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Encyclopedia > Elaine Zayak
Zayak on the podium at the 1982 World Championships.
Zayak on the podium at the 1982 World Championships.

Elaine Zayak (born April 4, 1965) is an American figure skater. She won the United States national title in 1981 and the World title in 1982. Zayak was coached jointly by Peter Burrows and Marylynn Gelderman throughout her amateur and professional career. Image File history File links ElaineZayak-1982. ... Image File history File links ElaineZayak-1982. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Figure skating is an ice skating sporting event where individuals, mixed couples, or groups perform spins, jumps, and other moves on the ice, often to music. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual event sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion. ...

Contents

Biography

At age two, Zayak lost part of her left foot in a lawn mower accident. On the advice of her doctors, she began figure skating as physical therapy, but her injury was not generally known to the skating world during her amateur career. Her left boot is stabilized with a wood mold to compensate for the irregularity in the shape of her left foot. A typical modern gasoline-powered mower. ...


Zayak grew up in Paramus, New Jersey.[1] There, she attended Paramus High School.[2] Paramus (IPA: ) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. ... Paramus High School is an American high school in Paramus, New Jersey. ...


In 1980, Zayak was part of the first trip to China by American skaters.


An excellent student, she was awarded the Dial Award for the national high-school scholar-athlete of the year in 1982. The Dial Award is presented annually by the Dial Corporation to the male and female American high-school athlete/scholar of the year. ...


Zayak was the first woman to consistently land many triple jumps in her programs. At the 1982 World Championships, she landed 6 triple jumps to win the title, but 4 of them were triple toe loop jumps. While she also had triple salchow and loop jumps in her repertoire, they were less consistent. Zayak was not the only skater of her time who repeated the same jump multiple times to add technical content to her programs, nor was she the worst offender; Yugoslavia's Sanda Dubravcic, for example, often incorporated solely multiple triple toe loops and double axels in her 4-minute free programs, perhaps to cover up her deficiencies in other jumps. Still, Zayak's skating contributed to the creation of what became informally known as the “Zayak Rule,” enacted at the 1982 ISU Congress, which states that a skater may not repeat a triple jump more than twice, and after the first instance the jump must be done in combination or sequence. The rule encouraged skaters to display a greater variety of skills. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The salchow is a figure skating jump with a takeoff from a back inside edge and landing on the back outside edge of the opposite foot after one or more rotations in the air. ... The Loop is a figure skating jump that takes off from a back outside edge and lands on the same edge. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: South Slavia, or literary The Land of South Slavs) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... Sanda Dubravčić-Å imunjak is a Croatian figure skater who competed internationally for Yugoslavia. ...


After winning the World Championships in 1982, however, Zayak was never able to regain the same level of skating. Zayak's placements suffered from generally poor performances in the then-prevalent compulsory figures (attributed after the fact to her damaged foot). Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly an aspect of the sport of figure skating, from which its name (in English) derives. ...


Although she continued to train fiercely and entered the 1984 Olympics season well prepared, Zayak was no longer considered a top contender nationally or internationally. After placing 3rd at the 1984 U.S. Nationals, she performed very strong short and free programs at the 1984 Olympic Games in Sarajevo, for which the judges only awarded her marks good enough to place her sixth. Still, Zayak persevered and won the Bronze Medal at the 1984 World Figure Skating Championships, with equally good performances as the ones she displayed in Sarajevo. The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games, were held in 1984 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia. ... The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual event sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion. ...


Zayak turned professional in 1984. She competed and toured professionally for a number of years. However, her early professional career was mediocre at best, and it did not take long before she drifted away from the sport.

Zayak at the 1994 U.S. Championships.
Zayak at the 1994 U.S. Championships.

In 1993, Zayak was the only U.S. female singles skater to reinstate to eligible status in an attempt to make the 1994 Olympic team. While she was unsuccessful at attaining this goal, placing fourth in the 1994 U.S. Championships, the members of the skating community were elated with her skating performance, which included difficult triple jumps she had not completed in a decade. She was named an alternate for the Olympic Games. Image File history File links ElaineZayak-1994. ... Image File history File links ElaineZayak-1994. ... The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, were celebrated in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ...


She is married and the mother of a son, Jack. She teaches figure skating at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey, and is spokeswoman for the United States Figure Skating Association. Joe Mallone is a douchebag For other places with this name, see Hackensack. ... The United States Figure Skating Association, also known as the USFSA or U.S. Figure Skating, is the national sport governing body for figure skating in the United States. ...


Zayak was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2003 and the New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. The United States Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. ...


Competitive highlights

Event/Season 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1994
Eastern Sectionals - 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd
U.S. Championships - 4th 1st 3rd 2nd 3rd 4th
Junior World Championships 1st - - - - - -
World Championships - - 2nd 1st - 3rd -
Winter Olympics - - - - - 6th -

The Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition organized by U.S. Figure Skating which has been held since 1938. ... The U.S. Figure Skating Championships is an annual event put on by the United States Figure Skating Association. ... The World Junior Figure Skating Championships (official nickname: World Juniors; commonly: Junior Worlds) is an annual event sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion. ... The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual event sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion. ... An athlete carries the Olympic torch The Winter Olympic Games are a winter multi-sport event held every four years. ...

References

  1. ^ Bondy, Filip. "FIGURE SKATING; Zayak's Biggest Jump: A Leap Into the Past", The New York Times, May 16, 1993. Accessed October 14, 2007. "Her father, Richard Zayak, would drive from their home in Paramus, N.J., to her New York practice rinks in Farmingdale or Monsey and offer his daughter $1 per perfect jump."
  2. ^ "Miss Zayak Happy to Be Back in School; Miss Zayak Has Fun In School Impressed by Her Conduct", The New York Times, March 11, 1981. p. A19

The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ... is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ...

External links

  • An unofficial Elaine Zayak page, with competitive history

Navigation


  Results from FactBites:
 
Elaine Zayak - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (395 words)
Elaine Zayak (born April 4, 1965) is an American figure skater.
Zayak's placements suffered from generally poor marks in the then-prevalent compulsory figures (attributed after the fact to her damaged foot) and from the rules change limiting the number of jumps she could perform, and some felt that she was also the victim of political judging as an overreaction to her earlier success.
Zayak was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2003 and the New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
Welcome to U.S. Figure Skating (999 words)
For Elaine Zayak, the opportunity to compete almost a decade after turning professional returned one of the brightest stars in U.S. skating to the amateur ranks.
A professional skater for five years and retired since 1989, Zayak returned to the sport she loved in 1994 when the ISU allowed professionals to be reinstated.
Zayak placed fourth at the 1994 U.S. Championships and was an alternate for the 1994 U.S. Olympic Team.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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