Tim Wood (figure skater)

Timothy Lyle Woodis an American formerfigure skater.He is a two-timeWorld champion,a1968 Olympicsilver medalist and a three-timeU.S. national champion.

Tim Wood
Wood withGabriele Seyfertin 1969
Full name	Timothy Lyle Wood
Born	(1948-06-21)June 21, 1948 Highland Park, Michigan,U.S.
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Figure skating career
Country	United States
Skating club	Detroit Skating Club
Medal record figure skating:Men's singles RepresentingUnited States Olympic Games 1968 Grenoble Singles World Championships 1970 Ljubljana Singles 1969 Colorado Springs Singles 1968 Geneva Singles North American Championships 1969 Oakland Singles

Personal life

Born on June 21, 1948, inHighland Park, Michigan,Timothy Lyle Wood is the youngest of four sons of Kenneth Wood, a surgeon known for his work with lung cancer patients.In 1968, he was a pre-law student atJohn Carroll University.He later attended a graduate school in accounting.

Skating career

Wood was taught by the English coach Ronnie Baker at the Detroit Skating Club from the age of seven.He became the U.S. national novice champion in the 1961–62 season. On the junior level, he was awarded the bronze medal at the 1963 U.S. Championships and won the title in 1964.

The following season, Wood advanced to the senior level and took bronze at the1965 U.S. ChampionshipsinLake Placid, New York.Assigned to his first major international events, he placed 5th at the North American Championships and 13th at theWorld ChampionshipsinColorado Springs, Colorado.

Fourth at the 1966 U.S. Championships, he returned to the top three the following year. He finished 9th at the1967 World ChampionshipsinVienna,Austria.

At the 1968 U.S. Championships inPhiladelphia,Wood defeatedGary ViscontiandJohn Misha Petkevichto win the first of his three U.S. national titles. The trio were selected to represent the U.S. at the1968 Winter OlympicsinGrenoble,France. Still coached by Baker,Wood won the Olympic silver medal after placing second in thecompulsory figuresand third in the free skate. He stood on the podium with Austria'sWolfgang Schwarz(gold) and France'sPatrick Péra(bronze). Wood attributed his success to becoming mature enough to conquer his competition nerves, and to training harder. While also a university student, he spent 7 and a half hours a day training, including at least four hours just on compulsory figures.Competing inGeneva,Switzerland at the1968 World Championships,he finished second to the defending World championEmmerich Danzerof Austria, who had been fourth at the Olympics.

In 1969, Wood successfully defended his national title against Petkevich and won the 1969 North American Championships ahead of Canada'sJay Humphry.He then won hisfirst World title,finishing ahead of Czechoslovakia'sOndrej Nepelaand France's Patrick Péra at the event in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Prevailing against Petkevich, Wood became national champion for the third consecutive year at the1970 U.S. ChampionshipsinTulsa, Oklahoma.He then overcame a challenge from Nepela to win the1970 World ChampionshipsinLjubljana,Yugoslavia.

During Wood's professional skating career, he performed with the Ice Capades, Ice Follies and Holiday on Ice.

Later life

Wood formed a limited liability company, TLW, in 1996, and has expressed interest in opening a sports complex in California.In May 2015, it was reported that several investors had filed lawsuits against him.

Results

International
Event	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970
Winter Olympics							2nd
World Championships				13th		9th	2nd	1st	1st
North American Champ.				5th		5th		1st
National
U.S. Championships	1st N.	3rd J.	1st J.	3rd	4th	3rd	1st	1st	1st
Levels: N. = Novice; J. = Junior

Further reading

• Benjamin T. Wright,Skating in America