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 | Planet Extras! | | Cheryl Ezzell, Gypsy Tidwell and Dieter Kochan Win Spots in Roller Sports Hall of Fame USA Roller Sports Also Selects Coaches Jerry and Marlene Bruland By Robert "Just the Factoids" Burnson Two inline speed skaters and Cheryl Ezzell and Gypsy Lucas Tidwell were both world champion speed skaters in the 1990s. Dieter Kochan was goalie with the three-time World Champion U.S. roller hockey team in the late-1990s. He is now a member of the National Hockey League. Cheryl Ezzell As a member of the U.S. team, Ezzell, of Spring, Texas, won 12 gold medals in Inline World Championships. She skated the Worlds every year from 1994 to 1998. She also won the World Class Women's Overall Banked Track championship in 1996 and 1997. Since ending her racing career, she has used her experience to write a series of articles for MarathonSkating.com, titled "Marathon Secrets." Gypsy Lucas Tidwell Another Texan, Gypsy Lucas Tidwell of Waco, was a member of U.S. World Speed Team in 1994, 1996, and 1998. She won two gold medals at the 1994 World Track Championships in Gujan-Mestras, France. She was also the world inline downhill champion in both 1996 and 1997. These days, she is the coach of the U.S. Junior World Team. Dieter Kochan Kochan of Madison, Wisconsin, He was also goalie of the gold medal team at the 1999 Pan American Games. He made his professional ice hockey debut in 1997 with the Louisville River Frogs. He joined the NHL in 2000 and is now a member of the New York Islanders. Jerry and Marlene Bruland Jerry and Marlene Bruland The Brulands were an award-winning roller figure skating team in the mid-1950s. They have been coaching for 50 years and have had a number of successful students. One of best known was Patti Jefferson, artistic world champion in 1987. Jerry Bruland has also coached speed skaters at the National Championships. The Brulands "are the epitome of what USARS coaching should be," USA Roller Sports says in its notice of their induction. The board of USA Roller Sports approved the Hall of Fame inductees at their meeting in early February in Costa Mesa, Calif. To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, athletes must not have competed for prizes at an elite level for five years. Hall of Fame awards will be handed out during the Indoor National Championships in Pensacola, Fla., this summer. (posted on February 19, 2005) |
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