![2014 U](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/2014_U.S._Adult_Nationals_-_Hyannis%2C_Massachusetts.jpg)
Larry Holliday (born July 5, 1964 in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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) is an American
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 ...
. He is the six time U.S. Adult Championship Masters Men Champion,
[Ice Network news. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120414&content_id=28690434&vkey=ice_news&tcid=fb_share] and he was a member of
Team USA in 1990.
Adult skating career
At the 2002 U.S. Adult National Figure Skating Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he became the first skater to successfully land a triple jump in the Championship Masters event. In doing so, he won his first National title, and "earned a place in figure skating history".
[Skating magazine. "A Holliday to Remember". Official publication of U.S. Figure Skating, January 2005, p.46]
In February 2003 Holliday co-directed the second edition of Ebony On Ice at the
Auditorium Theater
The Auditorium Theatre is a music and performance venue located inside the Auditorium Building at 50 Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago, Illinois. Inspired by the Richardsonian Romanesque Style of architect Henry Hobson Richardson, the building was d ...
in Chicago, Illinois. Nine time French Champion and five time European Ladies Champion
Surya Bonaly
Surya Varuna Claudine Bonaly (born 15 December 1973) is a French-born retired competitive figure skater. She is a three-time World silver medalist (1993–1995), a five-time European champion (1991–1995), the 1991 World Junior Champion, and a ...
was the special guest skater.
After the show ended, Holliday began intensive training for the 2003 Adult Championships where he won again. His program included two triple jumps.
At the 2004 U.S. Adult Championships in Lake Placid, New York held at the
Herb Brooks Arena
The Herb Brooks Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Lake Placid, New York. This surface, along with the USA Rink, was built for the 1980 Winter Olympics.
About
The arena hosted various events during the 1980 Winter Olympics, most famously the ice ...
, Holliday won his third consecutive title. Skating under the 6.0 system, Holliday received a high technical mark of 5.5 and a high artistic mark of 5.6. He included three triple jumps in his program.
Holliday had to watch the 2005 U.S. Adult Championships from the stands with a brace on his right leg. One week before the Championships, Holliday broke his leg and was forced to undergo surgery to repair the patellar tendon, missing two years of competition. Returning to competition Holliday won the silver medal in 2007 and the bronze medal in 2008 at the U.S. Adult Championships. Finally at the 2009 U.S. Adult Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Holliday regained the National title. At the 2010 U. S. Adult Championships in Bloomington, Minnesota Holliday successfully defended, and captured his fifth title with a score of 49.56. A mere 0.25 separated the top 3 medalists.
On April 14, 2012 at the 2012 U.S. Adult Championships, in Bensenville, Illinois, Holliday won his sixth national title. Skating to "
While My Guitar Gently Weeps", Holliday had an emotional win and a score of 51.55.
The Championship junior-senior men's event at the 2013 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships in Scottsdale, Arizona featured a triple jump for the first time in years, with Holliday landing a triple Salchow. Unfortunately mounting mistakes later in the program kept him from defending the title.
Skating to Casablanca, Holliday won the Open Master Senior Men gold medal at the 2014 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships with his highest point total to date 56.55.
[Ice Network results. http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2014/2014_us_adult_fs_champs/results.html]
In the Championship Junior-Senior Men event he won the pewter medal finishing in 4th place, only .11 points from the bronze. The event was held in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
Outskirts Press published "The Larry Holliday Story" in 2008.
Holliday currently coaches at McFetridge Sports Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Early skating career
Holliday began skating in December 1976 after seeing an outdoor ice rink (Lake Shore Park) from the 72nd floor of a friends apartment in the
John Hancock Center.
[Sports Illustrated. "A One-Man Spectacular: Holliday on Ice". Lisa Twyman Bessone, February 11, 1991, page 14 https://www.si.com/vault/1991/02/11/123615/a-one-man-spectacular-holliday-on-ice-chicagos-larry-holliday-has-persevered-during-hard-times-to-become-skatings-unlikeliest-rising-star]
In April 1977, Holliday began training at the Rainbo Ice Arena on Clark St. in Chicago. He attended classes there and met his first skating coach Jim Maier, who taught him all the basics of the sport, and gave him an excellent foundation to rise to the top.
Holliday made his first National appearance at the 1982
United States Figure Skating Championships
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships is a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often ...
held in Indianapolis, Indiana at the
Market Square Arena. He competed in the Novice Men event and finished in 5th place, behind 12-year-old gold medalist
Rudy Galindo.
In 1987, Holliday was invited to train in the Denver suburb of Littleton, Colorado with Norma Sahlin, the famed coach of World Champions
Jill Trenary and
Charlie Tickner.
