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Her first major stop was the nationals of 1986, where at 18 she succeeded Tiffany Chin as the U.S. ladies champion. Fourth in the 1984 Olympics at 16, Chin was the appointed darling of '88 until both her constitution and confidence began to crumble. She turned pro last November, some say to protect her muscles, others say to preserve her reputation.
A month after her nationals victory, early in 1986, Thomas flew off to Geneva for a summit with the Brooke Shields of Sarajevo, the G.D.R's great Witt (pronounced Vitt). And, for the first time since the Olympics, Witt had to settle for second. Still only 18, Debi was world champion, and the single word she had used to sum herself up on Stanford's application forms suddenly seemed an understatement: "Invincible." Within a year, that would change. Tasting some of Chin's medicine, on two throbbing Achilles tendons, Thomas lost the '87 nationals to Jill Trenary. Then in the '87 worlds at Cincinnati, Witt took Thomas in their rematch. Even as her title evaporated, Debi was entranced by the sight of Witt atwirl. "The girl," she said, "is blazing."
Maybe Thomas was reacting to Witt when Debi finagled a consultation with the dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. "I couldn't believe it," she says. "Standing right there. Baryshnikov. I was so inspired. The neat thing is, I think he was inspired too." He suggested a few points of emotional emphasis, an exaggerated movement here and there. "Could you do this?" he asked gently. Then he turned her over to a colleague, former American Ballet Theater Soloist George de la Pena. "I found her to be extraordinarily intelligent," says De la Pena., "and extraordinarily shy. A lot of people look at her as being an extrovert and a bit of a comic. But I think it's a shell that hides a very soft center. Her emotional capacity is quite deep. We worked on opening up."
It had been 54 years since a dethroned champion regained the U.S. title, but Thomas brought a revived confidence to the Denver nationals last month, a fresh sense of drama. "Baryshnikov let me see it," she says. "George made me feel it." With two triple jumps, slam-bang, at the start of her long program, Thomas left Trenary and Caryn Kadavy behind. They join her on the U.S. team. Describing the feeling, Thomas says, "You're so high, a tingle goes through your whole body. If you've done something, and you know it's right, it's like, 'Ahhh.' The people can see it in your face, and it reflects off them right back to you." She stands 5 ft. 6 in., weighs 116 lbs., and is acquainted with power, grace and stamina. While she is skating, she is talking to herself. "I'm going to eat this one alive . . . I conquered that jump . . . extra energy now . . . Oh God, here it comes."
Her third of five triples, the especially treacherous one, is something called a triple Salchow-double toe loop combination. Twice in a row now, including at the nationals, she has abbreviated it. "I don't know why I chicken out. A lot of times in practice, you'll take off completely crooked on a hard jump and still land it. If you trust your nerve as well as your skill, you're capable of a lot more than you imagine. I'm going to land that one in the Olympics . . . if it kills me."