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Peter Allen Oppegard(born August 23, 1959)[1]is an American retiredpair skaterand coach. With his partnerJill Watson,he is the1988 Olympic bronze medalistand a three-timeU.S. national champion.
| Peter Oppegard | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Oppegard in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | August 23, 1959 Knoxville, Tennessee,U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | LAFSC (Los Angeles Figure Skating Club) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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In May 2022, Oppegard was suspended for one month by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for misconduct.[2]
Career
editOppegard initially paired with Vicki Heasley. He began competing with Watson in 1985. In their career, Watson and Oppegard won three national titles, aworldbronze medal, an Olympic bronze medal, and various other medals. During Watson and Oppegard's free skate at the 1988 Olympics, a photographer dropped his camera bag onto the ice and an usher walked onto the ice to pick it up while the pair was performing an overhead lift.[3]
As a coach, his skaters have won ten national singles and pairs titles. The Professional Skaters Association and US Figure Skating named Oppegard "Choreographer of the Year" and "Coach of the Year".[4]He coached at the East West Ice Palace in southern California until 2018.[2]
Personal life
editOppegard was married toKaren Kwan,sister of world champion figure skaterMichelle Kwan.As of 2017, they were estranged.[2]
Abuse allegations and suspension
editIn February 2021,USA Todayreported that Oppegard had been under investigation by theUnited States Center for SafeSportsince July 2020 for allegations of physical abuse, including throwing coffee and hot water at skaters he coached at the East West Ice Palace. American pairs skaterJessica Pfundalso alleged that Oppegard bit her on the upper right arm during a training session in 2013, when Pfund was 15 years old.[2][5]In May 2022, Oppegard was suspended for one month by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for "physical and emotional" misconduct.[2][6]
Results
editWith Watson
edit| International | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 84–85 | 85–86 | 86–87 | 87–88 |
| Winter Olympics | 3rd | |||
| World Championships | 4th | 6th | 3rd | 6th |
| Fujifilm Trophy | 1st | |||
| NHK Trophy | 2nd | |||
| Skate America | 1st | |||
| National | ||||
| U.S. Championships | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st |
References
edit- ^Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen;Mallon, Bill;et al."Peter Oppegard".Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.Sports Reference LLC.Archived fromthe originalon April 18, 2020.RetrievedApril 23,2015.
- ^abcdeBrennan, Christine(February 18, 2021)."US Olympic medalist and figure skating coach being investigated over allegations of abuse".USA Today.
- ^Janofsky, Michael (February 17, 1988)."Soviet Skaters Prevail in Pairs".The New York Times.RetrievedMarch 21,2012.
- ^"US Figure Skating".Archived fromthe originalon 2006-05-23.Retrieved2006-04-29.
- ^McCarriston, Shanna (19 February 2021)."Olympic figure skating medalist, coach Peter Oppegard under investigation for allegedly abusing skaters".CBSSports.com.Retrieved4 June2023.
- ^"Names in the News".Sports Business Journal.May 3, 2022.RetrievedJanuary 27,2023.
External links
edit- Watson and Oppegard competition resultsArchived2005-12-21 at theWayback Machine
- Landry and Oppegard competition results
- Heasley and Oppegard competition results
- Watson and Oppegard at pairsonice.com
- U. S. Figure Skating Hall of Fameat theLibrary of CongressWeb Archives (archived 2002-02-23)