Tracy Wilson

For the American football safety, see Tracy Wilson (American football). For the American playwright and TV writer, see Tracey Scott Wilson.

Tracy Wilson, CM (born September 25, 1961) is a Canadian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Rob McCall, she won the Canadian national championship seven times (1982–1988), is a three-time World bronze medallist, and the 1988 Olympic bronze medallist.

Tracy Wilson
Tracy Wilson and Robert McCall in 1985
Full name	Tracy Wilson
Born	(1961-09-25) September 25, 1961 (age 62) Lachine, Quebec, Canada
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Canada
Skating club	Inlet Skating Club
Retired	1988
Medal record Figure skating Ice dancing Representing  Canada Olympic Games 1988 Calgary Ice dancing World Championships 1986 Geneva Ice dancing 1987 Cincinnati Ice dancing 1988 Budapest Ice dancing

Personal life

Wilson was born on September 25, 1961, in Lachine, Quebec, Canada.^[1][2] She grew up in Port Moody, British Columbia.^[3][4] As child she did swimming and diving, competing at provincials three times. She first swam with the Coquitlam Sharks in 1967 before moving, in 1970, to Port Moody Aquarians.^[4] She attended college for one semester before her partnership with Rob McCall began.^[3]

In 1987, Wilson married Brad Kinsella.^[5][6] Though she did not change her name at the time,^[6] her name is sometimes printed as Tracy Wilson-Kinsella^[2][7] or Tracy Wilson Kinsella.^[4][8] Together they have three children – two sons who play hockey and a daughter who competes as an equestrian.^[4][5] They live in Toronto, Ontario.^[9]

Skating career

Wilson started skating when she was six years old in Coquitlam. After moving she became a member of Port Moody's Inlet Skating Club.^[4][10] She competed in ice dancing for the first time when she was fifteen.^[10] On the junior level, Wilson competed with Mark Stokes. They were the 1980 Canadian junior national champions.^[2]

In the summer of 1981, Wilson teamed up with Rob McCall.^[11] Their partnership started at the Elgin Barrow Arena in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and they trained in Richmond Hill throughout their competitive careers.^[12] Together they won the Canadian national championship seven times, from 1982 to 1988. They won the Skate Canada International competition in 1983 and 1987. The 1983 gold was the first time a Canadian team won the event.^[10] The pair were three-time World 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.^[11][10][13]

After the 1988 Worlds, they decided to go pro.^[14] They competed in professional competition, including winning the World Professional Championships in 1989.^[12][15] The team also performed with Stars on Ice for two years^[2] and other shows. In March/April 1990, McCall was diagnosed with AIDS and his health was deteriorating.^[3][16] 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.^[16] Wilson retired from ice dancing,^[2] but she did skate a solo, while pregnant with her second child, at the tribute show for McCall on November 21, 1992.^[16]

Results

(with McCall)

Event	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91
Amateur^[13]^[17]
Olympics			8th				3rd
Worlds	10th	6th	6th	4th	3rd	3rd	3rd
Skate Canada		2nd	1st				1st
Novarat Trophy						1st
Prague Skate	4th
St. Ivel		4th		1st
Canadian Champs.	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
Professional
World Pro								2nd^[15]	1st^[15]	?^[16]
Challenge of Champions									3rd^[18]

(with Stokes)

Amateur^[13]
Event	1979–80	1980–81
Nebelhorn Trophy		8th
Canadian Champs.	1st Jr

Coaching career

 

Wilson with Jin Boyang and Brian Orser at the 2023 Four Continents Championships.

In 2006, Wilson and Brian Orser were hired by the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club as consultants to help rebuild the skating program. The two decided to stay and coach there, training kids, adults, and elite skaters.^[19]

Her current students include:

•   Rika Kihira^[20]
•   Jason Brown^[21]
•   Jin Boyang^[22]
•   Rio Morita^[23]

Her former students include:

•   Junhwan Cha
•   Yuzuru Hanyu^[24]
•   Evgenia Medvedeva
•   Nam Nguyen^[25]
•   Lubov Iliushechkina / Dylan Moscovitch^[26]
•   Javier Fernandez^[27]
•   Sonia Lafuente^[28]
•   Utana Yoshida / Shingo Nishiyama
•   Emilia Murdock^[29][30]

