Debra “Debi” Thomas (1967 – ) as a figure skater was the first African-American to win a Winter Olympic medal in any sport. Born in Poughkeepsie, NY, she grew up and learned to skate in San Jose, CA. First, she won the gold medal at the 1986 World Figure Skating Championship. Then, she went on to win the bronze medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics. In addition to training for the Olympics and winning the U.S. Nationals twice, she studied engineering at Stanford University. She obtained a degree in engineering from Stanford. After her skating career, she studied medicine and was a physician. She became an orthopedic surgeon and started her own private practice. However, mental health challenges disrupted her career and her life.
Debi Thomas was the first black figure skater to qualify for the World Figure Skating Championships. Debi beat Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan at the 1988 U.S. National which allowed her to compete at the 1988 Winter Olympics and win the bronze medal. She was a role model for black girls and showed that figure skating was a sport they could participate in and win. She skated with grace and beauty. Skating was magical to her. After her skating career, the ice began to crack. It was while working as an orthopedic surgeon that life began to get difficult.
Thomas lost stability and job-hopped at various clinics due to her personality as being difficult to work with. She opened a private practice but could not sustain the practice and her medical license. In 2012, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. By 2014, she lost her practice, her medical license, custody of her son, and declared bankruptcy. She last reported living in a decrepit mobile home after selling her precious bronze Olympic medal. During one of her most recent interviews, she considered herself a visionary. Culture Blurb thanks Debi Thomas for her vision and recognizes her struggle with mental illness. Mental illness cannot take away her achievement as the first African-American Winter Olympics medal winner.