Holly Cook is all grown up.
The former U.S. national and world figure skating bronze medalist -- and Utah's most revered skating native -- will probably never be far from the sport. She still spends many of her days on the ice at the Bountiful Recreation Center and stays up to date on the skating scene she once dominated.But life moves on.
Holly Cook is now Holly Cook Tanner, and she is 28 years old. She married Jason, her high school sweetheart, in 1992, a year after she retired from competitive skating. Together, they have two ebullient children. Life is full.
But on the eve of the 1999 State Farm U.S. Championships, held in Salt Lake City Feb. 7-14, the bronze medalist took a moment to look back on her career and her experiences at nationals the last time Salt Lake City hosted the competition.
Once known for her mastery of compulsory figures and her non-traditional approach to skating (while others were skating to classical selections, Cook once skated to music by rock group "Europe"); Cook brought figure skating home for many Utahns. If the tiny blond girl from Bountiful could compete at the highest levels of the sport, it was something they wanted to see.
Cook began her skating journey as a child, watching her mother skate on frozen ponds. Then the Bountiful Recreation Center was built, and Margie Cook moved indoors to take lessons. Rather than sending young Holly to a babysitter, Margie enrolled Holly in classes, too.
"When I got older, in elementary school, I thought that was just what you did. I thought that all the kids went and did their sport after school. I loved it, and things just started clicking."
She had all the right elements: talent, a supportive family, the right coach, friends and interests outside the skating world. She was an athlete with a balanced outlook on the sport -- a refreshing combination. And it got results.
By 1986, Cook was already making waves at the national level. She placed third in the junior ladies division at nationals in Kansas City, Mo., a competition she still remembers as one of the high points in her career. She was 15 years old.
The upward trend continued as Cook progressed from the junior to senior level at nationals. She attributes her success to strong performances on a series of short programs and her skill in the now-defunct compulsory figures, which counted for one-third of a skater's total score until they were eliminated from international competition in 1991.
Inevitably, conversation turns to the 1990 nationals, and a wry smile emerges as Cook Tanner remembers. 1990. The year fate embraced her career.
She was 19 years old and had begun to question her will to continue competing. But as she examined her options, Cook resolved to go on. She knew there was only one year before the compulsory figures event -- her forte -- was eliminated. Then there was the draw of nationals.
1990. The host city was Salt Lake City, and Cook would compete for the national title on her own turf. Many of the competitions were held at the very rink in which she trained every day, in Bountiful. It was irresistible -- and terrifying.
"I felt a lot of pressure," she says, laughing nervously. "It was like everyone had heard of Holly Cook, but now they were going to watch her skate. I was terrified. But I felt nothing but support from the community."
It was as though destiny descended onto the ice in favor of Holly Cook that week. She skated last on the free skate, following a dismal performance by Tonya Harding. She had compulsory figures on her side. And for the first time, at the end of Cook's career, she climbed onto the medal stand to accept her senior-level bronze medal.
Winning at nationals opened a world of opportunity. From there, Cook went on to the World Figure Skating Championships, where she again placed third. She also went on tour with the Tom Collins Tour of Figure Skating Champions.
Then, in late 1991, Cook did the unimaginable. She retired.
"What kept me going was that I had the desire. I loved it enough to do it," Cook Tanner says. When that desire faded, she made her decision. It was over. She moved on. Looking back, Cook Tanner says she has no regrets.
"I've made a lot of friends and gained a lifetime of experience. I know a lot about life. I think life is full of sacrifices you have to make. I just started mine a lot earlier."
When asked what her life is like now, Cook Tanner smiles a broad, sincere smile.
"I'm a mom, a wife, and I teach skating," she says, as her two children play at her feet. "I volunteer at preschool. Kind of boring, huh? . . . But I wouldn't give it up for anything. The day I won third at worlds was just as exciting as the day PJ (her son) smiled or walked. You have life in different sections, I guess.
"I have stories to tell my kids and grandkids. I just hope they can be proud of me."