Linda Sue Fratianne (born August 2, 1960) is an American former figure skater known for winning two world-championship titles (1977, 1979), four consecutive U.S. championships (1977–1980) and a silver medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Career Throughout her figure-skating career, Fratianne was coached by Frank Carroll.
Fratianne became the first female skater to land two different types of triple jumps (toe loop and Salchow) in her free-skating programs in 1976 at the U.S. National Championships, finishing in second place. The next year, Fratianne won the gold medal.
At the World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo in 1977, Fratianne won her first world title by upsetting the favorite, Anett Pötzsch of East Germany, despite having fallen following a triple-Salchow jump in her free-skating routine. After losing to Pötzsch at the 1978 World Championships in Ottawa, Canada, where she finished second, Fratianne regained her world title in 1979 in Vienna, Austria.
Fratianne's chief rivals were Pötzsch (East Germany), Emi Watanabe (Japan) and Dagmar Lurz (West Germany). Her compulsory figures were considered to be significantly weaker than her free skating; consequently, she frequently placed well below Pötzsch and Lurz in the compulsories and compensated with strong short and free programs. In the short and free programs, Fratianne never placed lower than Pötzsch or Lurz between 1977 and 1980 in any competition. However, as the rules at the time placed much weight on compulsory figures, she only won a major title twice.
At the 1980 Winter Olympics, Fratianne placed third in the compulsory figures, first in the short program, and second in the free skate to place second overall, while Pötzsch took the gold with first in figures, fourth in the short program and third in the free skate. Fratianne and others have implied that she was robbed of the gold medal by political voting among Eastern-bloc judges, but in fact only two of the nine judges on the panel were from Eastern-bloc countries, and only the judges from Japan and the U.S. placed Fratianne first. All others placed Pötzsch first, mainly because of her substantial lead in the compulsory figures.Figure Skating at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games: Women's Singles. sports-reference.com
Judging Anett Pötzsch Linda Fratianne Compulsory Figures 46.04 points 9 places 1st rank 42.76 points 27 places 3rd rank Short Program 39.76 points 37 places 4th rank 41.44 points 11 places 1st rank Free Program 103.20 points 24 places 3rd rank 104.10 points 17 places 2nd rank Total 189.00 points 11 places 1st rank 188.30 points 16 places 2nd rank
After the 1980 Winter Games, Fratianne competed at the 1980 World Figure Skating Championships in Dortmund, West Germany, where she won the bronze medal behind her rivals Pötzsch and Lurz from West Germany.
In 1981, the scoring system used in figure skating was modified to combine the results of the compulsory figures, short program and free skating by adding placements instead of employing raw scores. This lessened the capability of skaters to accumulate large leads in the compulsory figures.
After the 1980 season, Fratianne retired from competitive skating and performed in touring shows, including ten years as a lead skater of Disney on Ice. In 1993, she was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame.U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame Members. United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame
Fratianne was known for "cementing the importance of triple jumps in [women's] skating." She also popularized simple but elaborate ornamentation and the use of sequins on skating costumes.
Personal life Fratianne was married to ski racer Nick Maricich.Olympic Medalist Linda Fratianne Engaged. Associated Press. February 25, 1987
Results
International Event 73-74 74–75 75–76 76–77 77–78 78–79 79–80 Winter Olympics 8th 2nd World Championships 5th 1st 2nd 1st 3rd Skate Canada 1st NHK Trophy 2nd Richmond Trophy 3rd St. Ivel International 1st St. Gervais 1st Nebelhorn Trophy 2nd National U.S. Championships 2nd J 7th 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st
References
External links
Linda Fratianne. IMDb Fratianne-Poetzsch: Clearing the Record Detailed results from the 1980 Olympics