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Thomas, a two-time U.S. champion, the 1986 World champion and 1988 Olympic bronze medalist, recently completed her orthopedic residency program at Charles R. Drew University in Los Angeles. She will begin a fellowship later this year at the Dorr Arthritis Institute at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, Callf. A graduate of Northwestern University Medical School, she will specialize in knee, hip and joint replacement while shuttling her 8-year-old son Luc to golf and baseball practice. "He thinks he wants to be a figure skater but he doesn't get to skate that much - his mom doesn't have the hours to drive him to the rink," she said with a laugh. "Come to think of it, my mom didn't have the hours; I still don't know how she did it." Thomas recently celebrated her ninth wedding anniversary with her husband, Chris Bequette, a financial planner. Figure skating Is still a part of this famous athete's life. She recently traveled to Torino for the Olympic Games as part of a Presidential Delegation, which was led by U.S. First Lady Laura Bush and included 1976 Olympic champion Dorothy Hamill. IFS: Your educational credentials are incredible. When you look back, how did you manage to go to school and skate competitively? Thomas: People say it's impossible - I couldn't believe I did it, but it's douable and very difficult. I didn't realize until later on in life that some of the things I waas trying to do that seemed normal actually weren't. Normal kids don't skate six hours a day and study in the car. And if you decide to take that route, you will have to give up a few things. But I don't regret my experiences. I got to go all over the world and meet all these people. I certainly didn't mind not going to my high school prom - in fact, most of my friends say it's the worst night of their lives! But I got to go to Japan and Europe, and those are the things I got out of my skating career that helped me later in life. I had to be an ambassador for my country at a young age and it taught me to deal with all types of people. In medicine no two patients are alike; they all come from different walks of life. Those people skills I leanred in skating provided experiences I can always use in medicine. I can find things in common with my parents and it makes them feel better. IFS: You have served on sports medicine committees for U.S. Figure Skating and the United States Olympic Committee. During the 2005-2006 skating season, Michelle Kwan was hurt; Sasha Cohen and Tim Goebel suffered injuries. Do you think the new rules (and added ice time required to comply with them) may have something to do with the rash of injuries? Thomas: We used to spend an awful lot of hours on ice when I skated, but it was mostly for compulsory figures. You are never required to skate a certain amount of hours each day, in my opinion. I always felt I didn't have to do every single jump or spin every single day. As a surgeon, you might see something new but you can still do the procedure because you have the building blocks to do it. It's a similar thing in skating. My coach and I diverged on this, but I felt sometimes you could overpractice. You try and fix something that's off and it gets worse. Sometimes you have to let it go but it comes back. I can't comment on specific injuries, but maybe it makes more sense to cut those (freestyle) hours - don't spend four hours a day jumping and pounding your body - moves and edges are not hurting you. I'm inclined not to blame newer requirements for the injuries, but I think the lack of figures is more likely the cause because you feel more obligated to spend more time jumping and spinning. IFS: You were one of the first women to perform a triple jump combination. How are your hips holding up? Thomas: I was fine until I tried to make a comeback in 1996. Luckily not many people saw it! While trying to take it easy in getting my jumps back, I was doing a double loop and over rotated and landed in the splits. I definitely did something to my hip or sacroiliac joint that resulted in pain every time I tried to take off for a double axel. I was never able to get any of my triples or my double axel back after that, though I was pregnant at the time and did not try to go back to skating after that. Now, it doesn't really bother me for everyday activities or working out, but I can stress my hip in certain ways and make it hurt a little. IFS: Speaking of jumps, why are men progressing faster than women in the technical areas? Thomas: Obviously, men are pushing limits with the triple combinations and quads and women have fallen behind. It's not like all women have a triple axel now and you would think by now that would be the case based on what we were doing years ago. But it hasn't turned out like that. Perhaps brute strength allows men to hold a less perfect jump compared to a woman. What is interesting is women haven't pushed the envelope like the men and yet we're still having all these injuries. I don't know if it's technique or spending too much time jumping and spinning? I see these girls struggling with consistency and I'm one of these psychological skaters - you don't need to do jumps all of the time but need the mindset to do it. I think more energy could be put towards sports psychology and it could be better spent time than jumping and spinning all the time. I don't know how many hours these athletes are doing these jumps, but if you're seeing things like arthritis and stress fractures in young people - something is up. IFS: How did you spend your time on the ice? Thomas: Of my six hours a day, I did only two hours for freestyle and four for compulsory figures. I think now you could spend extra time doing off-ice conditioning, especially for women. Once you're beyond teen years, women's bodies change and it makes them more prone to injury and off-ice conditioning can help prevent that. So listen to your body - if you feel aches and pains, it may be time to back off. IFS: How can younger skaters avoid injury? Thomas: I started doing triples at age 10 but my mom was smart and I was doing weight training and stuff before that. They know now that training and conditioning can be preventative. When I was 13 it was okay to do weight training programs and strength training to compensate for changes in a woman's body. I used to be able to tell the difference after working out - after lifting weights my jumps felt higher and easier - and if the muscle groups around the joints are more developed, it takes stress off the joint itself. They know this but we need to know what's safe and what are the best exercises and how long to do them. I still don't think a lot of girls are in the gym working out. But you can do exercises to increase your strength and lift free weights, which are appropriate for younger kids. They are trying to develop these things at the Olympic training center. IFS: What kind of off-ice work can you do besides weights? Thomas: Doing off-ice conditioning - dance and ballet - had an effect in making me a stronger skater and helped in preventing some of these injuries. Most kids don't stretch properly, so learn how to stretch before you skate. I think if you could study this long-term you could show there is a decreased incidence in injuries if you do regular conditioning programs. If you're strong and limber, you're less likely to suffer injuries. Jumping technique is another matter. My coach, Alex McGowan, emphasized jumping technique and you can eliminate extra force on the body if you do proper technique. When we were learning figures, my coach would skate around and put our body in the position he wanted and he would throw us into jumps to get our arms in right. Early on you need the building blocks and if you don't have them early it is hard to get when you're older. IFS: What else determines who wins a competition? Thomas:
I know better than to try and predict an Olympics. I've been around
long enough to know you can't predict it. It comes down to the
psychology of it. You have the talent and goods and now you have
to go out and do it. Now I remember Michelle (Kwan) primed to
win Olympics in Nagano and she was isolated and not taking in
the experience. I had the same experience myself and at the time
I was on the verge of burnout. When I went to opening ceremonies,
I got motivated again. It was a great time but all the coaches
for the U.S. girls felt we should go home and train, which was
the last thing on my mind. One and a half hours a day at that
point was enough for me but our coaches felt we needed more ice
time. IFS: And your experience at Calgary in the 1988 Olympic Games? Thomas: I missed the boat. In 2002, Sarah Hughes used emotion - "Wow. I'm here, and look at this." If you think too much about winning, you're not thinking about doing your performance of your life. I was thinking about winning, and I knew before my music started that I wasn't ready. I thought, "Maybe my body will just do it." But I never believed it. I trained so I figured my body would do it and it didn't. It's mental. If your brain is not right your body is not right. But life goes on. I don't stay awake at night worrying about it. People say I got the bronze but I wanted the gold. For me I wouldn't care about the bronze if I skated the program of my life. I know I had it in me but I couldn't make it happen. I'm reminded about it when the Olympics come around . When I write my book someday, the title is going to be "In the Right Light It Looks Gold." That's how life is. |
