Lucinda Ruh

Lucinda Martha Ruh (born 13 July 1979) is a three time Swiss National gold medalist former competitive figure skater. She is also the 2000 and 2001 world professional bronze medalist. She is known as the "Queen of Spin" for her one of a kind outstanding spinning ability and for being a ballerina on ice. In April 2003, Ruh set a Guinness world record for the most continuous spins (115) on one foot. She is the longest and fastest spinner on ice in the world ever clocking at six rotations a second. She has also created over twenty different new spin positions now required at competitions. She toured with Stars On Ice, Champions on Ice, and numerous other world wide tours skating live to Seal, Aretha Franklin, Gloria Gaynor etc. she also published her book Frozen Teardrop.

Lucinda Ruh
Personal information
Country represented  Switzerland
BornLucinda Martha Ruh
(1979-07-13) 13 July 1979
Zurich, Switzerland
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Former coachLiu Hongyun
Oliver Höner
Nobuo Sato
Christy Ness
Former choreographerRobin Cousins
Alexander Zhulin
Toller Cranston
Lea Ann Miller
Sarah Kawahara
Christopher Dean
Skating clubClub des Patineurs de Geneve
Former training locationsTokyo, Japan; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; San Francisco, California, USA; Harbin, China; Switzerland
Began skating1984
Retired2000

Personal life

Lucinda Martha Ruh[1] was born on 13 July 1979 in Zurich, Switzerland.[2] Her family moved to Paris, France, not long after her birth and then to Tokyo, Japan, when she was four years old.[1] She was initially more focused on ballet than skating and at age seven received a scholarship to the Royal Ballet of London.[1] She also practiced the piano and cello.[1]

Ruh lives in New York City.[3] In May 2012, she gave birth to twin girls, Angelica and Angelina.[4][5]

Career

Ruh began skating in 1984,[2] soon after moving to Japan.[1] She decided to focus on skating as her main activity when she was about eight.[1]

In 1986, Ruh began working with coach Nobuo Sato.[1] She won the bronze medal at the Japan Junior Championships in 1994. Although she initially enjoyed jumps, her interest in them waned as she grew to 5'9" (175.26 cm), "Since the center of gravity was higher, combined with the rigid training while growing, I never really had a chance to get my timing and balance back. As a result, injuries from bad falls plagued me even more and I started not liking jumps."[1]

In 1996, she moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to work with Toller Cranston.[1] In 1997, she worked with Christy Ness in San Francisco, California[6] but developed two Achilles tendinitis, a ruptured shoulder and Sciatica.[1] In 1998, she moved to Harbin, China to train with Chen Lu's former coach, Hongyun Liu, but although her jumping improved, the Chinese federation objected to a non-national being trained by him.[1] In December, she moved to Switzerland, where she met coach Oliver Höner; it was the first time she had resided in her birth country.[1]

In the summer of 1999, she went to the U.S. and was briefly coached by Galina Zmievskaya but tore knee ligaments and returned to Switzerland for treatment.[1] Her last ISU event was the 1999 Cup of Russia. She sustained an injury after falling on a jump during practice the day before the competition but took three Cortisone injections a day and finished 6th at the event.[1] She later learned she had fractured her spine, resulting in two dislocated discs.[1] Her spinning may also have resulted in subtle concussions.[7] A study is underway to determine whether intensive training of spins may cause concussions.[7]

Ruh represented Club des Patineurs de Geneve.[2] She has cited the pair Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov as the skaters she admired the most while growing up.[1]

Following her retirement, Ruh began working as a coach and a spinning coach specialist. On 3 April 2003, she set a world record for the most continuous spins (105) on one foot at the Rockefeller Plaza outdoor skating rink in New York City. She nearly doubled the previous record of British figure skater Neil Wilson (60 revolutions).[8]

She toured around the world from 2000 to 2006 with Stars on Ice USA and Canada, Champions on Ice, Art on Ice to name a few. She skated for many charities and 9/11 memorial at Madison Square Garden and participated in the 2010 and 2011 iterations of "One Step Closer", a figure skating exhibition to benefit the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children.[9][10] She is the author of Frozen Teardrop, a memoir published by SelectBooks on November 2011.[11]

Programs
Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
1999–2000
1998–99
[2]
1997–98
1996–97
1995–96
1994–95

Competitive highlights

GP: Champions Series / Grand Prix

International[2]
Event 92–93 93–94 94–95 95–96 96–97 97–98 98–99 99–00
Worlds18th19th15th23rd13th
Europeans23rd
GP Cup of Russia6th
GP Skate Canada6th3rd
Finlandia Trophy8th
Nebelhorn Trophy7th
Schäfer Memorial11th
Skate Israel10th
International: Junior[2]
Junior Worlds6th9th7th
Blue Swords12th J
Triglav Trophy3rd J
National[2]
Swiss Champ.1st J4th3rd1st2nd2nd3rd
J: Junior level; WD: Withdrew

References
  1. Slater, Paula (29 April 2004). "Lucinda Ruh: Strong Spirit Defeats Fractured Spine". GoldenSkate.
  2. "Lucinda RUH". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 July 2016.
  3. Perry Bind, Barbara (25 February 2011). "Skating Royalty: 'Queen of Spin' Lucinda Ruh". greenwichcitizen.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2011.
  4. Brannen, Sarah S.; Meekins, Drew (8 June 2012). "The Inside Edge: Young Artists Showcase". Icenetwork.
  5. Manley, Allison (25 May 2012). "Congrats to Lucinda Ruh on the birth of her twin girls!". Twitter.
  6. "Lucinda Ruh: Online Interview". Golden Skate. 30 July 2002.
  7. Kutiakose, Sabina (7 February 2012). "Dr. Investigates Figure Skating Dangers". NBC Connecticut.
  8. Lucinda Ruh Guinness World Record 3 April 2003 Youtube
  9. ""One Step Closer" a big success for David". Icenetwork.com. 12 April 2010.
  10. ""One Step Closer" to be held April 9". Icenetwork.com. 7 March 2011.
  11. Manley, Allison (1 December 2011). "Book Review: Lucinda Ruh's "Frozen Teardrop"". The Manleywoman SkateCast.
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