American Bonnie Blair is the only woman to have won an Olympic speed skating event at three successive Games with victories in the 500 metres in 1988, 1992 and 1994. She also won the 1,000 metres in 1992 and 1994 after taking the bronze in 1988, and her total of five speed skating gold medals has only been bettered by the Russian Lidiya Skoblikova. Blair actually started out as a short-track skater, before turning her efforts to the 400 metre Olympic oval. She won four World Championships, those being the World Short-Track Championships in 1986, and the World Sprints in... 1989, 1994, and 1995. Blair set four world records in the 500 metres, the last of which was four weeks after the 1994 Olympic Winter Games, in which she became the first woman to break 39 seconds for the 500.

Personal Bests: 500 – 38.69 (1995); 1000 – 1:18.05 (1995); 1500 – 2:03.44 (1994); 3000 – 4:47.60 (1986); 5000 – 8:58.29 (1985).