Belinda Noonan

(Redirected from Belinda Coulthard)

Belinda Noonan, née Coulthard (born in 1957) is an Australian former competitive figure skater. Competing in ladies' singles, she won silver at the 1977 Golden Spin of Zagreb, bronze at a 1978 competition in Heerenveen, and the Australian national title during the 1979–1980 season.

Belinda Noonan
Other namesBelinda Coulthard
Born1957
Sydney, Australia
Figure skating career
CountryAustralia
PartnerMark Lynch, Phillip Brown
CoachLinda Brauckmann, Gloria Aiken, Cubby Lyons, Gladys Hogg
Skating clubSydney Figure Skating Club
Began skating1965
Retired1980

Career

Coulthard first stepped on the ice as a two-year-old, at the Bondi Junction rink. She grew interested in skating at age seven, after the opening of the Burwood ice rink.[1][2] After her first instructor, Cubby Lyons, ended her coaching career, Coulthard was coached by Gloria Aiken (Pracey). She spent three months in 1970 training under Linda Brauckmann in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and would later travel occasionally to London, England (c. 1975–1978), to learn from Gladys Hogg.[1]

Coulthard competed in both ladies' singles and pairs. With her first partner, Phillip Brown, she won the junior national pairs' title in 1968. Competing on the senior level, she and Mark Lynch became four-time national champions during the early 1970s.[3]

As a single skater, Coulthard won the silver medal at the 1977 Golden Spin of Zagreb and the Australian national title during the 1979–1980 season. She finished 28th at the 1979 World Championships in Vienna, Austria, and 24th at the 1980 World Championships in Dortmund, West Germany. Australia elected not to send her to the 1980 Olympics, leading to her decision to switch to coaching.[2]

Noonan coached Amanda James to a national title in the 1984–85 season.[4] She is based at the Sydney Figure Skating Club.[5] She has also served as a figure skating consultant for the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia, as a commentator for Channel Seven at the Winter Olympics, and as a judge for Torvill & Dean's Dancing on Ice (Channel Nine Australia).[2][1][6] She is the editor of a community newspaper, Burwood Scene, and was named Burwood's Citizen of the Year in January 2016.[7]

Competitive highlights

Ladies' singles

International
Event72–7377–7878–7979–80
World Championships28th24th
Golden Spin of Zagreb2nd
Ennia Challenge Cup
National[3]
Australian Championships1st J1st
J = Junior level

Pairs with Lynch

National
Event71–7272–7372–7373–74
Australian Championships1st1st1st1st

Pairs with Brown

National[3]
Event68–69
Australian Championships1st J
J = Junior level

References