. According to an 11 February 1995 article in the Chicago Tribune, "After she placed fifth overall in the 1994 nationals last January, her coach, Carol Heiss, was being told by skating insiders that Kwiatkowski had no future in the sport."

1995 to 1998

After graduating from college the previous year, Kwiatkowski gave a strong performance at the 1995 U.S. Nationals, taking the lead after the short program and finishing third behind Nicole Bobek and Michelle Kwan, with a fall on a triple flip in the long program costing her a shot at the title (see 1995 Nationals review article written the following year, "Kwiatkowksi is no kid at U.S. Championships" AP News, January 17, 1996). But because of the Americans' performance at the 1994 Worlds, only two slots were available for American ladies figure skaters, leaving Kwiatkowski off the World team in 1995.

Placing second in the 1996 Nationals behind Kwan assured Kwiatkowski a spot on that year's team, and she placed 8th at the Worlds in a performance that included a full arsenal of triple jumps. Overshadowed by Kwan's gold medal performance, Kwiatkowski's finish was something of a redemption, as she delivered the elements under pressure.

In 1998, at age 26, Kwiatkowski was the "old lady" of figure skating, nine years older than rival Michelle Kwan and eleven years senior Tara Lipinski. A heavy favorite to vie for the third Olympic spot behind the two youngsters, she had hoped to close out her career with a trip to the Olympics, but finished 4th at the U.S. National Championships behind Nicole Bobek and did not make the Olympic team. However, she had a chance to end her career on a positive note. Due to an illness, Tara Lipinski withdrew from the 1998 World Championships following the Olympics, and Kwiatkowski skated in her place. At age 27, she had "the skate of her life" and placed 6th, her best finish in a major international competition.

Results

GP: Champions Series (Grand Prix)

International^[1]
Event	87–88	88–89	89–90	90–91	91–92	92–93	93–94	94–95	95–96	96–97	97–98
Worlds						31st			8th		6th
GP Final										6th
GP NHK Trophy										2nd
GP Skate America									5th	2nd
GP France								2nd	5th
Nations Cup							7th
Nebelhorn Trophy		1st
NHK Trophy			3rd		8th
Piruetten											1st
Karl Schäfer											2nd
Skate America				3rd
Skate Electric			1st
Universiade				1st				1st
National^[1]
U.S. Champ.	11th	7th	6th	4th	5th	3rd	5th	3rd	2nd	6th	4th

Related Research Articles

Michelle Wingshan Kwan is a retired competitive figure skater and diplomat serving as United States Ambassador to Belize. In figure skating Kwan is a two-time Olympic medalist, a five-time world champion and a nine-time U.S. champion. She is tied with Maribel Vinson for the all-time National Championship record.

Tara Kristen Lipinski is an American former competitive figure skater, actress, sports commentator, and documentary film producer. A former competitor in women's singles, she is the 1998 Olympic champion, the 1997 World champion, a two-time Champions Series Final champion (1997–1998) and the 1997 U.S. national champion. Until 2019, she was the youngest single skater to win a U.S. Nationals and the youngest to become an Olympic and World champion in figure skating history. She is the first woman to complete a triple loop-triple loop combination, her signature jump element, in competition. Starting in 1997, Lipinski had a rivalry with fellow skater Michelle Kwan, which was played up by the American press, and culminated when Lipinski won the gold medal at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.

Carol Elizabeth Heiss Jenkins is an American former figure skater and actress. Competing in ladies' singles, she became the 1960 Olympic champion, the 1956 Olympic silver medalist, and a five-time World champion (1956–1960).

Irina Eduardovna Slutskaya is a Russian former figure skater. She is a two-time World champion, two-time Olympic medalist, seven-time European champion, a four-time Grand Prix Final champion and a four-time Russian national champion. She won a record total of 17 titles on the Grand Prix circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Butyrskaya</span> Russian figure skater

Maria Viktorovna Butyrskaya is a Russian retired figure skater. She is the 1999 World champion and a three-time European champion — becoming the oldest skater and the first Russian to win the World ladies' title and the oldest skater to win the European ladies' title. Butyrskaya placed fourth at the 1998 Winter Olympics and sixth at the 2002 Winter Olympics. She won the Russian national title six times.