During his stay,
Alex English
Alexander English (born January 5, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and businessman.
A South Carolina native, English played college basketball at the University of South Carolina. He was drafted in the second ...
of the
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
became his mentor/sponsor, and by 1990 he had a top 10 finish in the nation, which earned him a spot on the U.S. National Team (Team USA).
A very high jumper throughout his career, Holliday's jumps were measured at 37 inches high in 1990.
At the
1990 United States Figure Skating Championships
The 1990 U.S. Figure Skating Championships took place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Medals were awarded in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth) in four disciplines – single skating, men's singles, ladies' s ...
, held at the
Salt Palace
The Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center, more commonly known as the Salt Palace, is a convention center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Named after Utah's 11th governor, Calvin L. Rampton, the name "Salt Palace" was previously used by two ...
in Salt Lake City, Utah, Holliday skated in the final National Championships where the
Compulsory figures event was combined with the short and long programs. He finished in 12th place in the
Compulsory figures event and 10th overall. His overall 10th-place finish at the Nationals qualified him for the 1990
U.S. Olympic Festival
The U.S. Olympic Festival was a junior multi-sport event held in the United States by the United States Olympic Committee in the years between the Olympic Games. It was started in 1978 as an American counterpart to the communist Spartakiad – a si ...
competition, held at the
Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota July 7–8, 1990.
During the summer of 1990 a group of sponsors put forth a major effort to get Holliday to the 1992 Winter Olympics. There were dozens of articles on Holliday, countless radio spots, and at least four different television reports, including a segment on the Today show (Sportsman of the Week, narrated by
Deborah Norville
Deborah Anne Norville (born August 8, 1958) is an American television journalist and businesswoman. Norville is the anchor of ''Inside Edition'', a syndicated television news magazine, a position she has held since March 6, 1995. She markets and ...
). Father
George Clements and Alderman
Danny K. Davis
Daniel K. Davis (born September 6, 1941) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative from , elected in 1996. The district serves much of western Chicago, including the Loop. It also includes several of Chicago's inner western suburb ...
(29th Ward) championed Holliday's cause, even Chicago's Mayor
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh term ...
met the skater and donated $250 to his training expenses. The Park District agreed to let Holliday skate for free at the McFetridge Sports Complex, which had the only indoor skating rink in the city. Although the waived charges were only a couple of dollars, they made a difference to Holliday, and the Independence Bank of Chicago, a black-owned south-side institution, agreed to hold donations in a special "Larry Holliday Olympic Fund."
Holliday was invited to skate in the 1991
U.S. Olympic Festival
The U.S. Olympic Festival was a junior multi-sport event held in the United States by the United States Olympic Committee in the years between the Olympic Games. It was started in 1978 as an American counterpart to the communist Spartakiad – a si ...
held at
The Forum (Inglewood)
Kia Forum (formerly The Forum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located between West Manchester Boulevard, across Pincay Drive and Kareem Court, it is north of SoFi Stadium and t ...
in July 1991. He finished in 7th place at that event.
By the summer of 1991 more sponsors came out in support of Holliday's cause. The business man Robert Crown from a wealthy Chicago family agreed to donate $20,000 toward Holliday's training expenses.
From the generosity of the prominent businessman from Chicago, Holliday and his coach Les Hanson set out for the East Coast in the month of October. Since the U.S. Nationals were to be held in Orlando, Florida at the
Amway Arena in January 1992, coach Hanson thought it would be wise to get better acquainted with the east coast judges and competitors through a series of exhibitions. The first stop was Clearwater, Florida, Florida, then progressed on to Providence, Rhode Island, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ended in New York City. Holliday qualified for the National Championships that year and finished in 13th place.
Holliday's 4th National appearance was at the 1993 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, held at the
US Airways Center
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in Phoenix, Arizona.
Holliday's 5th and final National appearance was at the
1994 United States Figure Skating Championships
The 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships were held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Medals were awarded in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth) in four disciplines – men's singles, ladie ...
, held at the
Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena was an arena in Downtown Detroit. Completed in 1979 at a cost of US$57 million as a replacement for Olympia Stadium, it sat adjacent to TCF Center, Cobo Center on the bank of the Detroit River and was accessible by the Joe Lou ...
and as memorable as that event was (the attack on Nancy Kerrigan) for Holliday the competition was forgettable. He withdrew after skating the short program citing severe knee pain.
Recognition
In November 2021 Skating Magazine named Larry one of 100 contributors that made a significant contribution to the sport, during the 100th anniversary of U.S. Figure Skating.
[Skating Magazine issue vol. 98 no. 9, pages 20-21.]
Competitive highlights
Programs
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holliday, Larry
American male single skaters
1964 births
Living people