Cathy Ann Turner (born April 10, 1962, in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located i ...

) is an American

short track speed skater Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as ...

, who won gold medals at the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

and 1994 Winter Olympics. Turner was the American short-track champion in 1979, but short-trak speed skating was not then an Olympic discipline, and in 1980 she left skating to pursue a career as a singer. She sang in bands, shows and then began writing her own songs. She became a studio singer and songwriter under the stage name Nikki Newland. After short-track was exhibited at the

1988 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 57 , athletes = 1,423 (1,122 men, 301 women) , events = 46 in 6 sports (10 disciplines) , opening = February 13, 1988 , closing = February 28, 1988 , opened_by = Governor General Jeanne Sauvé , cauldron ...

she decided to return to the sport. " After nine years away from her sports, she resumed training. She qualified for the Albertville Olympics, where she won the 500-meter short track race and was a member of the silver medal-winning 3000-meter relay team. Turner retired from competitive skating after the 1992 Games to star with the

Ice Capades The Ice Capades were traveling entertainment shows featuring theatrical ice skating performances. Shows often featured former Winter Olympic Games, Olympic and United States Figure Skating Championships, US National Champion figure skating, figur ...

as a singer and skater in the "Made In America" tour, but then returned yet again for the 1994 Games. She won another gold in the 500 meters in a controversial race in which silver medalist Zhang Yanmei accused Turner of grabbing her leg as Turner passed her, however, the judges did not see it that way. Turner was disqualified from the 1000-meter race when accused of impeding a South Korean skater Kim So-hee in a heat. She took a bronze in the 3000-meter team relay. Turner then placed fifth in the 3000-meter relay at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in th ...

in Nagano. Turner now lives in

Parma, New York Parma is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 15,633 at the 2010 census. The Town of Parma, then in Genesee County, was organized in 1808, named after Parma in Italy. Geography According to the United States Censu ...

and works as a Database Administrator at Paychex Inc., a motivational speaker, and a product spokesperson. She has also been a skating commentator for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. Turner holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

, and is a contributor to the book ''Awaken The Olympian Within'', among others.

References

* Leigh Montville, "Fire on Ice", ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'', March 7, 1994

External links

US Olympic Committee profile

Jim Kelley, "Turner out to clear her name", Sports Illustrated, Feb. 17, 1998

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20041213224641/http://www.usoc.org/11499_18781.htm Cathy Turner self-profile, US Olympic Committee site
Britannica Online article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Cathy Living people 1962 births American female short track speed skaters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in short track speed skating Olympic silver medalists for the United States in short track speed skating Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in short track speed skating Short track speed skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics American color commentators Northern Michigan University alumni People from Parma, New York Sportspeople from Rochester, New York 21st-century American women