Debbi Wilkes

Debbi Wilkes (born December 16, 1946) is a Canadian former pair skater. With skating partner Guy Revell, she became a two-time Canadian national champion, the 1963 North American champion, and the 1964 Olympic silver medallist.

Debbi Wilkes
Wilkes in November 2009
Personal information
Country representedCanada
Born (1946-12-16) December 16, 1946
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Former partnerGuy Revell
Former coachBruce Hyland, Margaret Hyland
Skating clubUnionville Skating Club
Former training locationsCrosby Arena, Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club
Retired1964
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Figure skating: Pairs
Olympic Games
1964 InnsbruckPairs
World Championships
1964 DortmundPairs
North American Championships
1963 VancouverPairs
1961 PhiladelphiaPairs

Personal life

Wilkes was born on December 16, 1946, in Toronto.[1] She graduated from York University with an honors degree in psychology and then earned a master's degree in communications at Michigan State University.[2] She married Bruce McEwan.[3]

Career

On the ice by the age of five, Wilkes took up pairs at age ten and skated with her first partner until he quit.[3]

She began skating with Guy Revell, six years her elder, in 1958 after meeting at the Unionville skating carnival.[3] Though their height difference was adequate at the start of their partnership, by the time Wilkes was seventeen in 1963, her height was 5 feet 5 inches (165 cm) to Revell's 5 feet 4 inches (163 cm).[4][5] They were coached by Bruce Hyland at Crosby Arena and represented the Unionville Skating Club throughout their career.[3]

Wilkes fell from a lift while posing for press photographs prior to the 1963 World Championships, hitting the ice head-first and fracturing her skull.[4] The pair had to withdraw from the competition.

Wilkes/Revell were awarded the bronze medal at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, while gold went to Ludmila Belousova / Oleg Protopopov and silver to Marika Kilius / Hans-Jürgen Bäumler. After taking the bronze at the 1964 World Championships in Dortmund, the pair parted ways — Wilkes decided to pursue an education while Revell elected to tour professionally in ice shows.[4]

In 1966, Wilkes/Revell were informed that the silver medallists in Innsbruck, Marika Kilius / Hans-Jürgen Bäumler of Germany, had been disqualified after an International Olympic Committee investigation found they had signed pro contracts before the Olympics. IOC executive James Worrall presented Wilkes/Revell with the silver medals during the Canadian Championships in Peterborough, Ont. Later, Kilius/Baumler were reinstated in the record books, but the medals were never redistributed.[4] In December 2013, after an investigation by The New York Times, the International Olympic Committee confirmed that Kilius/Bäumler and Wilkes/Revell share the 1964 Olympic silver medal and Joseph/Joseph of the United States are the bronze medallists. Despite the information on its website over the years, the IOC stated that this was intended to be the official result since 1987.[6]

After retiring from competition, Wilkes became a television skating analyst, an author, a coach, and Skate Canada's Director of Marketing and Sponsorship.

Results
Wilkes/Revell on the podium at the 1964 World Championships

(with Revell)

International
Event 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964
Winter Olympics2nd
World Championships11th4thWD3rd
North American Champ.5th3rd1st
National
Canadian Championships1st J3rd3rd3rd1st1st
J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew
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References
  1. "Debbi Wilkes". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017.
  2. Elfman, Lois (December 21, 2017). "Wilkes thankful to witness skating history firsthand". IceNetwork.com.
  3. Hayakawa, Michael (February 5, 2014). "Olympic medalist whose bronze had silver shine". Markham Economist & Sun. YorkRegion.com.
  4. Wilkes, Debbi. Ice Time. ISBN 0-13-185117-9.
  5. "1963 North American, U.S., and Canadian Champions". Skating magazine. May 1963.
  6. Rosewater, Amy (December 13, 2013). "1964 Olympic Skating Pair Only Now Discovering Their Place". The New York Times.
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