) is a two-time Swiss national figure skating

Figure skating

Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...

 champion known for her extreme flexibility and outstanding spinning

Figure skating spins

Spins are an element in figure skating where the skater rotates, centered on a single point on the ice, while holding one or more body positions. The skater rotates on the part of the blade just behind the toe pick, with the weight on the ball of the foot...

 ability. On April 3, 2003, she set a world record

World record

A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...

 for the most continuous spins (115) on one foot at Chelsea Piers Sky Rink in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. She nearly doubled the previous record of Neil Wilson of Britain (60 revolutions).

Ruh was born in Zurich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 but her family moved to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France not long after. When she was four, her family relocated to Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan where she began skating shortly thereafter. She was initially more focused on ballet and at age 7 received a scholarship to the Royal Ballet of London but a year later, chose to focus on skating. She also practiced the piano and cello.

In 1986 she began working with coach Nobuo Sato

Nobuo Sato

is a Japanese figure skater and coach. He is a ten-time Japanese national champion. He represented Japan at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where he placed 14th, and at the 1964 Winter Olympics, where he placed 8th. His best finish at the World Championships was 4th in 1965. He is married to Kumiko Okawa...

. She won the bronze medal at the Japanese Junior Figure Skating Championships in 1994. Although she initially enjoyed jumps, Ruh's interest in them waned as she grew to 5'9" (175.26 cm), "Since the center of gravity was higher, combined with the rigid training while growing, I never really had a chance to get my timing and balance back. As a result, injuries from bad falls plagued me even more and I started not liking jumps."

In 1996 she moved to Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada to work with Toller Cranston

Toller Cranston

Toller Shalitoe Montague Cranston, CM is a Canadian figure skater and painter. He is the 1971-1976 Canadian national champion, the 1974 World bronze medalist, and the 1976 Olympic bronze medalist....

. In 1997, she worked with Christy Ness in San Francisco, California but developed two Achilles tendonitis, a ruptured shoulder and Sciatica

Sciatica

Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression or irritation of one of five spinal nerve roots that give rise to each sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the left or right or both sciatic nerves. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, or...

. In 1998 she moved to Harbin

Harbin

Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...

, China to train with Chen Lu

Chen Lu

Chen Lu is a Chinese figure skater. She is the 1994 and 1998 Olympic bronze medalist and the 1995 World Champion. Chen won the first ever Olympic medal in figure skating for China.- Amateur career :...

's former coach, Hongyun Liu, but although her jumping improved, the Chinese federation objected to a non-national being trained by him. In December, she moved to Switzerland where she met coach Oliver Höner

Oliver Höner

Oliver Höner is a Swiss figure skater. He is an eleven time Swiss national champion. He represented Switzerland at the 1988 Winter Olympics, where he placed 12th....

; it was the first time she had resided in her birth country.

In the summer of 1999, she went to the U.S. and was briefly coached by Galina Zmievskaya

Galina Zmievskaya

Galina Yakovlevna Zmievskaya is a figure skating coach, formerly based in Odessa, Ukraine. Her students have included Olympic champions Viktor Petrenko and Oksana Baiul, World Junior champion Vladimir Petrenko, U.S. national champion Scott Davis, and Italian champion Silvia Fontana...

 but tore knee ligaments and returned to Switzerland for treatment. Her last ISU event was the 1999 Cup of Russia

1999 Cup of Russia

The 1999 Cup of Russia was the Cup of Russia competition of the 1999/2000 season. It was the fifth event of six of the 1999–2000 Grand Prix of Figure Skating. Elite senior-level figure skaters competed in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.In 1999, the...

. She sustained an injury after falling on a jump during practice the day before the competition but took three Cortisone injections a day and finished 6th at the event. She later learned she had fractured her spine, resulting in two dislocated discs.

She cites the pair Ekaterina Gordeeva

Ekaterina Gordeeva

Ekaterina "Katia" Alexandrovna Gordeeva is a Russian figure skater. Together with her late partner and husband Sergei Grinkov, she was the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion and four-time World Champion in pair skating...

 and Sergei Grinkov

Sergei Grinkov

Sergei Mikhailovich Grinkov was a Russian pair skater. Together with partner Ekaterina Gordeeva, he was the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion and four-time World Champion.-Biography:...

 as the skaters she admired the most while growing up.

Following her retirement, Ruh began working as a coach and a spinning coach specialist.

Ruh participated in the 2010 and 2011 iterations of "One Step Closer", a figure skating exhibition to benefit the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children

AIDS Resource Foundation for Children

The AIDS Resource Foundation for Children , founded in 1985 by Terry and Faye Zealand, is a community-based non-profit organization committed to providing cost-effective, family-centered services to children coping with the impact of HIV/AIDS...

.

She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut

Greenwich, Connecticut

Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...

.

Competitive highlights

Event	1994-1995	1995-1996	1996-1997	1997-1998	1998-1999	1999-2000
World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...	18th	19th	15th	23rd	13th
European Championships European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion...		23rd
Swiss Championships Swiss Figure Skating Championships The Swiss Figure Skating Championships are a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of Switzerland...	3rd	1st	2nd	2nd	3rd
Skate Canada International Skate Canada International The Skate Canada International is an international, senior-level invitation-only figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada. It is the second competition of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: Ladies' singles, Men's...		6th	3rd
Cup of Russia Cup of Russia The Cup of Russia is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Figure skaters compete in the disciplines of ladies' singles, men's singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. It was held as the Rostelecom Cup in 2009 after...						6th

External links

• LucindaRuh.com - Official website