Other ventures

Since 1990, Wilson has worked as a television figure skating analyst for American and Canadian networks, including CBS, NBC, CBC, CTV (TSN), ABC, and Turner Sports (TNT).^[2][4][31] She has also written several articles for TSN's website.^[32]

Wilson has also done some choreography, including for Canadian junior ice dance team Edrea Khong / Edbert Khong.^[33]

Wilson is also an AIDS activist.^[12][14] 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.^[16][34][35]

She is an ambassador for S'port for Kids Foundation, a charitable organization whose goal is to involve kids in organized athletics.^[2][31]

Awards and recognition

In 1988, Wilson and McCall were made Members of the Order of Canada.^[2][10] This is the highest civilian honor given by the Canadian government.^[9]

Wilson was also inducted into several halls of fame, including:

• 1989 – Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame^[7]
• 1991 – BC Sports Hall of Fame^[10]
• 1999 – Richmond Hill Sports Hall of Fame^[12]
• 2003 – Skate Canada Hall of Fame^[11]
• 2005 – BC Summer Swimming Association Pool of Fame^[4]

In 1995, the Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall Trophy was established to annually recognize a Canadian pairs team.^[2] Past winners included pairs in rowing, bobsleigh, and tennis.^[36]

References

1. "Tracy Wilson". Canadian Olympic Committee. from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
2. . Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
3. "Some Golden Oldies". People. Vol. 37, no. 7. 24 February 1992. from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
4. "Pool of Fame - 2005". British Columbia Summer Swimming Association. from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
5. . OntarioSportLegendsHOF.com. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
6. Parker, Tony (27 October 1990). "Wilson still a star on and off the ice". Lethbridge Herald. p. 7. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
7. "Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame". Canadian Olympic Committee. from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
8. . Bayview Glen School. 7 February 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
9. "Tracy Wilson – Figure Skating Analyst". NBC Sports Pressbox. NBC. from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
10. . BC Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
11. "2003 Skate Canada Hall of Fame Induction". Skate Canada. from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
12. "Richmond Hill Sports Hall of Fame Inductees - Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall". city of Richmond Hill. from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
13. "Skate Canada Results". Skate Canada. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
14. "Calgary Olympics: First Canadian ice-dancing medal – Did You Know?". CBC. 20 April 2012. from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
15. "World Professional Figure Skating Championships – Landover, MD". Golden Skate. from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
16. Glauber, Bill (21 November 1992). "AIDS quietly ravages the sport of figure skating Rob McCall's death forces sport to confront deadly virus". The Baltimore Sun. from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
17. (PDF). Skate Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
18. "Figure Skating Challenge of Champions". Golden Skate. from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
19. Smith, Beverley (4 October 2007). "Orser and Wilson help spark Cricket Club revival". The Globe and Mail. from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
20. "Rika Kihira: 2022/23". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
21. "Men, Jason Brown, USA". International Skating Union. from the original on 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
22. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022.
23. "Rio Morita: 2022/23". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
24. . ISU Results. International Skating Union. 28 March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
25. Kirk, Jenny. . The Skating Lesson. TSL. Archived from the original on 6 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
26. . ISU Results. International Skating Union. 28 December 2014. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
27. "Javier FERNANDEZ". ISU Results. International Skating Union. 28 March 2014. from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
28. . ISU Results. ISU. Archived from the original on 22 November 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
29. "Emilia Murdock Looking to Return to Nationals". figureskateronline. Figure Skaters Online. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
30. "Emilia Murdock ISU Bio". isuresults. International Skating Union. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
31. . S'port for Kids Foundation. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
32. "Tracy Wilson". TSN. from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
33. "Edrea KHONG / Edbert KHONG". ISU Results. International Skating Union. 17 August 2011. from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
34. Bondy, Filip (17 November 1992). "FIGURE SKATING; AIDS Deaths Tear at Figure-Skating World". The New York Times. from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
35. Hersh, Phil (20 November 1992). "Aids Forces Figure Skaters To Face Facts-and Myths". Chicago Tribune. from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
36. "Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall Trophy". Canoe.ca. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)