Kimmie Meissner

Kimberly Claire "Kimmie" Meissner (born October 4, 1989) is an American figure skater. She is the 2006 World Champion, the 2007 U.S. National Champion, and the 2007 Four Continents Champion. She is the first American and the first lady to simultaneously hold the World, Four Continents, and National titles.

In 2005, Meissner became the second American woman to land the triple Axel jump in national competition. She was a member of the 2006 Olympic team and was the youngest American athlete to compete at those Games. She finished 6th at the Olympics in February 2006 and won the World Championships the following month. As of March 2008, Meissner is ranked 8th in the world.

She is a spokesperson for the Cool Kids Campaign, an organization that helps children with cancer.

Personal life

Kimberly Meissner, nicknamed Kimmie, was born in Towson, Maryland, to Judy and Paul Meissner. She is the youngest of four children and the only girl. She is Catholic.

Meissner was a full-time student at Fallston High School, a public high school

Skating career

Early career

Kimmie Meissner began figure skating at age six after watching her older brothers playing Ice hockey. She landed her first triple, a salchow jump, six years later.

In the 1999-2000 season, Meissner qualified for the U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships on the juvenile level, where she placed 16th. The following season, she repeated that placement, but on the Intermediate level. In the United States, Juvenile and Intermediate-level skaters compete at the U.S. Junior Championships, while Novice, Junior, and Senior-level skaters compete at the U.S. Championships.

In the 2002-2003 season, Meissner placed second at her regional competition and won her sectional competition to qualify for the 2003 United States Figure Skating Championships on the novice level. At age thirteen, Meissner won the U.S. novice national title, after landing a triple lutz jump in her free skate. Following the 2003 U.S. Championships, Meissner was named to the team for the 2003 Triglav Trophy, where she won the bronze medal on the novice level.

The following season, Meissner moved up to the junior level. She won the silver medal at the first event of the 2003-2004 Junior Grand Prix series, in Sofia, Bulgaria. She went on to win the Junior Grand Prix event in Bled, Slovenia, which qualified her for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where she placed 5th. At the 2004 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Meissner was second behind Katy Taylor after the short program, but won the free skate, after landing two triple lutzes, to win the Junior national title. At Nationals, Meissner was named to the U.S. team to the 2004 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where she landed her first triple lutz-triple toe combination in competition and won the silver medal behind Miki Ando.

In the 2004-2005 season, Meissner moving up to the senior level nationally but remained a junior internationally. On the 2004-2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, the first season the ISU Judging System was being used in junior competition, she won silver medals at the event in Courchevel, France and a second silver medal at the event in Long Beach, California. Meissner's two silver medals qualified her for the Junior Grand Prix Final in Helsinki, Finland, where she won the bronze medal, after placing seventh in the short program and second in the free skate.

On January 15, 2005, at the 2005 United States Figure Skating Championships, Meissner landed a triple Axel jump, becoming only the second American lady to land the jump in competition, fourteen years after Tonya Harding became the first American lady to land the jump. Meissner won the bronze medal.

At age fifteen, she was not age-eligible for the World Figure Skating Championships and so was named to the team for the 2005 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. At the World Junior Championships, Meissner placed third in the short program and fourth in the free, placing fourth overall. Afterwards, Meissner went to Worlds as a guest of ESPN, and watched from the sidelines.

Senior career

Kimmie Meissner during her free skate at the 2005 World Junior Championships

Kimmie Meissner moved to the senior level internationally beginning in the 2005-2006 Olympic season. She made her Grand Prix debut at the 2005 Trophée Eric Bompard, where she placed sixth in the short program, fourth in the free skate, and fifth overall. She repeated that overall placement at her second event, the 2005 NHK Trophy, where she placed third in the short program and fifth in the free skate. At the 2006 United States Figure Skating Championships, Meissner won the silver medal and was named to the U.S. team to the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Meissner was the youngest athlete on the United States Olympic team. She spent the first week of the Games training in Courmayer, moving to Torino proper a few days before the ladies event began. Meissner skated second in the short program and landed a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination to place fifth in that segment of the competition. Skating second-to-last in the final flight of the free skate, Meissner placed sixth in the free skate and overall.

Following the Olympics, Meissner returned to Baltimore. On the return flight, she partially ruptured one of her eardrums and fully ruptured the other. This affected her hearing as she trained for the 2006 World Figure Skating Championships, her first senior ISU Championship. At Worlds, Meissner placed second in her qualifying group and fifth in the short program, putting her in third place overall going into the free skate. During the free skate, Meissner completed seven triple jumps, including two triple-triple combinations, to win the title. This win made her the first woman since Kristi Yamaguchi to win a world title before a national title. Meissner is also the first woman to win Worlds on her first appearance since Oksana Baiul in 1993. She is the seventh-youngest ladies World Champion in history. Meissner has described this win as changing her career from being the underdog to being expected to win every competition she entered.

Meissner began the 2006-2007 season at the 2006 Skate America, where she won the silver medal, the highest finish of her career until then at a Grand Prix event. At her second Grand Prix event, the 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard, she fell on a triple Axel attempt and placed third overall. At the 2007 U.S. Nationals, Meissner went in as the favorite. She won the title, after winning the short program and placing third in the free skate. This made her the first ladies skater since Barbara Roles to win the national title on the Novice, Junior, and Senior levels.

