Barbara Underhill | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Barbara Underhill

Barbara Ann Underhill, figure skater (b at Pembroke, Ont 24 June 1963). She began pair figure skating with Paul Martini in 1978 and they won the Junior World Championships that year.

Underhill, Barbara Ann

Barbara Ann Underhill, figure skater (b at Pembroke, Ont 24 June 1963). She began pair figure skating with Paul Martini in 1978 and they won the Junior World Championships that year. They were Canadian champions 1979-83, and though they finished a disappointing 7th in the Feb 1984 Sarajevo Olympics, they rebounded to become world gold medallists at Ottawa a month later.

Retiring from amateur competition, Underhill joined the professional ranks to perform with the Ice Capades. Underhill has worked as a commentator on skating telecasts and as a choreographer. She returned to competition with long-time partner Martini in the 1990s on the lucrative professional figure skating circuit.

In 1984 she received a world champion award from the federal government and in 1985 was inducted into the Canadian Amateur Sports Hall of Fame.