Janet Lynn Nowicki is an American figure skater. She is the 1972 Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time world championships medalist, and a five-time senior Ladies U.S. national champion.

Kimberly Claire Meissner is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2006 World champion, the 2007 Four Continents champion, and the 2007 U.S. national champion. She is the first American and the first woman to simultaneously hold the World, Four Continents, and national titles. In 2005, Meissner became the second American woman to land the triple Axel jump in national competition. She was the youngest American athlete to compete at the 2006 Olympics, coming in sixth place. She won the World Championships the following month, and the U.S. Nationals the following season. She was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katy Taylor</span> American figure skater

Katy Lynn Taylor is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2006 Four Continents Champion and 2004 Junior World bronze medalist. She was an alternate to the 2006 Winter Olympic team after finishing fourth at the 2006 United States Figure Skating Championships.

Fumie Suguri is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is a three-time World medalist, a three-time Four Continents champion, the 2003 Grand Prix Final champion, and a five-time Japanese national champion.

Nicole Bobek is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1995 U.S. national champion and 1995 World bronze medalist. She also competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Jill Ann Trenary is an American former figure skater. She is the 1990 World champion and a three-time U.S. national champion. She was inducted to the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiffany Chin</span> American figure skater

Audrey Tiffany Chin is an American figure skating coach and former competitor. She is a two-time World bronze medalist (1985–1986), a two-time Skate America champion, and the 1985 U.S. national champion.

Ashley Elisabeth Wagner is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2016 World silver medalist, a 2014 Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2012 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final medalist, a thirteen-time Grand Prix medalist, and a three-time U.S. national champion. Wagner competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and placed 7th. At the junior level, Wagner is a two-time World Junior bronze medalist, the 2006-07 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time Junior Grand Prix medalist, and the 2007 U.S. junior bronze medalist.

Mirai Aileen Nagasu is an American figure skater. She is a 2018 Olympic Games team event bronze medalist, three-time Four Continents medalist, the 2007 JGP Final champion, a two-time World Junior medalist, and a seven-time U.S. national medalist.

Ladies' single skating was contested during the figure skating events at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Chen Lu is a Chinese former figure skater. She is the 1994 and 1998 Olympic bronze medalist and the 1995 World Champion. Chen won the first ever Olympic medal in figure skating for China.

Karen Chen is an American figure skater. She is a 2022 Olympic Games team event gold medalist, two-time CS U.S. Classic bronze medalist, the 2015 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalist, the 2017 U.S. national champion, 2022 U.S. national silver medalist, and a three-time U.S. national bronze medalist. She is currently a student at Cornell University.

Kaori Sakamoto is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2022 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion, the 2023–24 Grand Prix Final champion, the 2018 Four Continents champion, a five-time ISU Grand Prix champion, and a four-time Japanese national champion. She is a silver medalist in the 2022 Olympic team event. At the junior level, she is the 2017 World Junior bronze medalist and the 2016–17 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist.

Jeri Campbell is an American former figure skater in ladies' singles. She won the Junior title at the 1987 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and was an alternate for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games after finishing fourth at the 1988 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Alysa Liu is an American competitive figure skater. She is the 2022 World bronze medalist, the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy champion, the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion. At age 16, she competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics, placing sixth. At the junior level, Liu is the 2020 World Junior bronze medalist, the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time Junior Grand Prix champion, and the 2018 U.S. junior national champion.

References

1 2 3 "Tonia KWIATKOWSKI". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 17, 2016.
↑ Hersh, Philip (February 11, 1995). "She's Baaack! Tonia, Not Tonya, On Top At Skating Championships". Chicago Tribune .
↑ James F. McCarty, The Plain Dealer (2011-12-06). "George Phillips-Olivier, suspended CMHA head, goes on trial on corruption charges". cleveland. Retrieved 2022-08-27.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[ISU-TK-1] 1 2 3 "Tonia KWIATKOWSKI". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 17, 2016.

[CT950211-2] Hersh, Philip (February 11, 1995). "She's Baaack! Tonia, Not Tonya, On Top At Skating Championships". Chicago Tribune .

[3] James F. McCarty, The Plain Dealer (2011-12-06). "George Phillips-Olivier, suspended CMHA head, goes on trial on corruption charges". cleveland. Retrieved 2022-08-27.

[1]

[2]

[3]