After Nationals, Meissner went to the 2007 Four Continents Champion, a competition for senior-level skaters who are not from Europe, for the first time in her career. At the 2007 Four Continents Championships, she fell on her triple-triple combination in the short program and was in sixth place going into the free skate. She won the free skate and the competition overall, becoming the first U.S. ladies champion to become the Four Continents Champion. After Four Continents, she went to the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships. At the 2007 World Championships, Meissner achieved a new personal best for her short program where she placed fourth. She did not complete either of her triple-triple combinations in the free skating and placed third in that segment of the competition and fourth overall.

Meissner began the 2007-2008 season by beating reigning World Champion Miki Ando at the 2007 Skate America. This was Meissner's first win the Grand Prix series. She then placed second at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard, qualifying her for the Grand Prix Final, where she placed sixth. At the time, she was skating on a sprained right ankle, an injury she received during a show. At the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Meissner placed 4th in the short program and 7th in the free after falling three times. ref> </ref> She placed 7th overall. She was selected for the US team to the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships.

At the 2008 World Championships, Meissner placed 9th in the short program and 12th in the long. She placed 7th overall and was the highest placed American in the competition. Following that season, she toured with Stars on Ice.

Meissner began the 2008-2009 skating season at the 2008 Skate America, where she placed 8th. She also placed 8th at the 2008 Cup of Russia.

On January 19, 2009, Meissner announced her withdraw from the 2009 United States Figure Skating Championships due to injury.

Coaching change

Meissner was coached by Pam Gregory from 2003 through 2008.

Before the 2008 U.S. Championships, Meissner worked on her spins with Todd Eldredge. Following that competition, Eldredge called her with more input on her spins and recommended his long-time coach Richard Callaghan. Meissner made the choice to switch coaches from long-time coach Pam Gregory to a temporary arrangement with Richard Callaghan in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She trained with Callaghan for the six weeks between Nationals and the 2008 World Championships. During the off-season between the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons, she worked with both Callaghan and Eldredge.

Public life, charity work and endorsements

Meissner wears Under Armour warm-up gear in practice at the 2006 Skate America.

When Meissner returned from the 2006 Olympic Games, a parade was held in her honor in her hometown of Bel Air. Following her win at the 2006 Worlds, the town gave one of its main roads, Pennsylvania Avenue, the honorary title of Kimmie Way. She threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Phillies opening day game, and a week later for her hometown team, the Baltimore Orioles, on April 14, 2006.

Following Meissner's win at the 2007 U.S. Championships, she signed endorsement deals with Subway, Under Armour, and Visa. She has appeared in Subway commercials, including a regional-Baltimore one following the 2006 Olympics, She designed Gel bracelets for the organization as a fundraiser. On August 25, 2007, she put on a benefit show in Baltimore called "Kimmie's Angels on Ice" to benefit the charity. Meissner also co-edits the newsletter for the charity.

Programs

Meissner performs a sit spin during her Daphnis and Chloe free skate at the 2005 World Junior Championships

Season	Short Program	Free Skating	Exhibition
2008–09	Un Ange Passe by Alain Lefevre choreographed by Lori Nichol	Concerto Grosso No. 11 in D minor by Vivaldi performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Adagio in G minor by Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni performed by the Eroica Trio Orchestra choreographed by Lori Nichol
2007–08	The Feeling Begins by Peter Gabriel choreographed by Lori Nichol	Nessun Dorma by Giacomo Puccini choreographed by Lori Nichol	Testify to Love by Wynonna Judd Imagine by John Lennon
2006–07	Snowstorm by Georgi Sviridov choreographed by Nikolai Morozov	Galicia Flamenca Paternera by Gino d'Auri choreographed by Lori Nichol	Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield Keep Holding On by Avril Lavigne
2005–06	Symphonic Dances by Sergei Rachmaninoff	Queen of Sheba by Ottorino Respighi	Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Eva Cassidy Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
2004–05	Reverie by Claude Debussy	Daphnis et Chloé by Maurice Ravel	Breakaway (Kelly Clarkson song) by Kelly Clarkson
2003–04	Sand and Water	Pines of Rome by Ottorino Respighi	Here Comes the Sun by Linda Eder
2002–03	Raymonda by Alexander Glazunov	Symphony No. 5 by Sergei Prokofiev	Say a Little Prayer by Diana King

Competitive highlights

Meissner (far left) with the other medalists at the 2006 U.S. Championships. She, Cohen, and Hughes made up the U.S. Olympic Team.

Event	2002-2003	2003-2004	2004-2005	2005-2006	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009
Winter Olympic Games				6th
World Championships				1st	4th	7th
2007 Four Continents Champion					1st
World Junior Championships		2nd	4th
U.S. Championships	1st N.	1st J.	3rd	2nd	1st	7th	WD
Grand Prix Final						6th
Skate America					2nd	1st	8th
Cup of Russia							8th
Trophée Eric Bompard				5th	3rd	2nd
NHK Trophy				5th
Junior Grand Prix Final		5th	3rd
2004-2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix			2nd
2004-2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix			2nd
Junior Grand Prix, Slovenia		1st
Junior Grand Prix, Slovenia		2nd
Triglav Trophy	3rd N.
Eastern Sectionals	1st N.
South Atlantic Regionals	2nd N.

• N = Novice level; J = Junior level
• WD = Withdraw

References

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