In 1988, Bonnie Blair (US) won Olympic 500m speed skating in record 39.1 seconds. She also won gold in the 100m event.
This was her second Olympics appearance and the first of her five career gold medals. Blair began her professional short-track speed skating career in 1986 at Chamonix, France where she set a world record. Blair was known as a consistent and highly technical skater.
In 2004, she was elected into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame as the most decorated winter olympian of her time.
