Kimmie Meissner, World figure skating champion.
Who knew?
Leading up to the World Championships in Calgary, Alberta, pretty much everyone was betting that Sasha Cohen would rebound for the title, or maybe even Japan's Fumie Suguri, who just missed the medal podium at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. With the absence of five-time World champ Michelle Kwan and two-time World gold medalist Irina Slutskaya, Cohen was not just considered a favorite but a heavy favorite.
Meissner, a 16-year-old high school junior who finished sixth at the Olympics, was well off the radar screen. She was still considered a bit inexperienced to capture the gold medal, especially considering she was making her first trip to the World Championships. (Meissner qualified for Worlds in 2005 but was too young to compete.)
Even Meissner herself admitted she wasn't sure if she was up to the task since she suffered a ruptured eardrum and was physically exhausted following the Olympics. When she returned from Torino, her hometown of Bel Air, Md., held a parade in her honor. There was so much fanfare that the parade was televised and even pre-empted local broadcasts of "Oprah."
In the meantime, she shot a television commercial for Subway, where she eats her pre-practice meal (a turkey sandwich) daily. She also had to get caught up on homework, and of course she wanted to get ready for her junior prom.
Meissner knew the importance of Worlds. She just wasn't certain she'd be able to perform at a high level there.
Had she known she would win a World title, perhaps her father and three older brothers – all of whom had traveled to watch her compete in Torino – would have made the trek to Calgary, too. Instead, Meissner traveled with her mother, Judy.
"I had been so focused on the Olympics that I wasn't really thinking about Worlds," Meissner said.
Meissner landed seven triples, including two triple-triple combinations, en route to winning the title and a spot in the record books. Her program brought magic back to Calgary, which hosted one of the most memorable Olympic Winter Games in 1988 with Boitano and Orser's "The Battle of the Brians" and the "Dueling Carmens," which featured Katarina Witt and Debi Thomas.
Meissner wasn't even born when Boitano and Witt were crowned champions in the Saddledome – she was born in 1989 – but the memories of those Olympics weren't lost on Meissner's coach, Pam Gregory. Gregory's husband, Scott, competed in Calgary in 1988, and along with ice dancing partner Suzanne Semanick, he finished sixth in those Games.
"I wasn't in Calgary then, but Scott has told me a lot about it," said Gregory, who has been working with Meissner for about seven years at the University of Delaware in Newark. "It was exciting for Kimmie to skate well there."
Meissner skated better than "well." She performed better than anyone else in the world.
In the span of four minutes, she transformed herself from an up-and-comer to the sport's face of the future. In the world of figure skating, where the women tend to garner most of the attention, Meissner now finds herself in a whole new light.
The list of other World champions is an impressive one. Meissner is suddenly in a special class with the likes of Kwan, Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi and Dorothy Hamill.
For Meissner, who just a year ago was asking Kwan for an autograph at the State Farm U.S. Championships in Portland, Ore., it's a breathtaking jump – perhaps more difficult than the triple Axel she landed at that event.
"It's so funny to wake up and think I'm the World champion," Meissner said.
Meissner quickly learned that life as a World champion doesn't allow for much rest. The morning after her coronation, she was whisked away at the crack of dawn for an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America." The interviews didn't stop there.
She performed an exhibition in Calgary later that day, then headed back east on Monday to help promote the "Champions on Ice" tour. She plans to skate in about 10 shows this spring.
Meissner flew from Calgary to Philadelphia (via Montreal). She was awakened at about 5 a.m. in a hotel room in Philadelphia and was going nonstop, with constant TV cameras and microphones in her face, for the next 12 hours.
She didn't mind a bit. It was hectic, but hey, this is what she has spent her life working for, right?
Some TV reporters asked her to give them skating lessons at the rink at the Wachovia Spectrum. Others asked her to show them her gold medal, which Meissner was more than happy to show off. And no, she isn't sleeping with her medal at night. It's staying put in its box.
The memory of her free skate in Calgary is something she will have forever. The medal is just a physical reminder of that moment.
"The medal isn't really that important to me," Meissner said. "It's more about the performance."
It will take a while for Meissner to adjust to her new title, though she isn't about to rest on this new laurel. She wants to resurrect her triple Axel, an element she didn't include in her program at this year's U.S. Championships, Olympics or World Championships. She also wants to improve her spins and footwork, as well as her overall artistry.
But she's certainly off to a good start. And maybe soon she'll realize exactly what she's done.
"No, it hasn't set in yet," Meissner said. "It still doesn't seem like it happened."
If she ever needs proof, all she has to do is open her medal box.
