Heather Kemkaran-Antymniuk (born August 2, 1958) is a Canadian former competitive

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

who competed in ladies' singles. She is the 1977 Vienna Trophy champion, the

1977 Skate Canada International The 1977 Skate Canada International was held in Moncton, New Brunswick on October 27–29. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discip ...

bronze medalist, and a two-time

Canadian national The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

champion (1978, 1980). She competed at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

Personal life

Heather Kemkaran was born on August 2, 1958, in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. She is now known as Kemkaran-Antymniuk and works as a lawyer.

Skating career

Kemkaran started skating at age three on an outdoor rink in Strathclair. She was coached at age 11 by Gordon Linney at the Winnipeg Winter Club and at age 13 she joined

Hellmut May Hellmut May (June 9, 1921 – November 11, 2011) was a figure skater who represented Austria at the Winter Olympics in 1936 and 1948. Life and career Hellmut May was 14 years old when he competed at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Par ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. In 1974, she joined

Carlo Fassi Carlo Fassi (20 December 1929 – 20 March 1997) was an Italian figure skater and international coach whose students included several World and Olympic champions. As a single skater, he was the 1953 World bronze medalist, a two-time European c ...

at the Colorado Ice Arena in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and eventually she was splitting her time between Colorado and the

Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club The Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club is a private sport and social club located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The club offers a variety of sporting and social programs including aquatics, cricket, croquet, curling, figure skating, fitne ...

, where she trained under

Ellen Burka Ellen Burka (née Danby; August 11, 1921 – September 12, 2016) was a Canadian-Dutch figure skater and coach. She became Member of the Order of Canada in 1978 and was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. Personal life Ellen ...

. Kemkaran won the 1975 Vienna Trophy. She began the following season with bronze at the

Richmond Trophy The Richmond Trophy was an international figure skating competition for ladies' singles held annually from 1949 to 1980 at the Richmond Ice Rink in Twickenham, London. It was the only invitational international competition (as opposed to the IS ...

and went on to reach her first senior national podium, taking silver behind

Lynn Nightingale Lynn Nightingale, later Connor (born August 5, 1956) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. She won gold medals at the Skate Canada International, Prague Skate, Richmond Trophy and Prize of Moscow News, as well as four Canadian national ...

at the 1977 Canadian Championships. She was sent to the 1977 World Championships in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and finished 13th. In the 1977–78 season, Kemkaran was awarded bronze at the

before winning the national title ahead of Cathie MacFarlane. She placed 12th at the 1978 World Championships in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. During the 1978–79 season, Kemkaran took silver behind Janet Morrissey at the Canadian Championships. She was coached by Louis Stong. Kemkaran returned to Burka for her final competitive season. She won her second national title and was selected to compete at the

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...

. She finished 15th after placing 16th in figures, 12th in the short program, and 15th in the free skate. After being bypassed for the world team in favor of rising star Tracy Wainman (the bronze medalist from Nationals) Heather would retire from amateur skating.

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemkaran, Heather 1958 births Canadian female single skaters Figure skaters at the 1980 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Canada Living people Sportspeople from Winnipeg