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Paul Wylie

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Paul Wylie
Wylie at the 2007 An Evening with Champions
Born (1964-10-24) October 24, 1964 (age 60)
Figure skating career
CountryUnited States
Retired1992
Medal record
Men's Figure skating
Representing United States
Winter Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1992 Albertville Men's singles
Olympic medal record
Men's figure skating
Representing  United States
Silver medal – second place 1992 Albertville Singles

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

Personal life

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

Wylie attended Harvard University and graduated in 1991 with a degree in government.[1] After retiring from skating, he returned to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2000 and worked for two years in marketing with The Walt Disney Company.[2]

On August 14, 1999, Wylie married Kate Presbrey, a Cape Cod native and former Brown University Division 1 hockey player.[2] They have three children, Hannah, Emma and Caleb. The family divides their time between Hyannis, Massachusetts and Charlotte, North Carolina, where Wylie previously worked with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association as director of the Dare to be a Daniel program.[3] Wylie currently runs High Gear Travel, a sports-related travel agency,[2] and coaches figure skaters at the Extreme Ice Center in Indian Trail, North Carolina, owned by Tom Logano, father of NASCAR star Joey Logano, whose sister Danielle is also a coach.

Career

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.[4]

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 1992 U.S. Championships 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 attend graduate school and work in the corporate world.

In 2004, after leaving his job at Disney, Wylie returned to the ice for 22 dates with Stars on Ice.[2] 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.

Wylie was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame on January 25, 2008.

On April 21 of 2015, while exercising with friends, Wylie collapsed and was unresponsive. One of the friends he was training with, Billy Griggs, was certified in CPR and immediately began chest compressions until medical attention arrived on scene. Paramedics administered a defibrillator but were unsuccessful in resuscitating Wylie. After First Responders injected his heart with epinephrine, Wylie's heart started again. He was immediately transferred to Charlotte, North Carolina hospital where doctors diagnosed him as having suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. Wylie was put into a medically induced coma and began a treatment known as therapeutic hypothermia in order to cool his brain and body to 90 degrees in order to reduce any possible brain damage.(http://www.today.com/health/olympic-skater-paul-wylie-opens-about-heart-stopping-health-scare-t56521)

After two days, Wylie woke up from his coma and was released from the hospital nine days later. Wylie has made a full recovery but continues to wear a Inplantable Cardioverter Defibrillator pacemaker. Wylie had no symptoms of heart disease except for experiencing a few dizzy spells a few days before the incident. Doctors have given him a clean bill of health, no heart damage and no brain damage.

Awards

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

Professional competitive highlights

  • 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

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 America 7th
Skate Canada International 2nd 3rd
Trophée Lalique 1st 5th
NHK Trophy 5th 2nd 4th
Nations Cup 3rd
St. Ivel International 1st
U.S. Championships 11th 5th 4th 5th 5th 5th 2nd 3rd 2nd 3rd 2nd
World Junior Championships 1st

Notes

  1. ^ "Biographies: Program Presenters". Harvard@Home. Harvard University. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  2. ^ a b c d At Home with Paul Wylie
  3. ^ Jerri Menges. "Dare to Be a Daniel". Decision Magazine. BGEA. Retrieved 2006-10-16.
  4. ^ "1981 Junior World's Report", Skating magazine, March 1981

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul Wylie.
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