ICE DREAMS; HOPEFULS GO THE DISTANCE AND THEN SOME.Byline: Betty Kwong Daily News Staff Writer It's in that quiet moment - when she's standing on the ice alone, waiting for her music to begin - that Elizabeth O'Donnell's pulse starts to race. ``I try not to talk to myself,'' says O'Donnell. ``I try to keep a clear head, a clear mind, and stay relaxed - and my heart's, like, pounding the whole time.'' Seventeen-year-old O'Donnell of Woodland Hills will be coping with a whole new level of pressure when she takes the ice later this week. She, along with nearly 300 competitors, will be striving for top form at the 1999 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating U.S. Figure Skating (USFS), officially called the United States Figure Skating Association or USFSA, is the national sport governing body for figure skating in the United States. Championships in Salt Lake City. Although she's skated for nearly 14 years, this trip is O'Donnell's first as a senior lady, the sport's highest ranks. And it will put her in competition against 20 other skaters, including one of her idols, Michelle Kwan Michelle Wing Kwan (關穎珊) (born 7 July 1980) is an American figure skater and media celebrity who has won nine U.S. championships, five world championships, and two Olympic medals. . ``Skating with such great skaters is so great,'' said O'Donnell, who will pack at least five triple jumps into her freestyle program, skated to music from Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (French for "Circus of the Sun") is an entertainment empire based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gauthier. and ``Evita.'' ``I just want to go out there and have fun, because this year I really have nothing to lose,'' said the Pierce College In 2006 the Library won a national Excellence award. Academics Pierce College offers associate's degrees, mainly in the arts and sciences. There are also certificate programs in early childhood education, social services, dental hygienist, and others. student who trains up to five hours a day, six days a week. Kwan of Torrance is the shoe-in for the gold in the ladies' race this year. And without veteran Todd Eldredge Todd James Eldredge (born August 28, 1971 in Chatham, Massachusetts) is an American figure skater. He is a six-time national champion (1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002) and won a world title in 1996. in the running among the men this time, Michael Weiss Michael Weiss can refer to one of several people:
But in the senior pairs and senior dance competitions, changes in partnerships and departures to the professional ranks have left the winners' podium wide open. The stakes are high. Winners will advance to compete at the 1999 World Championships. And with skating, you just never know who the next star may be, says Bob Dunlop, communications coordinator for the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Figure Skating figure skating Sport in which ice skaters, singly or in pairs, perform various jumps, spins, and footwork. The figure skate blade has a special serrated toe pick, or toe rake, at the front. Association. ``You can always try to predict what's going to happen, and it really never does,'' Dunlop said. ``Who knew Tara Lipinski Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10 1982) is an American figure skater and celebrity. At the age of 15, she won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and remains the youngest gold medalist in the history of the Olympic Winter Games. three years ago? She was just another person who was coming up the ladder and blossomed into an Olympic champion. There are some very good skaters coming up that have yet to become household names History Formation (1998-2000) Household Names have been together since 1998, with various members rotating throughout the line-up with singer, Jason Garcia, until it was solidified in the summer of 2000 with bassist/keyboardist, Chris Peters, and drummer, C. J. .'' Trifun Zivanovic of West Los Angeles
``I've been around a little while, and I think this is my best chance so far,'' he said. ``I'm excited and prepared and definitely a little nervous.'' At 23, the Los Angeles native has been skating 15 years, some of that as a hockey player. But when his coaches saw his talent for figure skating and limited finances made him choose, Zivanovic picked figure skating. Today, he trains four hours a day, five days a week; and when he's not training, he's coaching other skaters. For his freestyle program, Zivanovic will skate to music from ``West Side Story.'' He's planning to punctuate punc·tu·ate v. punc·tu·at·ed, punc·tu·at·ing, punc·tu·ates v.tr. 1. To provide (a text) with punctuation marks. 2. his program with two triple axels and a triple flip-triple toe loop combination. ``It's different than everyone else, and I think it's going to catch people's eye,'' he said. But in the men's competition of 17 skaters, it'll be a challenge to overcome the quadruple jump card that Weiss has in his back pocket. ``People are getting more technically advanced,'' Zivanovic admitted. ``The level keeps rising higher and higher. You've got to kind of tap into the skating super highway to figure out what people are doing and try to achieve it yourself.'' For now, Zivanovic is working on adding more polish to his performances. ``I already have big, powerful jumps and a unique style, ... but I have a long way to go as far as finishing touches,'' he said. Likewise, O'Donnell says she has plenty to work on when she comes home: more triple jumps, more complicated elements and, oh yes, more smiling. ``All the judges say, `Why doesn't she ever smile?' And I'm like: `I'm concentrating!' '' O'Donnell said, laughing. But when she's done, she'll let it all out. ``I'll probably start crying if I do a really good program,'' she said. ``It would be so emotional.'' Valley area's own competitors on ice You may not know their names yet, but the communities in and around the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. are home to many young talents working their way to the top of the figure skating world. Among the many competing at the 1999 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships this week: Senior ladies: Elizabeth O'Donnell, Woodland Hills Senior men: Trifun Zivanovic, Los Angeles Michael Chack, Los Angeles Senior figures: Lisa Frenzel Swain, Toluca Lake Josselyn Baumgartner, Los Angeles Junior ladies: Emily Pitchon, Santa Monica Ye Bin Mok Yebin Mok (born April 19, 1984 in Seoul, South Korea) is an American figure skater. She emigrated to the United States with her parents when she was a child. Mok had a successful career as a junior, winning medals on the Junior Grand Prix circuit and placing fifth at the 2003 , Los Angeles Junior dance: Sarah Thebaud and Russell Thebaud, Agoura Hills Novice ladies: Andrey Chua, North Hills Beatrisa Liang, Granada Hills Novice men: Michael Villarreal, Downey Novice pairs: Brooke Kayland, Calabasas, and Kirk Forbes, Altadena Novice dance: Laura Smith and Andrew Smith, Thousand Oaks Stephanie McNeill, Arcadia, and Paul Kimzey, La Habra Source: United States Figure Skating Association TV coverage of skating competition The 1999 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships will be held Feb. 7-14 in Salt Lake City, Utah For ships of the United States Navy of the same name, see . Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake, or its initials, S.L.C. . ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. and ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network are scheduled to broadcast many of the competitions beginning this week: EVENT.........................DAY.......TIME.............NETWORK Men's, short program..........Friday....8:30-9:30 p.m. ..ESPN Ladies', short program........Friday....9:30-10:30 p.m. .ESPN Free dance & Men's freestyle..Saturday..4-6 p.m. ........ABC Pairs & Ladies' freestyles....Saturday..9-11 p.m. .......ABC CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, 2 Boxes Photo: (1) Elizabeth O'Donnell: ``I try to keep a clear head, a clear mind, and stay relaxed - and my heart's, like, pounding the whole time.'' John Lazar/Daily News (2) Trifun Zivanovic: ``I've been around a little while, and I think this is my best chance so far. I'm excited and prepared and ... a little nervous.'' Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Special to the Daily News Box: (1) Valley area's own competitors on ice (See text) (2) TV coverage of skating competition (See text) |
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