Figure Skating – 1988 – Worlds Medal Ceremony – Katarina Witt + Elizabeth Manley + Debi Thomas
L EFebruary 15, 2019
0 156 1 minute read
Katarina Witt of East Germany is flanked by Canadian Elizabeth Manley, left, and U.S. skater Debi Thomas during the medal ceremony following the World Figure Skating Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, March 26, 1988. Witt won the gold, Manley won silver and Thomas won bronze. (AP Photo/Dave Caulkin)
The World Figure Skating Championships (“Worlds”) is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union….where medals are awarded in the categories of men’s singles, ladies’ singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The event is generally held in March….as the World Championships are considered the most prestigious of the ISU Championships….which also include the European Championships, the Four Continents Championships and the World Junior Championships. With the exception of the Olympic title, a world title is considered to be the highest competitive achievement in figure skating.
In this 1987 version of The Worlds….East Germany’s Katarina Witt….the beautiful and sultry one on ice…..captured her 4th and final World Championship gold medal…..beating our Canada Elizabeth Manley…..who one silver at the Olympics also…..and USA Debi Thomas….who won gold at The Worlds in 1986…..along with bronze at the 1988 Olympics.
These 1987 World Championships of Figure Skating would be the last time that USA Debi Thomas and GDR Katarina Will would compete against each other…..which was a rivalry that took center stage in women’s figure skating for the past four years leading up to this competition…..as the two were both physical and elegant skaters.
