Jill Trenary

Jill Trenary (born August 1, 1968) is an American figure skater. She was a 3-time U.S. champion and won the World Figure Skating Championships in 1990.

Trenary was originally from Minnetonka, Minnesota. At the age of 16, she relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado to train with noted coach Carlo Fassi. She won the U.S. junior title in 1985 and placed 5th in her first senior championships in 1986.

At the U.S. championships in 1987, Trenary upset reigning world champion Debi Thomas to take her first senior national title. She went on to place 7th in her first World Championships.

In 1988, Thomas regained the U.S. title, with Trenary finishing second. Trenary placed 4th at the 1988 Winter Olympics and 5th at the 1988 World Championships.

Trenary again won the U.S. Championships in 1989, although she was defeated by Kristi Yamaguchi in the free skating. She owed her placement to strong compulsory figures. At the following World Championships, Trenary was in a position to win the title, but instead a nervous free skate left her in 3rd place.

In 1990, Trenary won both the U.S. and World titles. Her strength in the compulsory figures was the deciding factor at the World Championships, where she skated a poor short program and finished 2nd in the free skating to Midori Ito.

Trenary was considered a good all-around skater for her time. Her triple jumps included the toe loop, salchow, and flip, which was quite competitive for a female singles skater in the mid-to-late 1980's. One of her signature moves was a combination of a one-foot axel into a triple salchow. She was also noted for having a natural dance ability, for her complex choreography, and for having a glamorous appearance and presence both on and off the ice. However, she was a somewhat inconsistent competitor and prone to scaling back the technical content of her programs.

Trenary was forced to miss the 1991 competitive season due to a serious ankle injury. Later that year, her coach Carlo Fassi returned to live in his home country Italy, so Trenary moved to Cleveland, Ohio to work with Carol Heiss Jenkins. In the meantime, with the elimination of compulsory figures -- formerly Trenary's strength -- from competition, the technical standard for jumping in women's skating had risen greatly, with the top skaters all attempting five or six different triples. Trenary's injury was slow to heal and she had problems regaining her former standard of jumps, much less learning new ones. Recognizing that she had little chance to qualify for the 1992 Winter Olympics, she announced her retirement from competitive skating in December, 1991.

After turning professional, Trenary toured with the Tom Collins Tour of Champions and Stars on Ice for several years. She retired from skating in 1997 after developing a life-threatening blood clot in her shoulder.

Trenary married British ice dancer Christopher Dean on October 15, 1994. They live in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and have two sons, Jack Robert and Sam Colin.

Competitive highlights

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