Paul Wylie

Infobox Figure skater
title= Paul Wylie


caption= Wylie at the 2007 An Evening with Champions
country= USA
dateofbirth= birth date and age|1964|10|24
height=
formerpartner= Dana Graham
coach=
formercoach= Evy Scotvold, Mary Scotvold, Carlo Fassi, John Nicks
choreographer=
formerchoreographer=
skating club=
retired= 1992

Paul Stanton Wylie (born October 24, 1964) is an American figure skater and 1992 Olympic silver medalist.

Biography

Born in Dallas, Texas, Wylie began skating at the age of three. At age eleven, his family moved to Denver, Colorado, where he began to train with Carlo Fassi. Wylie remained with Fassi for nine years, first in Denver and later in Colorado Springs when Fassi relocated to the Broadmoor Skating Club. As a young skater, Wylie additionally worked with John Curry and Robin Cousins, who were also students of Fassi. Cousins lived with the Wylie family while he was training for the 1980 Winter Olympics.

In 1979, Wylie won the novice men's title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and in 1981, he won both the U.S. junior title and the World Junior Championship.

At the same time, Wylie was competing in pair skating with partner Dana Graham. They won the junior pairs title at the 1980 U.S. nationals. They were coached by John Nicks, commuting to work with him in California. They placed eighth in the senior division at the 1981 U.S. nationals, but then dissolved their partnership when they lost financial sponsorship.

In 1985, wanting to reconstruct some of his technique, Wylie left Fassi and began to train instead with Evy and Mary Scotvold, who were at that time located in Janesville, Wisconsin. Shortly afterwards, they all moved to the Boston area. Wylie attended Harvard University beginning in 1986. He was a member of the Fox Club, one of eight elite final clubs at the college.Fact|date=February 2007 He graduated in 1991.

Wylie placed second at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1988, 1990, and 1992. He won the silver medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. The medal was considered a major upset. Wylie had never finished higher than ninth at the World Figure Skating Championships — four years prior — and had skated such a poor performance at the U.S. Championships immediately prior to the games that reporters questioned his placement on the Olympic team. The USFSA had even left Wylie off the team for the 1992 World Championships, naming Mark Mitchell in his place.

After the Olympics, Wylie joined the professional skating ranks. He won the 1992 U.S. Open Professional Championship and the 1993 World Professional Figure Skating Championships. Wylie toured with Stars on Ice from 1992 to 1998 before retiring to attend Harvard Business School and work in the corporate world. For some time he held a position with The Walt Disney Company.

In 2004, after leaving Disney, Wylie returned to the ice for twenty two dates with Stars on Ice. He has also continued his long association with An Evening with Champions, the annual benefit show at Harvard. Wylie has worked as a sports commentator/analyst, most recently for ESPN.

On August 14 1999, Wylie married Cape Cod blueblood Kate Presbrey. They have three children, Hannah, Emma and Caleb, and currently reside in Charlotte, North Carolina where Wylie previously worked with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, as director of the "Dare to be a Daniel" program. [cite web
url=http://www.billygraham.org/DMag_article.asp?ArticleID=699
title=Dare to Be a Daniel
author=Jerri Menges
work=Decision Magazine
publisher=BGEA
accessdate = 2006-10-16] Wylie is currently in business for himself running a sports-related travel agency and is coaching figure skaters at the Extreme Ice Center in Indian Trail, North Carolina.

On January 10, 2008, the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame announced that Wylie would be inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame on January 25, 2008.

Awards

* U.S. Olympic Spirit Award (1992)
* U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame Inductee (2008)

Professional competitive highlights

* Ice Wars 1996 (team) 1st
* Battle of the Sexes 1996 (men's team) 1st
* Mike Masters 1996 1st
* Challenge of Champions 1995 1st
* Fall Team Pro-Am (team) 1st, 1st overall
* Ice Wars 1995 (team) 1st
* Miko Masters Paris Championships 1995 1st
* Ice Wars 1994 (team) 1st
* Spring Pro-Am 1994 1st
* World Challenge of Champions 1993 1st
* World Professional Figure Skating Championships 1993 1st
* Fall Pro-Am 3rd 1993 Miko Masters Paris Championships 1993 1st
* World Challenge of Champions 1992 1st
* U.S. Open Professional Championships 1992 1st
* Fall Pro-Am 1992 1st

Amateur competitive highlights

1992
* Olympic Winter Games — 2nd
* U.S. Championships 2nd1991
* World Championshps 11th
* U.S. Championships 3rd1990
* NHK Trophy 4th
* Goodwill Games 4th (Seattle, WA)
* World Championships 10th
* U.S. Championships 2nd1989
* Nations Cup 3rd
* Skate Canada 2nd
* US Olympic Festival 2nd
* US Championships 3rd1988
* Trophee Lalique 1st
* World Championships 9th
* Olympic Winter Games 10th
* U.S. Championships 2nd

1987
* NHK Trophy 2nd
* World University Games 3rd
* U.S. Championships 5th1986
* U.S. Collegiate Championships 1st
* U.S. Championships 5th1985
* U.S. Championships 5th1984
* U.S. Championships 4th1983
* U.S. Championships 5th1982
* U.S. Championships 11th1981
* U.S. Championships Junior Men 1st
* World Junior Championships 1st1980
* U.S. Championships Junior Men 2nd1979
* U.S. Championships Novice Men 1st

Education

* BA, 1991, Harvard College [http://athome.harvard.edu/programs/hio/bio.html#Paul%20Wylie]
* MBA, 2000, Harvard Business School

Notes

References

* U.S. Olympic Committee: [http://www.usoc.org/11624_27492.htm "Olympic Spirit Award"]
* [http://www.usfigureskating.org/Magazine.asp?id=57&issue=298 Kid's Questions with Paul Wylie]
* [http://www.billygraham.org/DMag_Article.asp?ArticleID=649 For the Glory of God]
* "Paul Wylie", "Blades On Ice", August, 1998.
* "Paul Wylie", "Skating", November, 1990.
* Martha Lowder Kimball, "Robin Cousins". ISBN 0-9662502-0-6.

Navigation