Lydia Stephans
Lydia was born October 19, 1960. She was inspired at a young age by watching Dianne Holum and Anne Henning on television competing at the 1972 Winter Olympics, which led to her joining the Northbrook Skating Club. Three years after starting, she won the 1976 National Short Track Championship as a Junior and followed with the 1978 Championship as an Intermediate. For five years, starting in 1980, she held a spot on eight World teams in both Long Track and Short Track. In 1982, she won the National Short Track Championship as a Senior and in 1983 the North American Short Track Championship. She was a member of the 1984 Olympic Team and the World Sprint Team. As a member of the World Short Track Team in 1984, she won a bronze medal in two events. Lydia served as the National Short Track Coach at the U. S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan for the 1985-1986 season. She served on the USISA Board of Directors from 1984-89. Lydia was inducted in to the National Speedskating Hall of Fame on May 14, 1994 in Schaumburg, Illinois.