Debbie Thomas, 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics

Debbie's bio...

Thomas married Brian Vander Hogen on March 15, 1988 in Boulder, Colorado. After their relationship ended, she married a sports attorney, Chris Bequette, in autumn 1996. They had a son named Christopher Jules "Luc" Bequette (b. 1997) before divorcing. She and fiance Jamie Looney now live with his two sons, Ethan and Austin in southwest Virginia.

Thomas was diagnosed with bipolar disorder by April 2012. In November 2015, reports stated that she was living in a bed bug-infested trailer in the Appalachian mountains with her fiance who was struggling with anger and alcohol issues. Thomas stated that she was "broke", having lost most of her savings through her two divorces and failed medical practice, and had lost custody of her son when he was 13. She was featured in the November 7, 2015, episode of the television series, Iyanla: Fix My Life, on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Thomas is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

I blame that bitch Katarina Witt!

I still swoon in my AARP years over Katarina Witt. I'm still not sure why Debi Thomas thought going head to head (DBN) on Carmen was a good idea. Still, I have so much sympathy/conflicted thoughts on Debi's spriral. For someone who worked so hard, and achieved so much (even post figure skating), it's been pretty darned ugly. Tonya Harding seems functional at this point, even before the whole I, Tonya redemption movie moment.

I think that -- a couple of years ago -- there was even a GoFundMe page set up, along with talk of a reality TV show. IIRC, she had kind of gone off the deeper end of conspiracy theory peddling as a way of making money.

I loved that outfit and she was a great spinner.

r3 Really into Nazi sympathizing lipstick lesbians?

If KW was a big name now a day, I'm sure she'd have a big following in the alt-right and would be advertising threesomes at a couple hundred k a pop to wealthy middle eastern men on instagram.

R6, KW is a Nazi sympathizer? Never heard that.

Thanks for playing R6.

Poor R6 is confused about Stazi and Nazi. But that's OK, I suppose. She seems to have an active fantasy life.

Iyanla tried to fix Debbie's life, but I don't think she was successful. (Is she ever?) They couldn't even show the inside of the trailer Debbie lives in because it was so disgusting. Iyanla went inside and they just showed her horrified reaction when she came back out.

r9 1. I was being intentionally facetious, 2. It's Stasi not Stazi and 3. KW drew a lot of praise but a lot of flack for skating to Schindler's List as a German. Some gave her credit for being willing to do it as German, but many others felt like she was trying to paper over the difficulties of her transitional generation and the legacy of Nazism and a ploy for sympathetic judging (how can you not give a 6.0 to a holocaust performance! ITS IMPORTANT JERRY!) Further, it was considered hollow for her to specifically skate as the girl in the red coat as an adult (and buxom) woman when that character is used as synecdoche in the movie for a generation of children who would be decimated by the Holocaust.

It was in poor taste and she should have apologized for it.

I stand by KW being a lipstick lesbian.

SJW alert at R11! SJW alert at R11!

Please evacuate the premises so R11 can have her safe space!

Such a sad sad story. Early diagnosis is the answer. Well, at least one of the answers.

she did a triple axel into the mental institution

2. It's Stasi not Stazi - R6

We all know that, Godwin.

Love Debi Thomas. Bipolar is a bitch.

Maybe she can marry Christopher Dean.

How do you go from being an Olympic medal winning figure skater, to a doctor, to living in a bug-infested trailer??

The amount of mental pressure on her during her youth must have just broken her.

I can only imagine the stress and pressure (to be the best) put on a person, pushing and driving them to the brink of insanity.

That was a beautiful skate at R16.

And how poetic that she did her Bronze Medal exhibition skate to George Michael's "One More Try."

So sad.

I loved Debi Thomas. It sucked to see her crumble under the pressure at the Olympics. She had worked so hard.

It sucks even more that she is doing so poorly.

Did she lose her medical license forever? It’s so so difficult to become a physician, someone that smart could surely bounce back once she stabilizes.

bipolar mental disease is terrible and is tough to control. Sorry to hear about all the terrible events in her life.

INVINCIBLE

What a sad way to live ones life.

Debbie refused to talk to Katarina Witt after losing the battle of the Carmens back in 1988.

She looked OK when she was interviewed by NBC last week. Witt, however, looked even better (as European women do). As for the Two Brians: Boitano went bald, and Orser got fat.

