Ellen Breen (born April 17, 1963 in Los Angeles , California ) is a former American freestyle skier . She specialized in the no longer performed discipline ballet (acro) . In this discipline she became world champion in 1991 and 1993. In addition, she won three disciplines in the World Cup and 23 individual competitions.
Ellen Breen grew up with two older brothers in West Hills, Los Angeles . Father Jim, a former professional golfer , was the assistant principal at an educational establishment in the San Fernando Valley and introduced his children to the sport from an early age. According to his own account, he immigrated to California from the Midwest to "escape the snow". While her brothers were playing basketball and football in their teens, Ellen took an interest in skiing in high school. She also played basketball in the position of point guard .
Athletic career
After graduating from high school, Breen moved to Lake Tahoe and began participating in the Far West Ski Association's freestyle competitions. In the evenings she worked as a maid in a hotel , later also during the summer as a waitress in a Sizzler . After initially having a preference for the aerials (jumping) discipline, she concentrated on ballet from 1982, when the multiple World Cup winner Bob Howard took over her training. In the same year she became Far West Ballet Champion and a year later US runner-up.
Ellen Breen made her debut in the Freestyle Skiing World Cup in Stoneham on January 14, 1984 and finished fourth straight away. After she finished in the top ten of every season competition and finished fifth in the discipline rankings, she was named World Cup Rookie of the Year. The following December she achieved her first podium finish as third in Tignes . Until March 1987 she was consistently ranked in the points and finished fifth every time at the end of the season. She was also fifth at the very first World Championships in Tignes. While the now three-time US champion achieved further podium places, she was increasingly traded as a potential successor to her outstanding compatriot Jan Bucher . In the 1988/89 season she took a break from competition to work on her dance expression.
In January 1990, Breen celebrated her first World Cup victory in Calgary at the age of 26 and finished the season in fourth place. The following winter, she made it into the top three of the discipline ranking for the first time with two victories. In addition, she was named world champion in her favorite discipline at the World Championships in Lake Placid . After that, her results deteriorated. When during the 1992 Olympic Games of Albertville discharged demonstration event showed a freestyle to the musical sounds of Jailhouse Rock , but never got beyond sixth. In the World Cup discipline ranking, she fell back to ninth place. In the last three winters of her career, Breen dominated the sport of ballet and won the discipline rankings. In 1993 she was the first and only female athlete to successfully defend her ballet world title in Zauchensee . In the 1994/95 season she achieved seven World Cup victories in a row, at the World Championships in La Clusaz she won a silver medal.
In March 1995, Breen ended her active career in competitive sports at the age of 31.
↑ a b c d Jeff Meyers: Image Aside, Freestyle Skier Takes Her Fun Very Seriously. In: Los Angeles Times , February 1, 1990 edition. Online , accessed March 25, 2020.
United States
