Christopher Bowman

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**Christopher Bowman**

Bowman in 1989.
Personal Info
Country:	United States
Date of birth:	March 30, 1967(1967-03-30)
Date of death:	January 10, 2008 (aged 40)
Former Coach:	Frank Carroll, Toller Cranston, John Nicks
Retired:	1992

Christopher Bowman (March 30, 1967–January 10, 2008) was an American figure skater. He was a two-time U.S. national champion and two-time World medalist. He won the 1983 World Junior Figure Skating Championships and competed in two Olympic Winter Games, placing 7th in 1988 and 4th in 1992.

1 Biography
2 Competitive highlights
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Bowman was born in Hollywood, California, USA. In his childhood, he appeared in commercials, and two episodes of the TV series Little House on the Prairie.

He was coached as a skater by Frank Carroll for eighteen years, a relationship that ended following the 1990 World Championships. After that, Bowman was coached by Toller Cranston and then John Nicks. In Inside Edge by Christine Brennan, Bowman admitted to having had a $950 a day cocaine habit during his eligible career, and that he had checked into the Betty Ford Center before the 1988 Olympic Games. Cranston also later described Bowman's drug problems in his book Zero Tollerance.

He was known as "Bowman the Showman" for his crowd-pleasing performances. "If I had to pick the three most talented skaters of all time, I would pick Christopher as one," Brian Boitano, the 1988 Olympic champion, told the Chicago Tribune. "He had natural charisma, natural athleticism, he could turn on a crowd in a matter of seconds and he always seemed so relaxed about it."

Bowman retired from competitive skating after the 1992 World Championships, and toured with Ice Capades the following year. He left the tour when Ice Capades was purchased by Dorothy Hamill in 1993. For some years thereafter, Bowman worked as a skating coach, first in Massachusetts and then in the Detroit, Michigan area, where he had lived from 1995 until 2007. He also worked as a skating commentator.

Bowman had recently returned to Southern California to make a comeback in acting, with a role as an assistant coach in Down and Distance.^[1]

Bowman was pronounced dead on January 10, 2008 at 12:06 p.m. after being found in a motel in the North Hills area of Los Angeles.^[1] The Los Angeles County Coroner determined that Bowman died from an accidental drug overdose.^[2] At his death, he weighed an estimated 261 pounds (118 kg), The Associated Press reported.^[3] He was 40 years old.

He was divorced from skating coach Annette Bowman, and is survived by his mother, father, and a daughter, Bianca, The Detroit Free Press said.^[4]

[edit] Competitive highlights

Event	1982-1983	1983-1984	1984-1985	1985-1986	1986-1987	1987-1988	1988-1989	1989-1990	1990-1991	1991-1992
Winter Olympic Games						7th				4th
World Championships					7th	5th	2nd	3rd	5th	4th
World Junior Championships	1st
U.S. Championships	1st J	9th	4th	WD	2nd	3rd	1st	WD	2nd	1st
Skate America				4th			1st	1st	2nd	1st
Skate Canada International					2nd
Trophée Lalique									1st
NHK Trophy						1st