Naomi Nari Nam将以双人滑选手身份重返全美赛场

改项双人滑的NNN和他的搭档Themistocles Leftheris在之前的地区选拔赛上获得冠军，将在时隔六年后重返全美赛场。

Naomi Nari Nam could go to the 2006 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships with partner Themistocles Leftheris, skate two decent programs and leave St. Louis, Mo., proud that she had the opportunity to skate again.

But that isn't her style.

“I've wanted to go to the Olympics since I was 6 years old,” Nam told U.S. Figure Skating in early December. “It's something that still inspires me when I get on the ice.”

It has been a long and winding road to St. Louis for Nam. It's a journey that's included a devastating injury, a tumultuous comeback and a switch from singles to pairs. It's also given her a chance to enjoy life as a teenager, get her high school diploma and discover that her true calling is on the same ice she's been skating on since she was a child.

It was nearly seven years ago, at the 1999 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Salt Lake City, Utah, when Nam started to draw comparisons to Michelle Kwan and Kristi Yamaguchi. The then 13-year-old landed five triple jumps, electrified the crowd and won the ladies silver medal, finishing behind Kwan.

“I was just so excited to be competing against Michelle,” said Nam of that performance. “I didn't think of her as a competitor. Actually, I didn't think of anything. I just skated. There was no pressure, no anything.”

In the eyes of many Nam was the complete package, the future of U.S. Figure Skating. She had the jumps, spins and the gold-medal-winning smile. Her future was bright, and her potential was seemingly endless.

But fate has a way of toying with Olympic dreams.

In July of 2000 Nam started to experience tendonitis in her hip. At the time she thought nothing of it and gave the hip some rest before the 2000-01 season. A few months later, as she was training for a Junior Grand Prix event, she tried to do a triple Lutz, heard something pop and quickly fell to the ground in pain.

“I didn't know what happened,” Nam said, “But I knew it was bad.”

She went and saw two doctors, both of whom diagnosed her with a fracture in her growth plate. She had no choice but to rest and let the injury heal. Though sidelined, Nam hoped to still make it back in time for the 2001 U.S. Championships later that season. As the injury healed and her training progressed, Nam headed to the U.S. Championships in Boston hoping that the injury was behind her.

Unfortunately for her, it wasn't. She was forced to pull out of the event when her hip started to act up again the day before the competition.

“I was crushed,” Nam said. “Things were going really, really well. Then the day before nationals it started hurting again. I was just devastated.”

Upon the recommendation of 1998 Olympic champion Tara Lipinski, she went to Florida and saw the same doctor who operated on Lipinski's hip just a few months earlier. Nam was diagnosed with the same exact injury, torn cartilage in her hip joint. The next day she underwent surgery at Holy Cross Hospital in Florida. Her dream of competing at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake was dead. Her future in the sport was very much uncertain.

During the 2002 Olympics, Nam was trying to avoid the action as much as she could. She knew that she very well could have been there if her body had cooperated.

“It was the hardest thing about being injured,” Nam said. “I knew what was going on, but I just remember that I just really didn't want to watch it.”

As Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen basked in the spotlight following the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, Nam tried her best not only to recuperate but to live a normal teenager's life. She focused on graduating high school, going to her prom and landing her first job.

“I worked at a Coffee Bean near my house,” Nam said. “My cousin was the manager. I made espresso drinks and blended coffee. I wanted to work; I wanted a job. I w

她真不容易啊。恭喜恭喜`~~！