http://chicagosports.chicagotrib ... pics/cs-080119skate,1,1992647.story?page=1
comredeyechicago.com classifieds: jobshomescars
For Zhang, no better model
Skater, 14, bears many resemblances to ex-champ Kwan
By Philip Hersh | Tribune Olympic sports reporter
9:15 PM CST, January 19, 2008
The comparison is inevitable.
Both are second daughters of Chinese-born parents.
Both are from Southern California.
Both first dazzled the figure skating world at 13, then made their debuts impressively on the Grand Prix circuit at 14, finishing second and third in their two competitions.
They have the same agent. One trains at the suburban Los Angeles rink built by the other's success.
Michelle Kwan was 4 feet 11 inches and 77 pounds when she became the next big thing in women's figure skating 15 years ago.
Caroline Zhang is 4-11 and 77 pounds as she moves into the big-time spotlight after winning the junior world championships a year ago.
Kwan was second at senior level in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at 13 and went on to win nine U.S. titles, five world titles and two Olympic medals.
Zhang, 14, makes her senior national meet debut Thursday in St. Paul. Her winning score at this year's Grand Prix Final was higher than Kwan's in her one competition, the 2005 worlds, under the new judging system.
"We need to see how Caroline is going to grow and how she is going to develop as an artist," said Johnny Weir, three-time U.S. men's champ. "For right now, she is doing everything she needs to, and I wouldn't be surprised if she is the national champion."
There is no rush for Zhang to take that title. She is below the minimum age for the 2008 senior world championships.
"The key thing is for her not to get caught up in pressure that isn't there, pressure she puts on herself," Kwan said.
If you listen to Zhang — quite an experience because she talks at the speed of sound — you get the feeling she is in no hurry.
"I didn't really have too many expectations for this season," Zhang said. "It could have been a little better. I'm hoping to do a lot better at nationals."
She earned one of the six spots at the Grand Prix Final, where one missed jump cost her a bronze medal. Her fourth-place score was 22 points higher than that of reigning U.S. champ Kimmie Meissner, who finished last.
"I wasn't mad I missed third," Zhang said. "I was expecting to be sixth."
Zhang said the best thing she has done so far this season is master a triple-triple jump combination, but flaws in her jumps have been costly.
All nine of Zhang's triple lutz jumps in Grand Prix events were penalized for a takeoff from the wrong edge (inside rather than outside) of the blade. Nine other triple jumps were downgraded for incomplete rotations.
Kwan, 27, who occasionally works with Zhang, thinks the problems with the lutz and the underrotation relate to strength.
"But I tell her that when you do jumps, you have to make sure you really jump," Kwan said. "When you're 16 or 18 and you're not 70 pounds, you can't get yourself to spin that fast [in the air], so you need to jump higher. That takes strength, and it builds over time."
Zhang's spinning ability on the ice is a marvel. She twists herself into positions, especially on the layback spin, that defy anatomy.
"She is very, very flexible," said Li Mingzhu, Zhang's coach. "Even in practice, she creates a lot of different positions by herself. That is her specialty."
Zhang, a high school freshman at Connections Academy, an online school, acts her age yet comes off like a veteran performer.
"I still see her carrying around a 'Hello Kitty' pocket book … [but] she is already a little diva as far as her personality goes," Weir said.
Kwan sees the same blend when she watches Zhang practice at East West Ice Palace, the rink Kwan owns in Artesia, Calif.
"She is very talkative on the ice, always chattering, like a kid, but when her music comes on, she is on," Kwan said.
"She is able to train a lot longer than I could. I admire her when I watch her stay on the ice for two hours, and she's always upbeat. Her endurance is way stronger than mine at her age."
Zhang, who lives in Brea, Calif., skates seven days a week. She also takes nine (nine!) online courses and, after checking her grades late last month, said she was getting As in everything but algebra (B-plus).
"I'm pretty hyper and energetic," Zhang said. "I'm determined to get what I want."
She hounded her parents relentlessly about having a dog, finally getting one as a reward for winning last season's Junior Grand Prix Final. Zhang named the Pomeranian "Toffee Lutz."
The dog's jumps?
"Hopefully, off the outside edge," she said. |