Christopher Bowman

Christopher Bowman

Bowman in 1989.
Personal information
Full name	Christopher Nicol Bowman
Country represented	United States
Born	March 30, 1967(1967-03-30) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Died	January 10, 2008(2008-01-10) (aged 40) North Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height	5'10" (178 cm)
Former coach	Frank Carroll Toller Cranston John Nicks
Skating club	Los Angeles FSC
Retired	1992
Medal record Men's Figure Skating Competitor for  United States Bronze 1990 Halifax Men's singles Silver 1989 Paris Men's singles World Junior Championships Gold 1983 Sarajevo Men's singles

Christopher Nicol^[1] Bowman (March 30, 1967 – January 10, 2008) was an American figure skater. He was a two-time U.S. national champion and two-time World medalist. He won the 1983 World Junior Figure Skating Championships and competed in two Olympic Winter Games, placing 7th in 1988 and 4th in 1992.

Biography

Bowman was born in Hollywood, California, USA. In his childhood, he appeared in commercials, and two episodes of the TV series Little House on the Prairie.

Bowman withdrew from the 1986 U.S. Championships after finishing second in the short program; he had a separation between his right tibia and fibula.^[2]

He was coached as a skater by Frank Carroll for eighteen years, a relationship that ended following the 1990 World Championships. After that, Bowman was coached by Toller Cranston and then John Nicks. In Inside Edge by Christine Brennan, Bowman admitted to having had a $950 a day cocaine habit during his eligible career, and that he had checked into the Betty Ford Center before the 1988 Olympic Games. Cranston also later described Bowman's drug problems in his book Zero Tollerance.

He was known as "Bowman the Showman" for his crowd-pleasing performances.^[3][4] "If I had to pick the three most talented skaters of all time, I would pick Christopher as one," Brian Boitano, the 1988 Olympic champion, told the Chicago Tribune. "He had natural charisma, natural athleticism, he could turn on a crowd in a matter of seconds and he always seemed so relaxed about it."^[3]

Bowman retired from competitive skating after the 1992 World Championships, and toured with Ice Capades the following year. He left the tour when Ice Capades was purchased by Dorothy Hamill in 1993. For some years thereafter, Bowman worked as a skating coach, first in Massachusetts and then in the Detroit, Michigan area, where he had lived from 1995 until 2007. He also worked as a skating commentator. Prior to his death, he had returned to southern California to make a comeback in acting, with a role as an assistant coach in Down and Distance.^[5]

Bowman was pronounced dead on January 10, 2008 at 12:06 p.m. after being found in a motel in the North Hills area of Los Angeles.^[5] He was 40 years old. The Los Angeles County Coroner determined that Bowman died from an accidental drug overdose.^[6]

He was divorced from skating coach Annette Bowman Jasinkiewicz with whom he had a daughter.^[3][4]

Competitive highlights

Event	1982-83	1983-84	1984-85	1985-86	1986-87	1987-88	1988-89	1989-90	1990-91	1991-92
Winter Olympic Games						7th				4th
World Championships					7th	5th	2nd	3rd	5th	4th
World Junior Championships	1st
U.S. Championships	1st J.	9th	4th	WD	2nd	3rd	1st	WD	2nd	1st
Skate America				4th			1st	1st	2nd	1st
Skate Canada International					2nd
Fujifilm Trophy						1st
Trophée Lalique									1st
NHK Trophy						1st

• J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

References

1. ^ Schudel, Matt (January 12, 2008). "Christopher Bowman; Skating Star Had an Affinity for Trouble". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103759.html. Retrieved October 12, 2009. 
2. ^ Swift, E.M. (February 17, 1986). "Books Or Blades, There's No Doubting Thomas". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1064528/1/index.htm. Retrieved June 18, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Martindale, Mike (11 January 2008). "Ex-skating champion dies of possible drug overdose". The Associated Press. http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/figureskating/news/story?id=3191349. Retrieved 31 May 2010. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Martindale, Mike (30 May 2010). "Skater Bowman's troubled life to play out in court". The Detroit News. http://detnews.com/article/20100530/METRO/5300310/1409/rss36. Retrieved 31 May 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Men's figure skating champion Christopher Bowman dies at 40", The San Diego Union-Tribune
6. ^ February 8, 2008 Coroner: Christopher Bowman died of accidental drug overdose ESPN

• Past U.S. Champions - SeniorPDF (123 KiB)
• Brennan, Christine. Inside Edge. ISBN 0-684-80167-1. 
• Cranston, Toller. Zero Tollerance. ISBN 0-7710-2334-0. 
• Wright, Benjamin T.. Skating in America. 

External links

• Christopher Bowman at the Internet Movie Database
• Official web site

Persondata
Name	Bowman, Christopher
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1967-03-30
Place of birth	Hollywood, California, U.S.
Date of death	2008-01-10
Place of death	North Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.