Paul Wylie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010)
Paul Wylie
2007ewc-wylie.jpg
Wylie at the 2007 An Evening with Champions
Personal information
Country represented United States
Born (1964-10-24) October 24, 1964 (age 48)
Former partner Dana Graham
Former coach Evy Scotvold, Mary Scotvold, Carlo Fassi, John Nicks
Retired 1992
Olympic medal record
Men's figure skating
Competitor for  United States
Silver 1992 Albertville Singles

Paul Stanton Wylie (born October 28, 1964) is an American figure skater and 1992 Olympic silver medalist.

Contents

Personal life [edit]

Wylie was born in Dallas, Texas. When he was eleven, his family moved to Denver, Colorado.

Wylie attended Harvard University beginning in 1986 and graduated in 1991. He was a member of the Fox Club, one of eight final clubs at the college.[citation needed] He later studied at Harvard Business School and worked in the corporate world. For some time he held a position with The Walt Disney Company.

On August 14, 1999, Wylie married Cape Cod native Kate Presbrey. They have three children, Hannah, Emma and Caleb. The family currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Wylie previously worked with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association as director of the Dare to be a Daniel program.[1] Wylie is currently in business for himself running a sports-related travel agency and is coaching figure skaters at the Extreme Ice Center in Indian Trail, North Carolina. In December 2011, a residence in Hyannis, Massachusetts was damaged by fire in a dehumidifier.[2]

Career [edit]

Wylie started skating at the age of three. After moving to Denver, he began to train with Carlo Fassi. Wylie remained with Fassi for nine years, first in Denver and later in Colorado Springs when Fassi relocated to the Broadmoor Skating Club. As a young skater, Wylie additionally worked with John Curry and Robin Cousins, who were also students of Fassi. Cousins lived with the Wylie family while he was training for the 1980 Winter Olympics.

In 1979, Wylie won the novice men's title at the U.S. Championships, and in the 1981 season, he won both the U.S. junior title and the World Junior Championships. At the latter event, he landed his first triple jumps in competition—two triple toe loops.[3]

At the same time, Wylie was competing in pair skating with partner Dana Graham. They won the junior pairs title at the 1980 U.S. nationals. They were coached by John Nicks, commuting to work with him in California. They placed eighth in the senior division at the 1981 U.S. nationals, but then dissolved their partnership when they lost financial sponsorship.

In 1985, wanting to rework some of his technique, Wylie left Fassi and began to train instead with Evy and Mary Scotvold, who were at that time located in Janesville, Wisconsin. Shortly afterwards, they all moved to the Boston area.

Wylie placed second at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1988, 1990, and 1992. He won the silver medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. The medal was considered a major upset as Wylie had never finished higher than ninth at the World Figure Skating Championships four years prior, and had skated such a poor performance at the U.S. Championships immediately prior to the games that reporters questioned his placement on the Olympic team. The USFSA had even left Wylie off the team for the 1992 World Championships, naming Mark Mitchell in his place.

After the Olympics, Wylie joined the professional skating ranks. He won the 1992 U.S. Open Professional Championship and the 1993 World Professional Figure Skating Championships. Wylie toured with Stars on Ice from 1992 to 1998 before retiring to continue his studies.

In 2004, after leaving Disney, Wylie returned to the ice for twenty two dates with Stars on Ice. He has also continued his long association with An Evening with Champions, the annual benefit show at Harvard. Wylie has worked as a sports commentator/analyst, most recently for ESPN and Universal Sports.

On January 10, 2008, the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame announced that Wylie would be inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame on January 25, 2008.

Awards [edit]

  • U.S. Olympic Spirit Award (1992)
  • U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame Inductee (2008)

Professional competitive highlights [edit]

  • Ice Wars 1996 (team) 1st
  • Battle of the Sexes 1996 (men's team) 1st
  • Mike Masters 1996 1st
  • Challenge of Champions 1995 1st
  • Fall Team Pro-Am (team) 1st, 1st overall
  • Ice Wars 1995 (team) 1st
  • Miko Masters Paris Championships 1995 1st
  • Ice Wars 1994 (team) 1st
  • Spring Pro-Am 1994 1st
  • World Challenge of Champions 1993 1st
  • World Professional Figure Skating Championships 1993 1st
  • Fall Pro-Am 3rd 1993 Miko Masters Paris Championships 1993 1st
  • World Challenge of Champions 1992 1st
  • U.S. Open Professional Championships 1992 1st
  • Fall Pro-Am 1992 1st

Results [edit]

Event 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92
Winter Olympic Games 10th 2nd
World Championships 9th 10th 11th
Skate Canada International 2nd 3rd
Trophée Lalique 1st 5th
NHK Trophy 5th 2nd 4th
Nations Cup 3rd
U.S. Championships 11th 5th 4th 5th 5th 5th 2nd 3rd 2nd 3rd 2nd
World Junior Championships 1st

Education [edit]

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ Jerri Menges. "Dare to Be a Daniel". Decision Magazine. BGEA. Retrieved 2006-10-16. 
  2. ^ Lutz, Jaime (December 23, 2011). "Hyannis home of Paul Wylie, Olympic medalist in figure skating, damaged by fire". Boston Globe. Retrieved December 23, 2011. 
  3. ^ "1981 Junior World's Report", Skating magazine, March 1981
  4. ^ a b "Biographies: Program Presenters". Harvard@Home. Harvard University. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 

References [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paul Wylie

Navigation [edit]
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Wylie&oldid=540923515"