Christine "Tuffy" Hough (born October 9, 1969) is a Canadian former pair skater. With Doug Ladret, she is the 1988 Canadian national champion and finished in the top ten at two

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

, in 1988 and

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Career

Hough received her nickname, Tuffy, from her stepfather because she did daring skating moves. She competed early in her career with Kevin Wheeler, winning the 1982 novice title. Hough teamed up with Doug Ladret in the summer of 1984. The pair won the bronze medal at 1985 Canadian nationals and finished fourth the following season. In November 1986, Ladret sustained two skull fractures as a result of an accident while the pair was practicing a lasso lift at a rink in

Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand River (Ontario), Grand and Speed River, Speed rivers, in the central part of the Ontario Peninsula. The city had a population ...

. Ladret stated, "The ice was pretty rutty. I put the lift up, and my right foot got stuck in a rut and down we went. I pulled Tuffy forward as I was falling; my first thought was to make sure she was OK. My tailbone hit first, and my neck whiplashed back." He started wearing a hockey helmet in practice but stopped after five months, finding it cumbersome. That season, Hough/Ladret returned to the national podium, taking their second bronze medal, and were assigned to their first World Championships. They finished 8th at Worlds, held in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

in March 1987. Hough/Ladret's best season was 1987–88; they won the 1987 Skate Canada International and went on to win the national title as well. In February 1988, they represented Canada at the

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, ranking eighth in both segments and overall. In March, they finished 9th at the 1988 World Championship in

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, Hungary. During the 1991–92 season, Hough/Ladret won their third consecutive silver medal at Canadian Nationals. In February 1992, they competed at the

Albertville Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is best k ...

, France. They placed 9th in the short program, 10th in the free skate, and 9th overall. They retired from amateur skating at the end of the season. Hough and Ladret appeared as skaters in the 1992 movie '' The Cutting Edge''.IMDB profile
/ref> and spent four years touring with Stars on Ice. Following a thirteen-year hiatus from performing, Hough-Sweeney took part in two seasons of '' Battle of the Blades'', paired with Tie Domi in season 1 and Russ Courtnall in season 2.

Personal life

In 1996, Hough married

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

general manager Don Sweeney, with whom she has twin sons, Jarred and Tyler, born on April 29, 1999. She currently works as a coach at the Skating Club of Boston. She and her family live in Boston.

Results

(with Doug Ladret)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hough, Christine 1969 births Canadian female pair skaters Olympic figure skaters for Canada Figure skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Living people Canadian emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Renfrew County Battle of the Blades participants 20th-century Canadian sportswomen