Sport: Figure Skating
Event: Ladies
Birthdate: October 4, 1989
Birthplae: Towson, MD
Hometown: Bel Air, MD
Residence: Bel Air, MD
HT./WT.: 5'3"
Olympics: Debut

Triple Axel

At the 2005 U.S. Nationals in Portland, Ore., Kimmie Meissner, then 15, became only the second American woman in history to land a triple Axel. (Tonya Harding first landed the jump at the 1991 U.S. Nationals.) Meissner, who was competing in the senior division for the first time in Portland, had been doing the three-and-one-half-rotation jump cleanly in practice sessions. So she opted to attempt it in the free skate -- and was successful. Meissner says she first got the idea to try the triple Axel when she was competing on the junior Grand Prix circuit and saw Japan's Miki Ando (who remains the only woman to land a quadruple jump in competition) practicing quad Salchows. "I was watching her, and thinking 'Why can't I do something like that?'" Meissner says. She first landed the Axel at a summer event in 2004, but didn't receive credit for it because it was under-rotated. Meissner now tries to land five triple Axels at the start of every practice: "Some days, you get that feeling where you can just do it. And those are awesome days, because you can just go into it and I don't even think about landing it. I just think about jumping and I land it. It's awesome."

No senior Worlds

Meissner's performance in the free skate at the Nationals moved her from fourth place after the short program into third, a ranking that normally would have qualified her for the World Championships. But despite the Axel and the placement, Meissner couldn't go to the 2005 World Championships because she was too young to be eligible (she needed to have turned 15 by the previous July 1, and her birthday is in October). Instead, she went to the World Junior Championships and placed fourth.

Competitive highlights

Meissner won her first national title, in the novice division, in 2003. The following year, competing as a junior, she won again, qualifying for the 2004 World Junior Championships in the Netherlands. There, she won the silver medal behind Ando, a friend with whom she sometimes gets together to play cards at competitions. In 2005, at her first senior Nationals, Meissner was thrilled to place third behind two of her idols, Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen. This season (2005-06) was Meissner's first on the senior Grand Prix circuit; she placed fifth at both of her assigned events (France and Japan).

High school student

Meissner is a junior at Fallston High School in Maryland. After she attends classes in the morning, her mother drives her one hour to Newark, Del., for a three-hour skating practice with Pam Gregory, her longtime coach. Meissner uses the long car rides to and from the rink to do homework. She turned 16 in October and is eligible to get her driver's license, but she hasn't had time to do it yet. "My parents don't push it," she says.

Background

Meissner is the daughter of Paul, a podiatrist, and Judy. She has three older brothers: Nate, Adam and Luke. Kimmie started skating at age 6, when she was at the rink for her brothers' hockey practice and decided to give it a try. The Meissners have two dogs and two cats, and Kimmie remains an animal lover despite the fact that one of the dogs once ate her skating costume before a competition (she improvised by wearing a practice dress).