Jill Trenary - Career

Career

Originally from Minnetonka, Minnesota, at the age of 16, she relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado to train with noted coach Carlo Fassi. Trenary won the U.S. junior title in 1985. During a warm-up in 1985, she collided with another skater, whose blade sliced Trenary's calf muscles and severed an artery in her left leg.

Trenary placed 5th in her first senior national championships in 1986. At the U.S. championships in 1987, Trenary upset reigning world champion Debi Thomas to take her first senior national title. She went on to place 7th in her first World Championships. In 1988, Thomas regained the U.S. title, with Trenary finishing second. Trenary placed 4th at the 1988 Winter Olympics. She was 5th at the 1988 World Championships.

Due to her strength in compulsory figures, Trenary again won the U.S. Championships in 1989, although she was defeated by Kristi Yamaguchi in the free skating. Trenary won bronze at the 1989 World Championships.

In 1990, Trenary won both the U.S. and World titles. Her strength in the compulsory figures was the deciding factor at the 1990 World Championships. She was 5th in the short program and second in the free skate to Midori Ito but her top placement in the figures kept her in the lead overall. The International Skating Union eliminated figures after that season. After she won her World title, her coach, Carlo Fassi, returned to live in his home country, Italy, and Trenary began working with Kathy Casey.

Trenary's triple jumps included the toe loop, salchow, and flip, which was quite competitive for a female singles skater in the mid-to-late 1980s. One of her signature moves was a combination of a one-foot axel into a triple salchow.

In January 1991, Trenary underwent surgery to drain her ankle after she developed a staph infection. As a result, she withdrew from the 1991 U.S. Championships. In March 1991, Trenary moved to Cleveland, Ohio to work with Carol Heiss Jenkins.

With the elimination of compulsory figures—formerly Trenary's strength—from competition, the technical standard for jumping in women's skating had risen greatly, with the top skaters all attempting five or six different triples. Trenary's injury was slow to heal and she had problems regaining her former standard of jumps, much less learning new ones. She planned to compete at the 1992 U.S. Championships but ended her bid to qualify for the 1992 Winter Olympics in December 1991.

After turning professional, Trenary toured with the Tom Collins Tour of Champions and Stars on Ice for several years. She retired from skating in 1997 after developing a life-threatening blood clot in her shoulder.