Robin Wallace Explained

Robin Wallace
National Team:Team GB (Great Britain)
Citizenship:British
Spouse:Jilly Curry
Sport:Freestyle skiing
Olympics:1988

Robin Wallace is a British former freestyle skier and coach of the Great Britain freestyle skiing team. He finished in the top 10 in over 20 FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup events, and competed in a demonstration event at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Career

Wallace took up skiing as a teenager, after a school ski trip.[1] After working on an artificial slope, he joined the Southampton freestyle skiing team.[1] Wallace came second at a junior ski ballet international competition.[2] Wallace competed in the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup between 1981 and 1989. He finished in the top 10 at 22 events, and was at one time ranked sixth in the world.[3] In 1984, Wallace was involved in a ski dancing and acrobats event at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre.[1] Wallace came sixth in the combined event at the 1986 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships.[4] Wallace competed in the freestyle skiing demonstration event at the 1988 Winter Olympics. He was considered one of the favourites.[2] Later in the year, he was suffered knee ligament damage during an event at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, which sidelined him for six weeks. Fellow athlete Mike Whealey suffered a career ending injury at the event.[5]

After retiring, Wallace was the coach of the Great Britain freestyle skiing team for seven years.

Personal life

Wallace is from Chandler's Ford, Hampshire, England.[1] Wallace is married to Jilly Curry, whom he also coached.[6] Curry won 29 FIS World Cup medals, including three gold medals.[7] Their son Lloyd competed in the 2018[8] [9] and 2022 Winter Olympics.[10]

Notes and References

  1. News: Gorilla do it on plastic... and slide off in the direction of the Olympics. The Guardian. Newspapers.com. 17 November 1984. 18. 25 November 2020.
  2. Book: Rattray, Ed. Scottish Skiing: The Golden Years 1950–1990. Troubador Publishing. November 2011. 49–50. 9781780880372.
  3. News: Skiing on the flipside. The Observer. Newspapers.com. 27 September 1987. 50. 25 November 2020.
  4. News: Olympic mogul. The Observer. Newspapers.com. 9 February 1986. 47. 25 November 2020.
  5. News: Freestyle fall at show ends the career of Britain's No. 1. The Guardian. 26 November 1988. 15. 25 November 2020.
  6. News: Route of champions for dedicated Emma. The Observer. Newspapers.com. 19 December 1993. 45. 25 November 2020.
  7. News: Meet the 22-year-old skier with the chance of an Olympic medal in a forgotten Winter sport. Bell. Graham. The Daily Telegraph. 16 November 2017. 29 January 2018.
  8. News: Semley aerials skier Lloyd Wallace going to Winter Olympics. Abbott. Harry. Salisbury Times. 25 January 2018. 29 January 2018.
  9. News: British aerial skier Lloyd Wallace soars towards Pyeongchang after horror crash that left him in a coma. Dean. Sam. The Daily Telegraph. 7 November 2017. 29 January 2018.
  10. Web site: Team GB Skiing and Snowboarding Contingent Confirmed for Beijing 2022. Team GB. 21 January 2022. 21 January 2022.