Timothy WOOD

Although Tim Wood won an Olympic silver medal, he really hit his peak between Olympic years, which probably cost him a certain gold. Wood’s first big title was the U.S. Junior Men’s which he won in 1964. Moving up to the seniors in 1965, he took third in the Nationals, fifth at the North Americans, and 13th in Worlds. He improved steadily over the next two years, but was unable to win any of the big senior championships, his best finish internationally being his silver at Grenoble. In 1969, however, Tim Wood reached the heights by winning both the U.S. and World Championships, both of which he would defend in the next year. With two years to go, he was now the top skater in the world, but he had had a long career and Sapporo seemed so far away. Wood decided to forego any more amateur competition and turned pro with the Ice Capades.

After finishing his professional skating career, Wood went to graduate school in accounting with plans to enter the world of finance. In 1996 he formed a limited liability company (LLC), TLW Sports, planning to develop sports complexes as part of a healthy living / lifestyle community. Many investors ponied up money but that soon disappeared and no sports complex or lifestyle community ever appeared. In 2012 Wood filed for bankruptcy at US Bankruptcy Court in Santa Barbara, California. Multiple lawsuits were filed against Wood and TLW Sports, and the state of California suspended the LLC.