Joanne Conway

Joanne Conway
Personal information
Full name Joanne Conway
Country represented United Kingdom
Born 11 March 1971
Wallsend, Tyne and Wear[1]
Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Former coach Carlo Fassi[2]
Skating club Gillingham Ice Dance and Figure Skating Club
Retired 1992

Joanne Conway (born 11 March 1971) is a retired British figure skater. A six-time British national champion, she placed as high as 4th at the European Championships and 7th at the World Championships. She also competed at two Winter Olympics.

Career

Conway won six British national titles,[3] winning her first at the age of 14.[4] She made her major championship debut at the 1986 European Championships, finishing 11th. She went on to achieve top-ten placings three times at the World Championships and four times at European Championships. Her most successful year was 1991, when she finished 4th at the European Championships and 7th at the World Championships. She also competed twice at the Winter Olympics, finishing 12th in 1988 and 18th in 1992.[1] She was the first British woman to land a triple flip successfully in competition at the 1991 European Figure Skating Championships.

Conway retired from competitive skating in 1992 and turned professional, becoming a regular performer in the Hot Ice Show at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.[4] She was appointed head coach in 2005.[3][5] In 2008, Conway moved to coach in Spain.[6][7] In 2012, she returned to the UK and since 2013 has worked as a coach and is also the current Arena Manager at Blackpool Pleasure Beach Arena.[8]

Personal life

In 1997, Conway was divorced from footballer Gary Owers after five years of marriage.[9] She later married skating coach John Dunn, with whom she has two children.[8]

Competitive highlights

International
Event 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92
Winter Olympic Games 12th 18th
World Championships 10th 10th 7th 14th
European Championships 11th 10th 6th 4th 9th
Skate America 7th
Skate Canada International 3rd 3rd
St. Ivel International 3rd 5th 3rd 2nd
Nebelhorn Trophy 3rd
National
British Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Joanne Conway". Sports Reference. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  2. ↑ Janofsky, Michael (4 January 1988). "Olympic Profile: Coach of Champions Goes For More Gold". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Duke, Robin (3 February 2005). "Olympic skater appointed as Pleasure Beach head coach". The Stage. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Brenkley, Stephen (22 February 1998). "Winter Olympics: Whatever happened to Frosty Bum?". The Independent (London). Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  5. ↑ Holt, Pauline (29 May 2005). "Freeze a jolly good fellow". Evening Chronicle. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
  6. ↑ Robertson, Sarah (13 January 2008). "North Ice champ leaves the country". Evening Chronicle. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013.
  7. ↑ "Joanne Conway Figure Skating School". National Ice Skating Association. 25 August 2009. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Josh Whidbourne in solo appearance". Lambco skating. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  9. ↑ Robertson, Sarah (6 April 2008). "North skate queen’s baby joy". Evening Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013.