At the left is Scott Davis.  He first performed in an ice skating show when he was 5.  When he was 8, he started taking private lessons.  By 1990, Scott had won the U.S. junior championship.  In 1993, at the age of 21, he won the men's national title, he also won it the next year.

Michele Kwan went to her first U.S. national championships at the age of 12 and finished in 6th place.  At age 15, she became the 1996 national and world champions.  During the 1997 national championships, she fell three times and came in second, behind 14 year old Tara Lipinski.  That year, she skated better at the world championship and won the silver medal.

Ekaterina Gordeeva, also called "Katya", started skating with her partner Sergei at age 11.  She and Sergei were world pairs champions four times, and they won the Olympic gold in 1988 and 1994.  Not only were Katya and Sergei a great pairs team, they were husband and wife.  They married in 1991.  Four years later, Sergei had a heart attack on the ice and died.  Katya was crushed, but she knew she had to continue skating.

Oksana Baiul started skating at age 3 1/2.  She was raised by her mother and  grandparents since her father disappeared when she was 2 years old.  By age 7, Oksana had won local skating events.  In 1991, her mother died of cancer, and her grandparents had died a few years earlier, so she was alone at age 13.  Her skating coach decided to take Oksana to her home and be her coach.  By 1993, she was the world champion.  In the 1994 Winter Olympics, she won the gold medal.

Surya Bonaly started skating at age 1 1/2.  She is from France and is an acrobat on the ice.  She wows audiences with her awesome jumps and leaps.  Her favorite trick is a back flip, landing on one foot.  Back flips are illegal in competition, but Surya does them in shows.  At age three, she took up gymnastics.  When she was 10, she was made to choose between the two sports.  She chose skating.  Surya has won five European Championships.  Her most important goal to accomplish is learning to do a quadruple jump.

Nancy Kerrigan started skating at age 6.  As she became more and more serious about skating, her parents found it hard to pay for lessons.  They decided that if Nancy accomplished her goals, then she could continue skating.  In 1992 at eh Olympics, she won the bronze medal and placed second in the world championships.  In 1993, she won her first U.S. championship.  Nancy was on a roll.  Then disaster struck.  The day before the 1994 U.S. championships, Nancy was attacked.  As she was leaving practice, a man whacked her on the knee with a metal stick.  She could not compete.  Nancy recovered in time for the 1994 Olympics in which she won the silver medal. 

When Brian Boitano was 8 years old, his mom took hi to see the Ice Follies.  He thought the skaters were awesome.  He wanted to be just like them.  Brian started taking ice skating lessons right after that.  At age 14, Brian's athletic style helped him win the U.S. Junior Men's Singles Championship.  Brian continued.

In March 1997, Tara Lipinski turned the skating world upside down.  The 14-year-old became the youngest figure skater to win the U.S. and world championships.  She began figure skating at the age of 6.  She also roller skated.  When she was 9, her mom made her chose between the two, and she chose ice skating.