2007 Figure Skating Events and Highlights

Tonya Harding's former bodyguard died in December of 2007 of natural causes. He was forty years old when he died. Shawn Eckardt was known for being Tonya Harding's bodyguard and the man who planned the attack on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan right before the 1994 Winter Olympic Games. After serving time in prison, he changed his name to Brian Sean Griffith.

Right after they won the 2007 World Pair Skating title, China's Zhao Hongbo proposed to his pair skating partner, Shen Xue.

Berkeley Iceland was open for sixty-six years. The rink was one of the premiere figure skating centers in Northern California. It also was one of the rinks owned by the famous Zamboni family. Figure skating history was written at Berkeley Iceland. Young beginning skaters eventually became champions while training there. Many romances happened at that rink. Famous figure skaters from all over the world visited the rink.

The rink closed its doors at the end of March, 2007; however, the Save Berkeley Iceland Project was successful in getting the Berkeley Landmark Preservation Commission to landmark the entire building as a city landmark. The building still stands, but the arena is no longer open for skating.

Pieter Kollen, one of the most influential and energetic figure skating coaches in the United States, died suddenly on August 5, 2007. He was sixty-eight years old at the time of his death. He is missed and remembered by many in the skating world.