Northwestern University, Stanford University, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. We are not speaking here solely of the titles--U.S. champion in 1986 and 1988, world champion in 1986--that she won. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Debi Thomas, the former figure skater that became the first black athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, turned into a struggling physician that lost her bronze medal to bankruptcy. That same year, Thomas earned the top spot at the World Championships. She was in shock, Ogden said. A pre-med student at Stanford, she was the first U.S. champion since Tenley Albright, the 1956 Olympic champion, to combine serious academic pursuits with skating. McGowan, who coached Thomas for 11 years, was surprised and at first refused to believe the news when told of the wedding while he was watching the show in the ice stadium. It sort of blew it for me., Elizabeth Manley, Katarina Witt and Debi Thomas at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games on February 27, 1988 at the Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada | Photo: GettyImages, Less than a month after the Olympics, Debi married Brian Vander Hogen, who was a student at the University of Colorado, on March 15, 1988. Debi Thomas at the U. S. Figure Skating Championships, Kansas City, Missouri, January 31, 1985 | Photo: GettyImages, My mother introduced me to many different things, and figure skating was one of them, Debi told ABC Sports. Thomas signed on with coach Alex McGowan, when she was 10 years old. I spoke up at the time and reminded her that Mr. Iacocca could afford to be mellow because as a white man his leadership was accepted readily, while in the case of Ms. Thomas, she would be considered a loser no matter what she managed to achieve in life, which was already plenty for several lifetimes. Deborah Janine Thomas, daughter of McKinley Thomas and Janice Skelton, was born in 1967. Right after graduation, she began working as an orthopedic surgeon, most notably for the ORTHO X-cellence Debra J. Thomas in Richlands, Virginia, which initially increased her net worth, but unfortunately the facility closed in 2014, and there is no record of her working since that point. Speaking about her personal life, Debi Thomas has been married twice. During the 1988 Winter Olympics, she once again fought with Katarina Witt in what was dubbed as the Battle of the Carmens in which both skaters had the same music Carmen from the Georges Bizet opera. If ever the word champion fit a figure skater, it was Debi Thomas. She also made Debi admit that there had been domestic violence in her relationship, and criticized her for feeling just frustrated and not sad or angry about having a bed-bug infestation and living in such conditions. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. Debi is just fine. Around that time, the father of a patient asked her out. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000. That medal I dont even put it out. Geneagraphie - Families all over the world : Reigning Deposed Extinct. She said that the relationship did not interfere with her Olympic effort. She started seeing Jamie Looney, a single father of two who lived in a trailer and soon realized he had troubles with alcohol and prescription narcotics. Categories: USBH Notables, Needs Genealogically Defined | USBH Notables, Needs Photo | US Black Heritage Project, Needs Profiles Created | USBH Notables, Needs More Sources | USBH Notables, Needs Biography | USBH Notables, Needs Connection | Olympians Representing the United States | Olympic Bronze Medalists | US Black Heritage Project Managed Profiles | African-American Notables | Notables, WIKITREE HOME | ABOUT | G2G FORUM | HELP | SEARCH. I didnt really care if I won or not. In the end I think Debi, as well as the rest of us learn some really valuable life lessons, especially through hardship. Lots of us do and beautiful Debbie deserves the best life qs much as anyone out there. Here I was at the Olympics, and I didnt feel like I was at the Olympics, she said. Brian Vanden Hogen - Director Project, Operations & Facilities Consultant - HVH Group Pty Ltd | LinkedIn View Brian Vanden Hogen's profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional. Debi Thomas is currently living in Terre Haute, Indiana with her husband and son, and is a practicing physician in that city. Thomas, who celebrated her 21st birthday Friday, was married on March 15 in Boulder, Colo., to Brian Vanden Hogen, who turned 23 that day. In Colorado, all I had to do was skate and skate and skate. Debi Thomas on the Empowered Patient Series | Source: YouTube/AHIMAonDEMAND. Born Debra Janine Thomas on 25th March, 1967 in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States, she is famous for She is the 1986 World champion and 1988 Olympic bronze . I am thrilled.''