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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1967-10-03)October 3, 1967 (age 58) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | San Diego,California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1987 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Tiffany Chin | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 陳婷婷[1] | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈婷婷 | ||||||||||
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Audrey Tiffany Chin (born October 3, 1967) is an Americanfigure skating coach and former competitor. She is a two-timeWorld bronze medalist (1985–1986), a two-timeSkate America champion (1983, 1986), and the 1985U.S. national champion.
Chin was born on October 3, 1967, inOakland, California.[2] She grew up inSan Diego,California. She graduated with a BA in English fromUniversity of California, Los Angeles. Her son was born in February 2004.[3]
Chin won the1981 World Junior Championships, held in December 1980 inLondon, Ontario, Canada, after finishing in eighth place incompulsory figures and in second place in both theshort program and thefree skate.[4][5] According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, Chin "won the event because of inconsistencies among her competitors".[5] In 1982, she came in fifth place at theU.S. Nationals.
Originally trained byMabel Fairbanks as a young child, Chin switched toJanet Champion under the recommendation of Fairbanks. Her mother, Marjorie, later fired Champion and had her daughter train withFrank Carroll, who led Chin to her World Junior title. However, Marjorie had some serious disagreements with Carroll which led Carroll to resign.[citation needed] Chin was one of Carroll's first students.[5] Chin then worked withJohn Nicks.
At the1984 U.S. Championships, she placed fourth in the compulsory figures but won both the short and long programs. Finishing second toRosalynn Sumners, she was awarded the silver medal and was named in the U.S. team to the1984 Winter Olympic inSarajevo. At the Olympics, Chin placed 12th in the compulsory figures but climbed to fourth overall after placing second in the short program and third in the free skate.[6][5] She missed the World Championships due to injury.
Chin began the next Olympicquadrennium with silver at the1984 Skate Canada International, where she finished second to Japan'sMidori Ito. Chin experienced a decline in consistency and technical level from the previous season; she relied almost exclusively on the triple toe and did not even attempt a triple flip or land a successful triple salchow all season.[citation needed] She won the gold medal at the1985 U.S. Championships.[5] Despite a fall in the short program and a conservative long program, she finished first in all three phases of the competition at Her U.S. national title was the first singles' title for an Asian-American or anyone of non-European descent.
At the1985 World Championships, Chin was in a strong position to contend for the title after placing second in both the compulsory figures and the short program. However, in her free skate, she popped her triple Salchow into a single and fell on her final double axel, finishing third in the free program and third overall behind Katarina Witt and Kira Ivanova.[7][5] As had been the case all season, the toe loop was the only triple she executed successfully. In the summer of 1985, her mother, Marjorie, pulled her off the ice for three months due to her muscle imbalance.[8]
After a growth spurt and a recurring injury (a muscle imbalance affecting her legs, arms, and hips) that caused her to lose many of her triple jumps, Chin left Nicks in 1985 and went on to train withDon Laws.[9]
After undergoing a course of traditional medicine and chiropractic treatments, Chin began to relearn her skating technique under a new coach, Don Laws. She entered the 1986U.S. Championships as an underdog and finished third overall behindDebi Thomas andCaryn Kadavy. Chin qualified for the World Championships in Geneva, where she placed fourth in the compulsories and tied for second in the short program to enter the long program in third place. With Witt defeating Thomas in the long program, Chin as the last skater was in position to win the gold by winning the free skate, or to aid Witt in passing Thomas for the gold should she have split them in the long program.[citation needed] A fourth-place finish in the long program (behind Witt, Thomas, andElizabeth Manley) with one clean triple jump, one other triple with a slight touch down, several double axels, and good presentation scores, was enough to give her the bronze medal overall behind Thomas and Witt.[5]
In the fall of 1986, Chin returned to Nicks as her coach. She switched again to Carroll prior to the1987 U.S. Championships.[8] At that event she was in third place after the compulsory figures and short program, but was unable to complete a triple jump or clean double axel in her long program and dropped to fourth overall, failing to qualify for the World Championships for the first time since her U.S. senior national debut in 1982. Needing only a 4th-place finish in the long program after Kadavy's poor short program, Chin's long program was narrowly beaten by a youngTonya Harding, dropping Chin behind Kadavy and off the world team.
Sensing only slim chances of making the Olympic team against the trifecta of Thomas, Kadavy, and Trenary, Chin retired from Olympic-eligible skating in the fall of 1987. According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, Chin suffered with injuries throughout her career, which might have affected her decision to retire.[5]
Chin toured professionally and competed occasionally in professional events,[5] finishing fourth at the 1987 Nutrasweet World Professional Figure Skating Championships and second at the 1990 U.S. Open behind Elizabeth Manley.
Chin remained involved in figure skating by becoming a coach.[5] Her former students includeBeatrisa Liang andHounsh Munshi. Liang left Chin in 2004 when Chin took some time off from coaching because she was expecting a child.[10] Chin became a technical specialist in 2006, receiving national status a year later.[3]
On May 3, 2009, Chin was honored by the Los AngelesChinese Historical Society of Southern California in "Celebrating Chinese Americans in Sports".[11]
In 2010, Chin became the coach of Australia'sKailani Craine, who would qualify a spot at the2018 Winter Olympics and2022 Winter Olympics.
Chin was inducted into theUnited States Figure Skating Hall of Fame in January, 2022.[12][13]
| International | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 80–81 | 81–82 | 82–83 | 83–84 | 84–85 | 85–86 | 86–87 |
| Winter Olympics | 4th | ||||||
| World Champ. | 9th | 3rd | 3rd | ||||
| Skate America | 1st | 1st | |||||
| Skate Canada | 2nd | ||||||
| NHK Trophy | 3rd | ||||||
| International: Junior | |||||||
| World Junior Champ. | 1st | ||||||
| National | |||||||
| U.S. Championships | 5th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 4th | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
