About Elaine Zayak
Vickie Mapes
> At least I think this is about Elaine Zayek. I remember back when she
> skated in the Olympics, they profiled a skater who had a deformed foot
> had a few toes missing or something. I think it was a birth defect and
> not the result of an accident. Anyway, this skater was at an incredibly
> unfair disadvantage for the figures even though she was a terrific
> freestyle skater. Even though she had a specially weighted skate she
> never was able to place well enough in the figures to bring her up to
> medal level for the free skate. I half remembered that it was Elayne
> Zayek but it could have been some other US woman skater. I remember
> thinking about it when they banished figures from the olympics that
> if this skater had come along later she would have had a much better
> chance.
> Anybody help me out? It's been bugging me for awhile. Was this Elaine
> or somebody else?
I have this profile on tape and watched it again. Yes it was Elaine
Zayak that you're thinking of. It definitely was an accident. When she
was 2 years old she slipped and her foot went under a lawn mower. her
big toe is there, and part of the toe next to it, but the other 3 toes
are gone, as is part of the foot on that side. This was her left foot, btw.
The doctors recommended either ice or roller skating as therapy. Once the
foot healed, she was fitted with special shoes, then ice skates. Elaine
said that she took to ice skating like "candy to a baby" and a future
World champion was born.
Her coach said that the USFSA should make a cast of the foot and put it
in the Hall of Fame, because it really was a remarkable thing. It's true
that figures were always Elaine's weak point, because the foot needs to
roll and be precise. Since it was her left foot that was damaged, and
she landed jumps on her right foot, it didn't affect her jumping ability.
And she was a helluva jumper! They called her "the triple jump kid" :-)
"was"...I should say "is" since she's back in amateur competition. I missed
the U.S. Nationals this year (no, I wasn't on Mars) but I believe she came
in 4th...right?
I'd never even heard of her until the 1984 Olympics, but I watched and taped
all the "Up Close and Personals" and background bits, besides the short and
and long programs, and I became a fan. I respect her so much.
In 1979, Elaine (13) won the U.S. Junior Ladies Championship
In 1981 she was U.S Champion
In 1982 she went from 7th to 1st place at the World Championships
I don't have on tape, and can't remember, where she finished at the
1984 Olympics. Definitely the top 10. She was 13th after the school
figures, and 11th after her short program. Her short and long programs
were so wonderful! Yes, the school figures *definitely* held her back
that year.
Well, to answer your question...yep, it was Elaine Zayak :-)
Vickie
Margaret Esther Martin
: Margaret Esther Martin writes:
[my question deleted]
: > Anybody help me out? It's been bugging me for awhile. Was this Elaine
: > or somebody else?
: I'd never even heard of her until the 1984 Olympics, but I watched and taped
: all the "Up Close and Personals" and background bits, besides the short and
: and long programs, and I became a fan. I respect her so much.
: In 1979, Elaine (13) won the U.S. Junior Ladies Championship
I vaguely recall her being profiled in National Geographic World
the kids' magazine, around that time.
: In 1981 she was U.S Champion
: In 1982 she went from 7th to 1st place at the World Championships
: I don't have on tape, and can't remember, where she finished at the
: 1984 Olympics. Definitely the top 10. She was 13th after the school
: figures, and 11th after her short program. Her short and long programs
: were so wonderful! Yes, the school figures *definitely* held her back
: that year.
Thanks Vickie and everyone else who responded so quickly. I wasn't sure that
it was Elaine since I knew she had won at Nationals and Worlds where school
figures counted as well. She must be one hell of a skater to overcome
such a disadvantage
margaret