Tracy Wilson, (born September 25, 1961) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
former competitive
ice dancer
Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...
. With partner
Rob McCall, she won the
Canadian national championship seven times (1982–1988), is a three-time
World
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
bronze medallist, and the
1988 Olympic bronze medallist.
Personal life
Tracy Wilson was born on September 25, 1961 in
Lachine, Quebec
Lachine () is a borough (''arrondissement'') within the city of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It was an autonomous city until the municipal mergers in 2002.
History
Lachine, apparently from the French term ' ...
, Canada.
[ She grew up in ]Port Moody
Port Moody is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It envelops the east end of Burrard Inlet and is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south a ...
, British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
.[ As child she did swimming and diving, competing at provincials three times. She first swam with the ]Coquitlam
Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipa ...
Sharks in 1967 before moving, in 1970, to Port Moody Aquarians.[ She attended college for one semester before her partnership with Rob McCall began.][
In 1987, Wilson married Brad Kinsella.][ Though she did not change her name at the time,][ her name is sometimes printed as Tracy Wilson-Kinsella][ or Tracy Wilson Kinsella.][ Together they have three children – two sons who play hockey and a daughter who competes as an equestrian.][ They live in ]Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.[
]
Skating career
Wilson started skating when she was six years old in Coquitlam
Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipa ...
. After moving she became a member of Port Moody's Inlet Skating Club.[ She competed in ice dancing for the first time when she was fifteen.][ On the junior level, Wilson competed with Mark Stokes. They were the 1980 Canadian junior national champions.][
In the summer of 1981, Wilson teamed up with Rob McCall.][ Their partnership started at the ]Elgin Barrow Arena
Elgin may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Elgin County, Ontario
* Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Chatham-Kent, Ontario
* Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario
* ...
in Richmond Hill, Ontario
Richmond Hill (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 202,022) is a city in south-central Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is the York Region's third most populous municipality and th ...
and they trained in Richmond Hill throughout their competitive careers.[ Together they won the Canadian national championship seven times, from 1982–1988. They won the ]Skate Canada International
The Skate Canada International is an international, senior-level invitation-only figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada. It is the second competition of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating season. The location changes yearly. Medal ...
competition in 1983 and 1987. The 1983 gold was the first time a Canadian team won the event.[ The pair were three-time ]World
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
bronze medallists (1986-1988). They competed at the 1984 Winter Olympic and the 1988 Winter Olympic, winning a bronze medal in the 1988 Games. That medal was Canada's first Olympic medal in ice dancing.[
After the 1988 Worlds, they decided to ]go pro
GoPro, Inc. (marketed as GoPro and sometimes stylized as GoPRO) is an American technology company founded in 2002 by Nick Woodman. It manufactures action cameras and develops its own mobile apps and video-editing software. Founded as Woodman La ...
.[ They competed in professional competition, including winning the World Professional Championships in 1989.][ The team also performed with Stars on Ice for two years][ and other shows. In March/April 1990, McCall was diagnosed with ]AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
and his health was deteriorating.[ Disregarding the mass public fear of AIDS at the time, Wilson continued to skate with McCall. The pair did some shows and skated at the 1990 World Professional Championships. Wilson had to stop skating with the birth of her first child in 1991. Soon after McCall deteriorated further and he died November 15, 1991.][ Wilson retired from ice dancing,][ but she did skate a solo, while pregnant with her second child, at the tribute show for McCall on November 21, 1992.][
]
Results
(with McCall)
(with Stokes)
Coaching career
In 2006, Wilson and Brian Orser
Brian Ernest Orser, (born 18 December 1961) is a Canadian former competitive and professional figure skater and coach to Olympic champions. He is the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medallist, 1987 World champion and eight-time (1981–88) Can ...
were hired by 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 ...
as consultants to help rebuild the skating program. The two decided to stay and coach there, training kids, adults, and elite skaters.[
Her current students include:
* ]Junhwan Cha
Cha Jun-Hwan (Hangul: 차준환; born October 21, 2001) is a South Korean figure skater who competes in the men's singles discipline. Cha is the 2023 World silver medalist, the 2022 Four Continents champion, the 2018–2019 Grand Prix Final b ...
