B EARPORT

by Michael Sandler

U&C-Michelle_Kwan-Cover.indd 1 5/16/06 10:52:40 AM [Intentionally Left Blank] by Michael Sandler Consultant: Kenny Moir Executive Director of Chelsea Piers New York, NY

New York, New York

1273_IceSkating.indd 1 6/22/06 12:23:12 PM Credits Cover and title page, ©AP Photo/Paul Chiasson; 4, © STEPHEN JAFFE/AFP/Getty Images; 5, © CARLO ALLEGRI/AFP/Getty Images; 6, © Robert Laberge/Getty Images; 7, © YURI KADOBNOV/AFP/Getty Images; 8, © Sports Illustrated/Robert Beck; 9, © Neal Preston/CORBIS; 10, © AP Photo/John Redman; 11, © Isabel Snyder/CORBIS OUTLINE; 12, © Bryan Allen; 13, © Neal Preston/CORBIS; 14, © Neal Preston/CORBIS; 15, © SAN BERNADINO SUN/GABRIEL ACOSTA/CORBIS SYGMA; 16, © J. Barry Mittan; 17, © REUTERS/Fred Prouser; 18, © Todd Warshaw/ALLSPORT/Getty Images; 19, © CARLO ALLEGRI/AFP/Getty Images; 20, © American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.; 21, © AP Photo/Cliff Schiappa; 22, © AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes; 23, © AP Photo/Beth A. Keiser; 24, © Sports Illustrated/Bob Martin; 25, © Doug Pensinger/ Getty Images; 26, © Andrew Gombert/Sports Illustrated; 27, © AP Photo/Amy Sancetta.

Publisher: Kenn Goin Project Editor: Lisa Wiseman Creative Director: Spencer Brinker Original Design: Ralph Cosentino

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sandler, Michael. Ice skating : the incredible / by Michael Sandler. p. cm. — (Upsets & comebacks) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-59716-252-4 (library binding) ISBN-10: 1-59716-252-3 (library binding) ISBN-13: 978-1-59716-280-7 (pbk.) ISBN-10: 1-59716-280-9 (pbk.) 1. Kwan, Michelle, 1980—Juvenile literature. 2. Figure skaters—— Biography—Juvenile literature. 3. Women fi gure skaters—United States—Biography— Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series.

GV850.K93S36 2007 796.91’2—dc22 2006010792

Copyright © 2007 Bearport Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

For more information, write to Bearport Publishing Company, Inc., 101 Fifth Avenue, Suite 6R, New York, New York 10003. Printed in the United States of America.

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1273_IceSkating.indd 2 6/26/06 2:32:42 PM Table of Contents

Moment of Truth ...... 4 Figure Skating ...... 6 Learning to Fall ...... 8 A Dream Is Born ...... 10 Leaving Home ...... 12 Passing the Test ...... 14 A Rising Star ...... 16 Champion ...... 18 Falling Down ...... 20 Coming Back ...... 22 Unlike Any Other ...... 24 No Regrets ...... 26

Just the Facts ...... 28 Timeline ...... 28 Glossary ...... 30 Bibliography ...... 31 Read More ...... 31 Learn More Online ...... 31 Index ...... 32 About the Author ...... 32

1273_IceSkating.indd 3 6/22/06 12:23:32 PM Moment of Truth

It was the night before the 1998 U.S. Nationals. Michelle Kwan couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned in her bed for hours. The next morning, Michelle had to put her worries aside. It was time to skate. This event was her chance to come back from a terrible year.

The gold-medal winner at the U.S. Nationals gets the chance to skate at the Winter Olympics.

Michelle on the ice at the 1998 Nationals

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1273_IceSkating.indd 4 6/22/06 12:23:34 PM Once, Michelle had been a champion. Her grace and skill had amazed judges and fans. Then everything went wrong. Her confi dence faded. She wasn’t winning as many competitions. She lost her joy for the sport. Many young skaters had risen to the top and then quickly disappeared. As she glided onto the ice, people wondered if this was the end for Michelle.

During better times, Michelle Kwan performs at the World Championships in 1996.

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1273_IceSkating.indd 5 6/22/06 12:23:40 PM Figure Skating

Figure skating can be a nerve-racking sport. Scores between competitors can be separated by only a fraction of a point. In competitions, skaters perform a long and a short program in front of judges. During both programs, skaters show off their technical and artistic skills. In the short program, each skater performs a fi xed set of moves. They are judged on how well they do compared to the others. In the long program, skaters create routines matched to music and their own talents.

Shizuka Arakawa, of , in mid-jump during her short program at the

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1273_IceSkating.indd 6 7/10/06 2:01:40 PM As each skater performs combinations of jumps, turns, and spins, judges watch and award points. One wrong move can mean the difference between winning and losing.

Sasha Cohen and were favorites at the 2006 Winter Olympics. When both fell during their long programs, took the gold medal.

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1273_IceSkating.indd 7 6/22/06 12:23:59 PM Index Arakawa, Shizuka 6–7 Lipinski, Tara 21, 24 long program 6–7, 19, 21, 23 Boitano, Brian 10 medals 4, 7, 10, 15, 17, 19, 10 21, 23, 24–25, 26, 29 Carroll, Frank 14–15, 23 Chen, Lu 19, 24 perfect scores (marks) 23, Cohen, Sasha 7 24–25 falls 7, 9, 14, 21 senior level 15, 16, 28 fi gure skating 6–7, 10, 29 short program 6, 23 Slutskaya, Irina 7 Henie, Sonja 27 Texas 16 Ice Castle International Torrance, 9, 13, 28 Training Center triple jumps 19 12–13, 14, 28 judges 6–7, 18–19, 23–24 U.S. Nationals 4, 17, junior level 15 18–19, 21, 22–23, 24–25, 29 Kerrigan, Nancy 17 Kwan, Danny 8, 12–13 Winter Olympics 4, 6–7, 10, Kwan, Estella 8, 12 17, 24–25, 26, 29 Kwan, Karen 8–9, 11, 12–13, World Championships 5, 19, 15, 28 21, 24–25, 27, 29 Kwan, Ron 8

About the Author Michael Sandler lives and writes in Brooklyn, New York. He has written numerous books on sports for children and young adults.

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1273_IceSkating.indd 32 6/26/06 2:32:44 PM [Intentionally Left Blank] The crowd sat nervously as Michelle Kwan skated onto the ice at the 1998 U.S. Nationals. Once, Michelle had been a champion. Her grace and skill had amazed judges and fans. She had won championship after championship. Nobody could beat her. Then everything went wrong. Michelle’s confi dence began to fade. She started missing jumps and losing competitions. Now this was her chance for a comeback. Would Michelle be able to put these setbacks behind her and skate to victory?

BASEBALL The 2004 Boston Red Sox BASKETBALL The Return of Bernard King CYCLING Lance Armstrong’s Impossible Ride HOCKEY Miracle on Ice

Ice Skating B

The Incredible Michelle Kwan EARPORT SOCCER The Amazing U.S. World Cup Team TENNIS Victory for Venus Williams

U&C-Michelle_Kwan-Cover.indd 1 5/16/06 10:52:40 AM