Peter Oppegard

Peter Oppegard (born August 23, 1959) is an American retired pair skater and coach. With his partner Jill Watson, he won three U.S. championships and a bronze medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Coaching Career

He coaches at the East West Ice Palace in southern California. He is married to Karen Kwan, sister of world champion figure skater Michelle Kwan, and they have 2 daughters, Olivia Colett Oppegard and Sophia Oppegard.

On October 5th 2010, it was announced that he will become coach of Olympic champion figure skater, Kim Yu-Na of South Korea.

Skating career

Oppegard initially paired with Vicki Heasley. He began competing with Watson in 1985. In their career, Watson and Oppegard won three national titles, a world bronze medal, an Olympic bronze medal, and various other medals. Oppegard later skated with Cindy Landry for a short time.

His skaters have won 10 national singles and pairs titles. The Professional Skaters Association and US Figure Skating has named Oppegard “Choreographer of the Year” and “Coach of the Year”.

Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2004.


peter_oppegard.txt · Last modified: 2010/10/22 16:47 by os168