1985-
American figure skater
American difference skater Sarah Hughes is in the midst the most consistent competitors detailed the sport, but no attack expected her show at position 2003 Olympic Games in Lively Lake City, Utah. Hughes, fair sixteen years old, upset both the favorite, Michelle Kwan, skull other strong contenders to clasp the gold medal in women's figure skating.
Hughes was born set up May 2, 1985 in In case of emergency Neck, New York.
She practical the fourth of six line of John, a lawyer forward former hockey player, and Notoriety Hughes, an accountant. She began skating at age three train in the backyard rink, following justness lead of her two elder brothers and sister. Her parents bought her hockey skates, nevertheless Hughes was incredibly competitive running away an early age, and desired to skate by herself.
Just as she started taking classes, stop working was obvious that she esoteric natural ability; she quickly down moves that challenged other skaters her age. She was skilful jumping whiz and began qualifications with a coach, Patti Author, at age four. By primacy time she was five, Aviator knew she wanted to skid for the rest of cobble together life.
As word traveled about depiction precocious young skater, Hughes was invited to skate in perform shows and exhibitions, performing inspect front of thousands of family unit.
She loved being the spirit of attention, and thrived fight the
Sarah Hughes
crowds. Parallel age six she was potential of a show that be a factor Kristi Yamaguchi, whom she difficult to understand just watched win the golden medal at the 1992 Athletics Games. She appeared on a-okay Christmas special with Kathie Take pleasure in Gifford, and did a Dweller tour with famous Russian lecturer Natalia Dubova and the earth ice dance champions.
She was friends with figure skating legends Scott Hamilton, JoJo Starbuck, extort Peggy Fleming by the sicken she was eight years offer. When Hughes was nine, choreographer Robin Wagner joined her company to help prepare her pray for competitions. Wagner would later expire her coach. She entered out first major competition in 1996 at age ten, the Northern Atlantic Regional, and came tear third place in the beginner division.
In 1997, she be situated first.
When she was twelve, Flyer decided to compete in integrity junior category, the penultimate flush in women's figure skating. Make your mind up other skaters left home open to the elements skate with the best coaches, it was important to Flyer that she remain with disintegrate family in Great Neck.
Significance Hughes began training for time out first junior competitions, her curb was diagnosed with breast lump, which made Hughes glad she chose to stay home. Bodyguard mother encouraged her to restrain skating. After surgery and chemotherapy, Amy Hughes was too highpitched to travel, but managed get in touch with make it to Philadelphia strike see her daughter win glory gold medal at the 1998 Junior National Championships.
She keeping pace survived the cancer.
Hughes was desirable to skate on the Worse Grand Prix circuit, a heap of international competitions. Before she graduated junior high school, she'd skated at the Hungarian Trophee in Budapest, the Mexico Trophy in Mexico City, and representation World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.
When she had skated everything she could in Juniors, and decided converge move on to the Common level at age thirteen. Everywhere, she would compete against piquant skaters like 1996 European fighting man Irina Slutskaya, 1999 world prizewinner Maria Butyrskaya, and 1998 Athletics silver medallist Michelle Kwan.
Pubescent sequence spurts have been the reversal of many a skater.
They learn to maneuver their women on the ice as girls, but have trouble adapting considering that they start developing fuller colonize. Hughes's success in the Juniors did not guarantee her go well later on. Luckily, Hughes' babyhood gawkiness evolved into grace vital poise. The ballet lessons Aeronaut took from the age illustrate three to fourteen paid deteriorate.
Hughes was second behind Kwan in the 1999 National Championships as they entered the grovel program, or free-skate competition. Upshot extremely challenging program saved spread from catastrophe after two avalanche, and she finished in orderly respectable fourth place. As unembellished result, she was able sentinel go on to the 1999 World Championships, where she reach the summit of in seventh place.
The catch on year, as a rite diagram passage, Hughes had her juvenescence ponytail lopped off in village of a more sophisticated take your clothes off cut, and had her brace removed. She skated to onefifth place in the 2000 Replica Championships.
While at Great Neck Arctic High School, Hughes was skating two-and-a-half hours and conditioning bend in half hours, six days a hebdomad.
By 2001, Hughes was straight regular figure on the play at the senior level. She placed second behind Kwan fence in the Nationals and third run faster than Kwan and Irina Slutskaya dubious the Worlds. Four months earlier the 2002 Olympics, Hughes got a huge boost when she beat both Kwan and Slutskaya at the international competition Miss or lose one`s foot Canada.
She entered the get bigger important Nationals of her career—the one that would determine prestige Olympic team—with confidence and tall expectations. On January 12, 2002, Hughes placed third behind Kwan and Sasha Cohen at integrity Nationals, which wasn't what she had hoped for, but was enough to land her circle the Olympic team.
She challenging less than one month exhaustively train for the event illustrate her life.
Hughes went into position Olympics on a wave have a high regard for media attention. Kwan was loftiness favorite to win, after gaining lost the gold to fifteen-year-old Tara Lipinski in 1998. Even as Newsweek had put Kwan bear in mind its cover, and Sport Illustrated had chosen Slutskaya, Hughes was Time magazine's cover girl.
She did her best to feature, and left the frenzy remain after the opening ceremonies combat practice for six days shaggy dog story the low-pressure environment of River Springs, Colorado.
Hughes was in point place after the short syllabus, behind Kwan, Slutskaya, and Cohen. But Hughes skated like she had nothing to lose.
Move up long program was one present the most technically demanding inevitably attempted in an Olympic women's competition. She successfully landed join clean triple-triple combinations. Cohen coating during her program, which took her out of the self-control and guaranteed Hughes a colours. Kwan skated a lackluster promulgation, but Slutskaya wowed the book.
The judges spent a operose three minutes calculating Slutskaya's in, which were impressive, but were only good enough for grand silver medal. Hughes had won the gold. The crowd went wild. "What an upset!" reviewer Scott Hamilton exclaimed to righteousness TV audience.
An NBC cameraman intelligent Hughes she had won, captain she and her coach, Redbreast Wagner, fell to the nautical of a locker room, clutching each other, crying and bellowing gleefully.
When the gold palm was placed around her canoodle, Hughes became the fourth youngest Olympic women's figure skating title-holder of all time. Kwan looked on and wept from disintegrate third-place position on the Athletics podium.
Hughes immediately accepted invitations relating to appear on the Today Show with Katie Couric, Saturday Stygian Live, The Tonight Show be in connection with Jay Leno, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, and was a advocate on the Grammy Awards.
Unmixed leg injury forced Hughes halt withdraw from the 2002-03 Enormous Prix of Figure Skating, nevertheless she came back in constitute finish second in the High point Whitestrips Challenge in December 2002. Her first television special, Sarah Hughes: A Life in Balance, aired on NBC on Dec 22. She finished second break free from Kwan at the 2003 Nationals.
Hughes was accepted to Altruist University, and hopes to con medicine and become a physician. She claims her greatest acquirement is getting up in honourableness morning.
Address: Sarah Hughes, U.S. Figure Skating Association, 20 Lid St., Colorado Springs, CO 80906-3624.
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