* Rika Kihira
Rika Kihira ( ja, 紀平 梨花; born 21 July 2002) is a Japanese figure skater. She is a two-time Four Continents champion (2019, 2020), the 2018 Grand Prix Final champion, a four-time Grand Prix series medalist (2018 NHK Trophy gold, 2018 Inter ...
* Jason Brown[
* ]Jin Boyang
Jin Boyang (; ; born 3 October 1997) is a Chinese figure skater. He is a two-time World bronze medalist (2016–2017), the 2018 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist (2016, 2019), the 2017 Asian Winter Games ...
Her former students include:
* Yuzuru Hanyu
is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. He is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), a two-time World champion (2014, 2017), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), the 2020 Four Continents champion, the 2010 World J ...
[
* ]Evgenia Medvedeva
Evgenia Armanovna Medvedeva (alt. spelling: Yevgenia Medvedeva; rus, Евгения Армановна Медведева, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪjə mʲɪˈdvʲedʲɪvə; born 19 November 1999), is a competitive Russian Figure skating, figure ska ...
* Nam Nguyen
Nam Nguyen (born May 20, 1998) is a Canadian retired competitive figure skater. He is the 2014 World Junior champion, 2019 Skate Canada silver medallist, and two-time Canadian national champion (2015, 2019). He has placed as high as fifth at th ...
* Lubov Iliushechkina
Liubov Ivanovna Ilyushechkina (russian: Любовь Ивановна Илюшечкина, born 5 November 1991) is a Russian-born Canadian pair skater.
Ilyushechkina began competing for Canada with Dylan Moscovitch in 2014, and they were the 2 ...
/ Dylan Moscovitch
Dylan David Moscovitch (born 23 September 1984) is a retired Canadian pair skater. He competed with Liubov Ilyushechkina from 2014 to 2018. They were the 2017 Four Continents bronze medalists, two-time bronze medalists on the Grand Prix series ...
* Javier Fernandez
* Sonia Lafuente
Sonia Lafuente Martínez (born 7 December 1991) is a Spanish former figure skater. She is a six-time Spanish national champion. Lafuente became the first Spanish skater to medal on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit when she won silver at the 20 ...
* Utana Yoshida / Shingo Nishiyama
Other ventures
Since 1990, Wilson has worked as a television figure skating analyst for American and Canadian networks, including CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
, NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
, CBC, CTV ( TSN), ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, and Turner Sports
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasting, sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS (American TV ch ...
(TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
).[ She has also written several articles for TSN's website.][
Wilson has also done some choreography, including for Canadian junior ice dance team Edrea Khong / Edbert Khong.][
Wilson is also an ]AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
activist.[ She was one of the primary organizers of the "Skate the Dream: A Tribute to Rob McCall" ice show, a fundraiser for AIDS research, which took place on November 21, 1992.][
She is an ambassador for S'port for Kids Foundation, a charitable organization whose goal is to involve kids in organized athletics.][
]
Awards and recognition
In 1988, Wilson and McCall were made Members of the Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
.[ This is the highest civilian honor given by the Canadian government.][
Wilson was also inducted into several halls of fame, including:
* 1989 – ]Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Canad ...
[
* 1991 – ]BC Sports Hall of Fame
The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in BC Place Stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia's spo ...
[
* 1999 – Richmond Hill Sports Hall of Fame][
* 2003 – ]Skate Canada Hall of Fame The Skate Canada Hall of Fame is the sports hall of fame for figure skating maintained by Skate Canada. It was established in 1990 as the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame. The members are inducted into one of four categories that best represents ...
[
* 2005 – BC Summer Swimming Association Pool of Fame][
In 1995, the Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall Trophy was established to annually recognize a Canadian pairs team.][ Past winners included pairs in rowing, bobsleigh, and tennis.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Tracy
Living people
1961 births
Canadian female ice dancers
Figure skaters at the 1984 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 1988 Winter Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists for Canada
Olympic figure skaters of Canada
Olympic medalists in figure skating
World Figure Skating Championships medalists
Canadian sports announcers
Figure skating commentators
Members of the Order of Canada
Figure skaters from Montreal
People from Lachine, Quebec
Anglophone Quebec people
HIV/AIDS activists