Brian Orser may have gotten thicker, but I'd still hit it. Given that I live in Toronto, I think I still may have a chance.

It wasn't the pressure. It was her mental illness which would have probably taken over her life with or without the Olympics.

It is very sad.

Bitch please..

She must have become bi-polar after her athletic career ended because I don't see how she could have made it to the Olympics with a mental illness like that. In the book "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes", an expose of the punishing world of world class gymnastics and figure skating, it talked of how Thomas blew her chance at Olympic gold. She was the favored skater; on the cover of Time magazine she was declared "America's Sweetheart." During her practices at the Olympics she never missed a jump. Katarina Witt was considered her major competition but her skating was mediocre. In top form, Thomas could have beaten her easily. But before going out to do her long program one of her coaches said to her "Do it for America!" And that supposedly spooked her so badly that she totally blew it, and within seconds lost any chance at a gold. That's all it took: "Do it for America." Anyway, it was surprising that her life turned out as miserable as it did. She had a career as a doctor, for God's sake and she must have had resources available to her that would helped her. Maybe she's one of those hopeless cases. What a downfall. I wonder if some movie will be made about HER: "I, Debi."

Katarina Witt skating was mediocre?! Sure compared to todays standard. But back in the day she was anything but mediocre.

Debi made so many errors during her performance that no way should she have won.

"Katarina Witt skating was mediocre?!"

Her performance at the Olympics with Debi Thomas was unspectacular. If Debi Thomas had been at her best she could have beaten her easily. But the pressure finally got to her and she flopped terrible. And indeed, the comment "Do it for America!" seemed to be the catalyst for her dismal performance. It's amazing that something so trivial as that made her fall apart. Sounds to me like she was not equipped temperamentally for Olympic competition.

Katarina Witt won in 1988 because she was the best. Debi was/is a wreck and didn't have the charisma, charm or beauty Katarina has.

I'd still do Katarina in a heartbeat! Holy shit she's still hot!

What a sad story.

Katarina not only won in 1988. She also won in life.

Debi lost big time.

They were so set on either Witt or Thomas winning that it didn't matter what anyone else did. Manley was robbed of the gold.

It’s sad to see heroes fall from their pedestals. But in Debi’s case, I wonder how much of that could have been avoided, or overcome? She was an orthopedic surgeon, for fuck sake, she couldn’t get a job anywhere else after her bankruptcy?

This recent article (yes it’s from the N.Y. Post but it’s not terrible), states that she is now trying to be a hypnotist and is selling gold called “karatbars”, which sounds like a scammy version of bitcoin.

I do feel bad for her and her life choices, but armed with a medical degree and Olympian legacy, it’s hard to feel too sorry for her.

Link to article

Wasn't KWitt a two time gold medalist?

Did she win in 84 also

Dude, it was communism vs capitalism. In this case "The most beautiful face of socialism" won big time.

Debi is a broke twice divorcee with kids she doesn't see in an abusive relationship.

Katarina Witt is a multi-millionaire who has never been married and doesn't have kids (closeted?). She spends her money on helping children with disabilities and seems to be an all around good and healthy person.

R35, no she wasn't. Manley won the free skate. She was 4th after compulsories and 3rd after the short. It was math that kept her from gold.

Debi has gone bat-shit crazy, she needs meds STAT

My sister worked as an RN at King/Drew Medical Center in LA when Debi was a resident there in around 2006. She says Debi was always friendly and professional, even though she reportedly didn't get along with her fellow MDs. She became completely unglued after she moved to Virginia.

LOL in that clip, Witt looks like she's ready to lead out a passel of trained poodles at the circus. I always hated her brand of pose and wink skating. However, she was a great competitor. She skated like her life depended on it, which it probably did.

I met Debi at a promotion for Thomas' Muffins in NYC a few years ago -- other famous names with Thomas -- Richard Thomas and Phillip Michael Thomas were also there. She was very nice. Her fiancee seemed to be a nice enough guy. I asked her why she wasn't working as a doctor, and she said she wasn't doing that anymore (or at present). I said isn't it possible to join some other group of doctors in another practice if she'd rather work with other people, and she sort of shook her head. I told her I remember her terrific skating and wished her well.

