Jill Marilynn Watson (born March 29, 1963, in Bloomington, Indiana)[1] is an American retired pair skater and coach. With her partner Peter Oppegard, she is the 1988 Olympic bronze medalist and a three-time U.S. national champion.

Jill Watson
Born (1963-03-29) March 29, 1963 (age 61)
Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
Height4 ft 11 in (150 cm)
Figure skating career
CountryUnited States
Retired1988
Medal record
Pairs' figure skating
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1988 Calgary Pairs
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1987 Cincinnati Pairs

Watson was initially paired with Burt Lancon, with whom she won two national bronze medals in 1983 and 1984. She began competing with Oppegard in 1985. In their career, Watson and Oppegard won three national titles, a world bronze 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 on the other side of the rink.[2]

She is now a coach at AZ Ice in the United States. [1] She coached Rena Inoue/John Baldwin for five seasons.[3]

Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2004.[4]

Results

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Pairs with Peter Oppegard

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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

Pairs with Burt Lancon

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International
Event 1982–83 1983–84
Winter Olympics 6th
World Championships 11th WD
Skate America 2nd
National
U.S. Championships 3rd 3rd
WD = Withdrew

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jill Watson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 17, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  2. ^ Janofsky, Michael (February 17, 1988). "Soviet Skaters Prevail in Pairs". The New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  3. ^ "U.S. Figure Skating Bio for Rena Inoue & John Baldwin". Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2006-04-27.
  4. ^ "HickokSports.com - History - Figure Skating Halls of Fame". Archived from the original on 2002-02-23. Retrieved 2006-04-04.
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