Deborah Samantha "Debbie" Palmer (born 17 November 1973) is a British former

short track speed skater Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating, 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 s ...

, who is now a lecturer and researcher. She competed at the

1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...

and the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...

. Palmer was ten times British Champion (1991 to 2000), and twelve times European Championship medalist including 1995 European champion (3000m). She was a World Cup 1500m silver medalist and finished 4th in the 1500m, and ranked 5th overall, at the 1996 World Championships in The Hague, Netherlands.

Biography

Palmer competed in short track speed skating from 1990 to 2002. She took part at the

and the

, and was named as a reserve for the

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

in Nagano. Palmer retired from speed skating in 2002. In 2006, Palmer returned to

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, after retiring from the sport six years earlier. Palmer had previously played for the Swindon Top Cats, and returned to Great Britain's national ice hockey team. She previously was forced to retire from ice hockey after suffering a

prolapsed disc A disc herniation or spinal disc herniation is an injury to the intervertebral disc between two vertebrae, usually caused by excessive Strain (injury), strain or trauma to the Vertebral column, spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensatio ...

in her back. In 2009, she gained a PhD in injury

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

, working in the field of sports injuries and epidemiology for more than twelve years. Palmer travelled to the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in Brazil, working with the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC) to look after the wellbeing of athletes. In 2021, Palmer also worked with the Enduro World Series to look at injuries sustained by

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

rs.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Debbie 1975 births Living people British female short-track speed skaters English women's ice hockey players Olympic short-track speed skaters for Great Britain Short-track speed skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Short-track speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Swindon 20th-century English sportswomen