. The best result we found for your search is Brian J Hogan age 50s in Erie, CO. Critics arent satisfied, Olympic snowboarders accuse USOPC, national federation of sex trafficking in lawsuit, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Yet more rain expected to hit California in March. Only the Trusted List can access the following: Leave a message for others who see this profile. Basically, I got to see two hockey games. As the first black skater to achieve international, or even national, prominence, she was a champion, however reluctant, of minorities. Thomas mother, divorced when Debi was a small child, earned considerably less than that as a computer programming analyst in Sunnyvale, Calif. She felt that she had disappointed millions of American people. Newspapers.com makes these newspapers available for the purpose of historical research, and is not responsible for the content of any newspapers archived at our site. They have also lived in Denver, CO and Westminster, CO. Brian is related to Tracy Renee Szobody and Eric James Olson as well as 3 additional people. If I had a test, I could only skate two hours a day instead of six. No longer an amateur, Thomas said she might consult McGowan at times in future. If so, that is a side of her that she does not reveal publicly. Debi Thomas and Brian Vanden Hogen were married for 2 years. There will be a tour of Europe following the world championships and then there will be another tour in the United States until June. In 1988, Thomas competed at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. How rich is Debi Thomas? Even though she gave them a reason not to in Calgary, people still seem to like her. I thought amateur skating was hard, she said. Less forgivable was the fact that Thomas, whose greatest attribute besides her athleticism was her competitiveness, all but quit on the ice, going through the motions after it became apparent to her that she was not at her best. When she heard one of those typical reporter questions--would you do it all over again?--she laughed. Debi Thomas at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games on February 27, 1988 at the Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada | Photo: GettyImages. She is the spokeswoman for their reading campaign. It was a struggle. Brian Vanden Hogen girlfriend, wife list. In 1991 she graduated from Stanford University with a degree in engineering. 1. Thomas, who celebrated her 21st birthday Friday, was married on March 15 in Boulder, Colo., to Brian Vanden Hogen, who turned 23 that day. The business side of skating really took its toll I think. Anyone can read what you share. She was previously married to Christopher Bequette and Brian Vanden Hogen. If that isnt an example of greatness, I dont know what is. African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, http://www.espn.com/skating/news/2000/0209/345701.html, http://blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_state_of_black_america_news/16253, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. Debi Thomas at her home in Fountain Valley, July 6, 2006 | Photo: GettyImages. She is best known from being a two time US national champion, and the 1988 Olympic bronze medalist in figure skating. When asked if she had told her coach Alex McGowan, she replied: 'Why would I tell him?'. Mental illness may sometimes happen, anyway, but I do think that, sometimes, it is deliberately fostered by the challenges and rejection that racist assumptions heap on young athletes of color. Join Facebook to connect with Brian Vanden Hogen and others you may know. In 1992, he disbanded Johnny with an Eye to form The Verve Pipe with Brad, drummer Donny Brown and guitarist Brian Stout. ''I just want to get on with my life. Its very human stuff really but there is much more help today than ever before. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. She place second in the 1987 World Championships to East German skater Katarina Witt. However, she wouldnt last more than a year in that or any other institution because she was difficult to work with. 'At the moment though, it's such a relief that it's all over, I don't have those butterflies in my stomach any more.'. S he then won bronze in the world championship and retired from amateur skating. The gold medal within her grasp, needing only good, not great, scores to win the long program at the Olympic Saddledome and finish ahead of defending champion Katarina Witt of East Germany and Elizabeth Manley of Canada, Thomas gave a disappointing performance and finished third. When a police officer arrived, Debi said she had a gun and wanted to hurt herself. Man, if that one skate goes differently for her at the 1988 Olympics her whole life would have been dramatically different. I pray that she gets help. Her letter was technically intelligent and thoughtful. Figure Skating Championship and took fifth place in the World Championship. 'I'm facing probably nine years of study - it's like starting skating all over again,' she said. Facebook gives people the. She became the only woman to reach the top 22 of the Q score athlete standings, and was later inducted into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame. She repeated this success in 1990 and 1991, which also increased her net worth by a large margin. Who is Sean Hannity's da Northwestern University, Stanford University, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. I had a personal experience with Debi Thomas after she completed her residency in orthopedics at Stanford and was a busy physician and before her life became extremely difficult. In 2015, Debi made headlines and grabbed national attention once again when she appeared in an episode of OWNs Iyanla: Fix My Life to made her struggles public. I would go home and do nothing. Instead of six she heard one of those typical reporter questions -- would you do it over. 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