Richard Thomas was very nice -- talked some relatively obscure plays I had seen him do on Broadway, and he liked that, rather than go on about "The Waltons" -- plus it looks like he had the birthmark removed or well-covered. Phillip Michael Thomas gave me a great handshake and was as friendly as can be. Both gents looked good. Phillip has apparently been busy since he did "Miami Vice" as he has about 10 kids!

But I did feel kind of sad about Debi. I hope she gets some direction. I told her someone who can train and earn an Olympic medal and can go to Stanford and become a doctor can do whatever she wants to do.

I find it hard to feel sorry for her. She had it all, but she threw it all away.

R44 "I met Debi at a promotion for Thomas' Muffins in NYC a few years ago -- other famous names with Thomas -- Richard Thomas and Phillip Michael Thomas were also there."

Wait... is this for real???

What could have been. I don't think she ever skated this program perfectly, but if she had done it this well she would have won:

"Katarina Witt won in 1988 because she was the best."

I saw her performance at that Olympics. At best, she was uninspired. You just think she performed brilliantly because you think she's hot.

Actually Elizabeth Manley won the free skate. If they had the scoring systems back then, we have now Liz Manley would have won the gold.

But because Katarina beat Manley in the both figures and short, she was able win the gold, even after losing the long to Manley

She didn't "throw it all away", R45. She has bi-polar and she wasn't diagnosed until late in the game. She did not lose her MD license-she let it expire. She did not get along with her fellow physician's where she worked. I think her mental illness did her in-probably manic and argumentative.

I want her to find her way back. I do feel sorry for her.

Katarina was a spy for the commies.

I want to see the pictures the Stasi has of Katrina Witt pinching a dookie.

R52 Katarina had her Stasi file returned to her

Piggy Little Liz

Liz Manley skated a spectacular long program at the 88 Olympics. She won the free skate as has been mentioned. Katarina's LP to "Carmen" was dull, with little technical content, mostly her posing and prancing around to stimulate the judges. But she was far enough ahead from the compulsory figures and short program that Manley couldn't overcome that lead even with a brilliant free skate. Debi had a great short program and had a good free skate planned but crumpled under the white-hot Olympic pressure. Witt was always intimidating, coming out to watch her chief rivals skate, making sure she could be seen, to add more pressure.

R49, if they had the current scoring system back then, Midori Ito would have left them all in the dust.

R56 Midori Ito presentations scores were lower than her technical scores, thus she would only get the bronze medal. She did place 3rd in the long program behind Witt & Manley

Again, if we were applying the current scoring system, Ito's base point values would have been so far ahead of the rest they could not have caught up. Ito landed 7 triples, including a 3-3 combo. Manley, by comparison, landed 5 , none in combo.

This would make wonderful nomination material for Viola. "I, Debbie". Maybe I should produce it. Would a producer Oscar count as #4?

[quote] Again, if we were applying the current scoring system, Ito's base point values would have been so far ahead of the rest they could not have caught up. Ito landed 7 triples, including a 3-3 combo. Manley, by comparison, landed 5 , none in combo.

It is not about just jumps. There is stroking, spins, footwork, speed, etc.

Ito might have the upper hand in the technical, but back in 1988 her artistic impression still needed work.

Final top 7 at the 1988 Olympics:

Gold - Katarina Witt

Silver - Elizabeth Manley

Bronze - Debi Thomas

4th - Jill Trenary

5th - Midori Ito

6th - Claudia Leistner

7th - Kira Ivanova

Midori Ito placed 10th in the compulsory figures, 4th in the short and 3rd in the free skate, for 5th overall.

Poor Caryn Kadavy of the U.S. did the compulsory figures and skated the short program, but then got the flu and had to withdraw from the competition before the free skate. Caryn did go on to have a successful carer as a pro skater.

I didn't realize the tragic story of Kira Ivanova's later life until recently:

R60, I think it was strong enough. She had excellent footwork and spins. She should have won the short.

The best part about Manley's program was the commentary. The lack of it to be exact. They though she was going to be dusting the ice with her ass and really had nothing positive planned to say. She gets a babble at the beginning and then a babble at the end. Even Manley looked shocked at the end of her program. She had that look on her face that was like "what the fuck was that".

God all those figure skaters (men and women) have aged badly. Why?

Actually, the best way to watch Manley's program is with the sound off completely. That music was fucking awful.

hurts my heart. she deserves a good clean safe sane life.

I loved Liz Manley's program. Especially the music.

