Lucinda Ruh

Lucinda Ruh
Personal information
Country represented   Switzerland
Born (1979-07-13) 13 July 1979
Height 5'9" (175.26 cm)
Former coach Liu Hongyun
Oliver Höner
Nobuo Sato
Christy Ness
Former choreographer Robin Cousins
Alexander Zhulin
Toller Cranston
Lea Ann Miller
Sarah Kawahara
Christopher Dean
Retired 2000

Lucinda Martha Ruh (born 13 July 1979 in Zurich, Switzerland)[1] is a one-time Swiss national figure skating champion known for her extreme flexibility and outstanding spinning ability.[2] On 3 April 2003 she set a world record for the most continuous spins (115) on one foot at Chelsea Piers Sky Rink in New York City, United States. She nearly doubled the previous record of Neil Wilson of Britain (60 revolutions).[1]

Personal life

Ruh was born in Zurich, Switzerland but her family moved to Paris, France not long after.[1] When she was four, her family relocated to Tokyo, Japan where she began skating shortly thereafter.[1][3] She was initially more focused on ballet and at age seven received a scholarship to the Royal Ballet of London but a year later, chose to focus on skating.[1] She also practiced the piano and cello.[1]

Ruh lives in Greenwich, Connecticut.[2] In May 2012, she gave birth to twin girls, Angelica and Angelina.[4][5]

Career

In 1986, Ruh began working with coach Nobuo Sato.[1] She won the bronze medal at the Japanese Junior Figure Skating Championships in 1994. Although she initially enjoyed jumps, Ruh's interest in them waned as she grew to 5'9" (175.26 cm), "Since the center of gravity was higher, combined with the rigid training while growing, I never really had a chance to get my timing and balance back. As a result, injuries from bad falls plagued me even more and I started not liking jumps."[1]

In 1996 she moved to Toronto, Canada to work with Toller Cranston.[1] In 1997, she worked with Christy Ness in San Francisco, California[3] but developed two Achilles tendinitis, a ruptured shoulder and Sciatica.[1] In 1998 she moved to Harbin, China to train with Chen Lu's former coach, Hongyun Liu, but although her jumping improved, the Chinese federation objected to a non-national being trained by him.[1] In December, she moved to Switzerland where she met coach Oliver Höner; it was the first time she had resided in her birth country.[1]

In the summer of 1999, she went to the U.S. and was briefly coached by Galina Zmievskaya but tore knee ligaments and returned to Switzerland for treatment.[1] Her last ISU event was the 1999 Cup of Russia. She sustained an injury after falling on a jump during practice the day before the competition but took three Cortisone injections a day and finished 6th at the event.[1] She later learned she had fractured her spine, resulting in two dislocated discs.[1] Her spinning may also have resulted in subtle concussions.[6] A study is underway to determine whether intensive training of spins may cause concussions.[6]

She cites the pair Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov as the skaters she admired the most while growing up.[1]

Following her retirement, Ruh began working as a coach and a spinning coach specialist. Ruh participated in the 2010 and 2011 iterations of "One Step Closer", a figure skating exhibition to benefit the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children.[7][8]

Ruh is author of Frozen Teardrop, a memoir published by SelectBooks on November 2011.[9]

Competitive highlights

Event 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
World Championships 18th 19th 15th 23rd 13th
European Championships 23rd
Swiss Championships 3rd 1st 2nd 2nd 3rd
Skate Canada 6th 3rd
Cup of Russia 6th

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Slater, Paula (April 29, 2004). "Lucinda Ruh: Strong Spirit Defeats Fractured Spine". GoldenSkate. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Perry Bind, Barbara (February 25, 2011). "Skating Royalty: 'Queen of Spin' Lucinda Ruh". greenwichcitizen.com. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Lucinda Ruh: Online Interview". Golden Skate. July 30, 2002. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
  4. ↑ Brannen, Sarah S.; Meekins, Drew (June 8, 2012). "The Inside Edge: Young Artists Showcase". Icenetwork.
  5. ↑ https://twitter.com/MWskatecast/status/206101555915657216/photo/1
  6. 1 2 Kutiakose, Sabina (February 7, 2012). "Dr. Investigates Figure Skating Dangers". NBC Connecticut. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  7. ↑ ""One Step Closer" a big success for David". icenetwork.com. April 12, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  8. ↑ ""One Step Closer" to be held April 9". Ice Network. March 7, 2011.
  9. ↑ Manley, Allison. "Book Review: Lucinda Ruh’s "Frozen Teardrop"". The Manleywoman SkateCast.

External links

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