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Judy Blumberg

Judith Ann Blumberg (born September 13, 1957) is an American former competitive ice dancer. With Michael Seibert, she is a three-time World bronze medalist (1983–85), the 1980 Skate Canada International champion, the 1981 Skate America champion, and a five-time U.S. national champion (1981–85).

Judy Blumberg
Full nameJudith Ann Blumberg
Born (1957-09-13) September 13, 1957 (age 67)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Figure skating career
Country United States
Medal record
Figure skating: Ice dancing
Representing the  United States
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1985 Tokyo Ice dancing
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Ottawa Ice dancing
Bronze medal – third place 1983 Helsinki Ice dancing

Personal life

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Blumberg was born in Santa Monica, California, and is Jewish.[1][2][3] She is the daughter of a clothing manufacturer and grew up in Tarzana, California.[4]

She majored in special education at California State University, Northridge.[4] She adopted a girl, Etienne.[5] Her daughter was born c. 2006.[6]

Career

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On the ice from the age of ten, Blumberg trained nearly three hours every morning and a few more hours following school in Tarzana, California.[6] She switched from singles to ice dancing when she was around 19 years old and had one early partnership.[4]

Partnership with Seibert

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Blumberg met Michael Seibert at the 1977 U.S. Championships in Hartford, Connecticut.[4] They soon tried out successfully but delayed the partnership for a year and a half until they had both relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado.[7] In 2014, recalling the start of their partnership, Blumberg stated, "I knew this would be the boy I would skate with. You know when you move similar to someone, when your knees work with someone."[6]

In 1979, Blumberg/Seibert were awarded the bronze medal at their first U.S. Championships,[8] having finished third behind Stacey Smith / John Summers and Carol Fox / Richard Dalley. The following year, they passed Fox/Dalley to take the silver medal behind Smith/Summers at the 1980 U.S. Championships in Atlanta.[8] They were included in the U.S. team to the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. After placing 7th at the Olympics, the two concluded their season with a 6th-place result at the 1980 World Championships in Dortmund, West Germany.

Blumberg/Seibert began the 1980–81 season with gold at the 1980 Skate Canada International, ahead of British duo Karen Barber / Nicky Slater. They then outscored Fox/Dalley to win the first of five straight U.S. national titles, at the 1981 U.S. Championships in San Diego,[8] and ranked fourth at the 1981 World Championships in Hartford.

In the 1981–82 season, the duo obtained gold at the 1981 Skate America and the 1982 U.S. Championships in Indianapolis. They finished fourth at the 1982 World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, they won the first of three consecutive World bronze medals. Their skating-related expenses, $50,000 per year, were mainly covered by their families until the 1983–84 Olympic season when they received funding from the United States Olympic Committee, U.S. Figure Skating, one corporate and several private sponsors.[4]

Blumberg/Seibert finished fourth at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.[9][10] They had ranked third in the compulsory and original dances before being overtaken by Marina Klimova / Sergei Ponomarenko of the Soviet Union. The Italian judge, Cia Bordogna, scored them lower in the free dance than other judges, saying later that she considered their music unsuitable for ice dancing.[11]

Blumberg/Seibert agreed in early September 1984 to compete one more season as amateurs.[11] They were initially coached by Bobby Thompson in London and then by Claire O'Neill Dillie in Pittsburgh and New York City.[11] The two won their fifth national title, in Kansas City, Missouri, and then bronze at the 1985 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

Blumberg and Seibert performed in several Champions on Ice tours in the early 1980s.[10] They won the 1988 World Professional title. They parted ways in 1992.[5] Although Blumberg wanted to continue performing together, Seibert decided to end their partnership in order to focus on choreography and directing.[12]

Later career

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In 1992, Blumberg teamed up with Jim Yorke and skated professionally with him for 3½ years.[5] She was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1996. In January 2014, she was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[6]

Blumberg has worked as a figure skating commentator for CBS Sports, the ensemble director for the Ice Theatre of New York, and a skating coach in Sun Valley, Idaho.[6] She has also appeared as a motivational speaker and as an ISU Technical Specialist.[13]

Programs

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Season Original set pattern Free dance
1984–85
  • Fire on Ice
    by Joel Silverman
1983–84
1982–83
1981–82
1980–81
  • Boogie disco
  • Tango
  • March
1979–80

Results

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with Seibert
International
Event 78–79 79–80 80–81 81–82 82–83 83–84 84–85
Olympics 7th 4th
World Champ. 6th 4th 4th 3rd 3rd 3rd
Skate America 4th 1st
Skate Canada 1st
National
U.S. Champ. 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Judy Blumberg". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020.
  2. ^ "Olympian skates to hall of fame". Jewish Journal. February 5, 2014.
  3. ^ "Jews at the Winter Olympics". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e Donahue, Deirdre (January 9, 1984). "Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert Skate as a Team, but They Keep Their Passion Strictly on Ice". People.
  5. ^ a b c Brown, Mickey (June 24, 2008). "Jim Yorke, 45, passes away at his L.A. home". IceNetwork.com.
  6. ^ a b c d e Miller, Leila (February 5, 2014). "Olympian skates to hall of fame". Jewish Journal.
  7. ^ a b Alfano, Peter (October 18, 1983). "Players; Dancing on ice together, as one". The New York Times.
  8. ^ a b c Hines, James R. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-8108-6859-5.
  9. ^ Litsky, Frank (February 17, 1984). "Figure-skating judges have routine all their own". The New York Times.
  10. ^ a b Hines (2011), p. 41
  11. ^ a b c Vecsey, George (November 18, 1984). "Sports of The Times; Skating Pair Together Again". The New York Times.
  12. ^ a b Eberson, Sharon (February 15, 2014). "Person of interest: Michael Seibert, five-time U.S. ice dancing champion". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  13. ^ "Communication No. 1467". International Skating Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 3, 2009.
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