There was once a black figure skater who ruled the world of ice skating. Yet today, the most famous black ice skater in history now lives in a mobile home, far detached from her family and the sports she loved so much.

In the 1980s, Debi Thomas had won a world championship in a sport that had only a few black figure skaters, and made history as the first black athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.

These being a few of her many achievements, not many, however, know who Debi Thomas is, or are aware that the once-famous figure skater has declared bankruptcy and now lives in a trailer after her life fell apart, under various circumstances.

This article will expose the reader to who of Debi Thomas is and the circumstances behind her fall from grace.

Who is Debi Thomas?

Debi Thomas is a retired figure skater well known for her being a two-time US national champion, a one-time world champion, and the 1988 Olympic bronze medallist in figure skating. Born Debra Janine Thomas, on March 25, 1967, in Poughkeepsie, New York, Debi Thomas’s family moved to San Jose when she was a child. Her parents divorced not too long after and Thomas was in the custody of her mother who was then a computer programming analyst in Sunnyvale.

While at San Jose, Thomas began skating when she was five. By age nine, she had won her first competition in the sport. Then, her mother would drive her over 100 miles a day between home, school, and the ice rink.

Career in Skating

Thomas rose to prominence in figure skating during her armature career as a figure skater. In 1986, while representing the Los Angeles Skating Club, she won titles as the United States national champion and the International World champion; becoming the first African-American woman to win the Women’s World Figure Skating Championships.

In 1987, following injuries sustained which hampered her performance in the U.S. Nationals where she placed second, she would also finish a close second―behind East-Germany’s Katarina Witt―at the World Championships. Following another gold medal at the U.S. national champion in 1988, she was involved in a rivalry showdown with Katarina Witt in what is known as the “Battle of the Carmens” at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

Thomas would finish third behind Witt and Canadian skater Elizabeth Manley. Her bronze medal meant that she had become the first black athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. Another bronze medal would arrive at the 1988 World Championships, before she retired from armature skating.

As a professional skater, Thomas won three gold medals in the World Professional Championships in 1988, 1989, and 1991.

Education and Career in Medicine

She studied at Stanford University, but paused studies because of her competitive career. In 1989, however, she resumed her studies and in 1991, she graduated from Stanford with a degree in engineering, Later, in 1997, she got a medical degree from North-western University Feinberg School of Medicine. She later became a specialist in hip and knee replacement as an orthopedic surgeon and later had an orthopedic surgery residency in South Central Los Angeles.

Due to difficulty working with other doctors, she would begin private practice at ORTHO X-cellence Debra J. Thomas, MD, PC in Richlands, Virginia. This later closed due to her lack of business experience.

Personal life and Debi Thomas Today

Thomas had married and divorced twice; first to Brian Vander Hogen, on March 15, 1988, and later, in 1996, to sports attorney Chris Bequette with whom she had a son, Christopher Jules “Luc” Bequette, before their divorce.

Thomas’s life in recent years has been somewhat full of controversy. As of 2014, she had filed for bankruptcy and is reported to have no health insurance. On April 22, 2012, she had been at the center of a controversial disagreement with fiancé Jamie Looney. The Washington Post reports that Thomas got hold of Looney’s gun which she shot into the ground to scare him. She later reported herself to the police who later brought her to the hospital where she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In the coming years, she had lost her medical license due to expiration.

She has lost all that she won. Following her accumulation of debts, she was forced to sell her bronze medal which is now owned by the bank. According to Face2Face Africa, She doesn’t have a bank account and hasn’t made a steady income in years, and as of 2018, still struggled to make ends meet.

Today, she lives in a trailer with her Looney in Richlands, Virginia, and is reported to have not had contact with her family in recent years.

Debi Thomas’ Net Worth

It is not immediately clear how much Thomas earns as at the time of writing this article. However, sources state that as of mid-2018, she had a net worth of $20,000.