Name |
Nicole Bobek |
Height |
5' 5" |
Naionality |
American |
Date of Birth |
23 August 1977, |
Place of Birth |
Chicago, Illinois, USA |
Famous for |
|
Bobek first came to national prominence when she placed 2nd at the novice level at the U.S. Championships in 1989, at the age of 11. In the next few seasons, she worked her way up the competitive rankings at the national level. She was an athletic jumper and charismatic performer, although she was known as an erratic competitor. For example, she placed 4th at the 1992 World Junior Championships, but the next year dropped to 16th at the same event. She made her first appearance at the senior World Championships in 1994 as an alternate after both Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding dropped out of the event, but skated poorly and failed to advance out of the qualifying round.
The following 1995 season brought Bobek her greatest competitive success, as she won the U.S. title and placed 3rd at the World Championships. In late 1995, Bobek chose to tour with an ice show production of The Nutcracker rather than rehabilitate an ankle injury or train for the upcoming 1996 U.S. Championships; the injury forced her out of the championships and off the World team for that season. In both 1997 and 1998, Bobek skated well enough to place 3rd at the U.S. Championships, but at the 1998 Winter Olympics she stumbled to a disappointing 17th-place finish. She withdrew from the subsequent World Championships due to injury.
After a series of further injuries and health problems prevented her from competing during the 1998-1999 season, Bobek decided to turn professional. She toured with Champions on Ice for several years and appeared in a number of other shows and professional competitions. Bobek currently works as a skating coach in Florida. In 2006 she appeared in All the King's Men as a skater mesmerizing Governor Willy Stark.