SKATING KNACK

Women’s figure skating tends to get a bad rap in the sports world. Is it sport? Is it art? Hard-nosed sports columnists argue for the latter because it makes good copy, but they miss the point that elite figure skaters are top-notch athletes. The ability to jump and spin in the air four times then land successfully on a ¼-inch steel blade is no small feat, cultivated over years of dedicated training. A four-minute program with as many as eight triple jumps, spins, footwork, and artistry may look pretty but falls flat (literally) unless the skater is a killer athlete.

Only a handful of American women have risen to the top in amateur figure skating. Think Tenley Albright, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill and Michelle Kwan. These winners have a unique combination of athletic talent, grace, guts, titanium nerves, and luck. It’s an unpredictable sport, with many a favorite having blown a jump and dashed a dream in a split second.

The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City offered one of most dramatic gold medal rounds in figure skating history. Michelle Kwan came in as the undisputed favorite with four world and six U.S. titles and a burning desire for Olympic gold having been edged out by Tara Lipinski four years earlier at the Nagano Winter Games where she settled for silver.

Kwan aced the short program and came into the long in first place over Russian Irina Slutskaya and American Sasha Cohen. Sixteen-year-old American Sarah Hughes, who had never placed higher than third in international competition, was fourth and not considered a promising challenger. The gold seemed a lock for the favorite Kwan but she, and everyone else in the arena and watching on TV, knew that given a complicated scoring formula, any of the top four could grab the gold by winning the long program. And as happens in big competitions the one with the most to lose buckled under the pressure. Kwan seemed tense and tentative when she started her program, eventually two-footing a landing and falling on another. Cohen and Slutskaya had a number of shaky moments as well. However, Slutskaya’s performance was enough to push Kwan out of second place, and the most successful skater in history had to settle for bronze at the Olympics that was supposed to be her golden moment.

Out of nowhere dark horse Sarah Hughes, who said later that she had nothing to lose and just wanted to have fun, skated the program of her life. Her technically demanding free skate (she cleanly landed two triple-triple combinations) and beyond-her-years artistry put her on the gold medal stand. Years of practice delivered liquefaction as a relaxed Sarah entered a state of incandescent grace.

Like most accomplished athletes, Sarah Hughes was blessed with intelligence. This gift coupled with a winning personality and her improbable Olympic triumph made her a ubiquitous media presence for several weeks, and she became a certified American legend. Hughes was named 2002 Sullivan Award winner and United States Olympic Committee SportsWoman of the Year. After graduating from high school with honors she continued her education at Yale.⁹

SOURCES:

9 Courtesy of the United States Olympic Committee,

http://www.usoc.org/26_1141.htm, available as of 1/5/06

(This story was adapted from Guts in the Clutch: 77 Legendary Triumphs, Heartbreaks and Wild Finishes in 12 Sports) http://gutsintheclutch.com/


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