Hobbies and Interests other then skating: Horses, horseback riding,
country music, motorcycles, boats and trucks.
Tonya began skating at the age of 2 1/2. On a trip to the Lloyd Center,
Tonya watched other kids skating and wanted to try it. When she first stepped
on the ice she made piles of shavings and ate them. :-) Once Tonya started
to skate she was skating circles around other kids. She was a natural
at
the age of 2 1/2. After a few times Tonya loved skating so much she had
to be dragged off the ice.
Soon after she began skating, Tonya teamed up with Diane Rawlinson and
began skating at the Clackamas Town Center. By the age of 4 Tonya did
her first triple jump, quite an amazing feat for a 4 year old.
By 14 Tonya began experimenting with what would one day be
her trademark: The Triple Axel.
By 19 Tonya was known for her natural athletic ability and was known as being the highest jumper and fastest spinner. People called
her the Larry Bird or Wayne Gretzky of figure skating.
The high point in Tonya's career came in 1991 at the Target Center in
Minneapolis at Senior Nationals, where Tonya won her first
National title. Skating two perfect programs, Tonya received a 6.0 for technical
merit, the first perfect score any woman had received in this
competition in nearly 2 decades. Tonya also became the first U.S.
woman to complete the Triple Axel. According to top skaters from Katarina
Witt to Tai Babilonia, Tonya might be the most talented female skater
who ever lived.
In 1991 Tonya began touring with Tom Collins Champions On Ice. Around this time Tonya was known as the first and
ONLY woman to land a Triple Axel in both the short and long programs and
also the first and ONLY to land a Triple Axel in combination. Tonya
went
on to win another National title and went to two Olympics ('92 and '94) in which she
placed 4th and 8th.
Since 1994 Tonya has gone on to do a movie called "Breakaway" in which
she played a waitress named Gina. She has skated some pairs with
Patrick
Page and has enjoyed singing with Godparents Linda and Greg.
Today Tonya is enjoying teaching and has about a dozen students. She
can
still do the Triple Axel. Tonya is also working on some new programs
and is very much enjoying life.