I love that Manley was all but counted out and she just slayed the fuck out of it. As the announcer said "Everyone should have a moment like that in their lives."

[quote] Debbie Thomas

It's DEBI, you cunt!

gonna go look for a pegi fleming thread......

hey! every body.....appreciate 3 things in your day

then 3 at the end of this day....good medicine

i've slipped a bit on the outlook lately i think i am back.

It's PEGGY, you fat whore!

Jill Trenary was the prettiest.

Mental illness is a bitch. The ONLY way Debi Thomas, an Olympic medalist and orthopedic surgeon, could have been brought down was through mental illness.

It sucks and we should treat people with it better.

It brought this accomplished woman to her knees. It could do it to anyone.

I saw a documentary on Debi and the '88 Olympics in which she sort of blamed her coach Alex McGowan for keeping her standing around backstage instead of finding a place for her to relax while waiting for her turn. I'll bet she also had enough of skating, and wanted to be back at college. See Polina Edmunds for further information.

As for her medical career, I'm not a doctor on the internet or off, but I understand that once you get a bad reputation with other MD's you can pretty much forget it. Especially as a resident. She should have been kissing ass right and left. Mental illness is a terrible thing.

Didn't Debi have a bad parting with her coach? They basically stopped speaking after the Games. There's got to be more to the story than that.

Did Polina just up and quit skating, or what?

I don't know her.

In the Manley clip you can clearly tell that the bring down the house applause for Manley really shook Debi up. She really shouldn't have been where she was. She's right. She shouldn't have come out until she had to.

Nobody expected Manley to bring down the house, because her past performances were sub-par. In fact she wasn't even a medal favorite. Back then the money was on Jill Trenary or Caryn Kadvy to bring home the bronze.

If Debi had to skate after Katarina, I think they would have sheltered Debi more backstage and find a quiet place for her to veg out. But since Manley always fell short in the long program, I think her team felt it was okay for her to hang out near the boards, waiting for her turn while Manley skated. But then after bringing down the house, that must of unnerved Debi, and threw her off her game.

compulsories counted more than the short at that time

Here's another favorite performance. Only because it's not any good. Nicole Bobek. She looks like she just gave up at about 3/4 of her skate. It looks like she's about to fall asleep. The best part is the commentators' knives come out. "Well there's the hop anyway", "she's just flopping her way through", "whatever that was supposed to be", "overweight" "that what was supposed to be some straight line foot work". Then she does a whore cunt bump on the ice at the end.

Compulsories used to count even more. They first took up 60% of the final score, and that was eventually whittled down to 30%. Then after the 1988 Olympics and World they were reduced to 20% until they were phased out. The short program didn't even exist until the 1970s.

Oh please the number skating performance of a skater who just gave up is Laetitia Hubert of France

This has become a classic!

^That was actually a successful skate for Laetitia in that she kept her ass off the ice.

Her long in Albertville is the real classic. *Allegedly* Scott Hamilton couldn't stop laughing and had to turn his mic off because he was reminded of an SNL skit earlier that month about a figure skater who kept falling.

Tbh, I suspect Katarina Witt to be a woman who's under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Look at her latest instagram post. Almost seems like she's slightly brain damaged.

R75, Polina Edmunds got a bone bruise from a poorly broken in boot. She was second at Nationals and on her way to Worlds when she withdrew. She started college after that, but started a comeback last year. Her body had matured, so she's bigger than she was, but the main problem was the bone bruise interfered with her jumping. As the season went on, some of her jumps returned, but she has issues with shooting pain on her toe jumps. In terms of PCS and spins, she actually looks really good.

She skated first at Nationals in the short and ended up in seventh, even without the harder jumps, but she withdrew before the FS--the Skating Lesson boys said she hadn't practiced the FS in a month. She did perform it at her one Grand Prix assignment--and, yep, the jumps were an issue.

Really unlucky injury--if she hadn't been injured, I think it's quite likely that Polina, not Karen Chen, would have been U.S. Champion last year and gone to the Olympics this year. She was just starting to come into her own--Gracie Gold had to muster a hell of a skate to beat her at U.S. Nationals in 2016--Polina was ahead after the short and didn't lose the long by much.

OK thank you for the info.

r11 don't know about her being a lipstick lezzie. In her book, Only with Passion, she writes about her love for men. She seems like a nice but damaged person.