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TODAY’S TRAINING INSPIRATION:
ELIZABETH MANLEY

Today’s Colin Timberlake Training Inspiration is a woman whose focus and discipline brought her within a hair’s breadth of the highest honor available in her sport.

Elizabeth Manley was Canada’s premier female figure skater throughout the 1980s, and for an eight year stretch from 1981 to 1988, never finished lower than 4th at the Canadian Championships. During this span, she medaled in seven of the eight years, including three golds.

She was always, however, considered a longshot and an underdog on the world stage, and had never medaled at the Olympics or World Championships prior to 1988, her final year of competition.

In the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, she was not considered a significant threat to win a medal, and the event was considered a showdown between Katarina Witt and Debi Thomas for the gold.

As is the case with great competitions, everything came down to the final performance, with several skaters within striking distance of the podium. Thomas and Witt had a significant lead on the competition, but when Thomas skated disastrously in the final show, Manley brought her finest performance and jumped her way to the silver medal, being just barely edged out for the gold by Katarina Witt by the smallest of margins when the total scores were compiled.

Manley had won the long program, the final skate that is used in determining the final scores.

She would also add a silver medal at the 1988 World Championships and retire from the sport at the peak of her game.

Today she is a vocal activist in the fight against cancer.

TODAY: TRICEPS (Fast Tempo, 60 Second Rests)

DUMBBELL SKULL CRUSHERS (per arm) (5 sets)
35 x 5
35 x 5
35 x 3
35 x 3
35 x 3

TRAINING NOTES

Total Sets (Triceps): 5

Well, not much of a workout but when you’re sick, even a minor workout can be an act of will (and sometimes stupidity).

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