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USOC names Meissner its athlete of the month
11:24 a.m., April 18, 2006--The United States Olympic Committee has announced that Kimmie Meissner of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club has been voted the March Athlete of the Month. It is the first time Meissner has won this USOC honor. Meissner was honored after winning the 2006 International Skating Union World Figure Skating Championship in Calgary. She was the only competitor in the ladies event to land a triple-triple combination in the free skate, and she actually landed two: a triple flip-triple toe and a triple Lutz-triple toe. Meissner's technical elements score of 69.47 in the free skate was one of the highest in history and her total score in the free skate was more than four points higher than that achieved at the 2006 Turin Olympics by the gold medalist, Shizuka Arakawa of Japan. At just 16 years old, Meissner was one of the youngest skaters at both the Olympics and the world championships. She is also one of the 10 youngest athletes in history to win a World figure skating title in the ladies division. Currently a junior at Fallston (Md.) High School, Meissner trains at the UD Ice Skating Science Development Center under coach Pam Gregory. Since winning the world title, Meissner has thrown out the first pitch at both Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles baseball games, skated in Champions On Ice exhibitions and read books to children during the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House on Monday. Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson |
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