Common passions
Angie Lien did not have a good day but you’d never know it by her smile. “I like to perform, even though I didn’t perform my best today,” she said earnestly.
That explains why she is skating, even though at 26 years old she’s is almost twice the age of budding star Rachael Flatt, who finished 44 points and 15 places ahead of her as the Senior Ladies competition wrapped up in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at the Arena Saturday afternoon.
“I love to skate,” Lien said. “It’s not just competing, I love the sport itself. And it’s good exercise.”
Spoken like someone who has a degree in exercise science from Minnesota-Duluth.
About the only thing Lien and Flatt have in common were the expectations they had – or more realistically didn’t have – entering the competition.
Even though she may one day soon be a champion, Flatt, 14, was skating for the experience. She won the Junior division silver medal last year.
“It’s so exciting for me,” Flatt said after finishing fifth. “I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t expect to be in the last warmup at all. I was just out here to have fun. It’s been a great week. I’ve learned a lot.”
Lien, who finished seventh as a Novice in 1996, when Flatt was 3, said, “It was more about me, completing two overall good programs.”
She understood from an early age that being on top of the podium was an accomplishment achieved by very few.
“If I was 13 I’d probably want the same thing,” she said, “but I really understood how many people it actually happens to.”
That’s why she chose college, but with support from her parents never quit skating. She paid for school, they paid for skating.
During college she placed sixth and third in the U.S. Collegiate Championships and was second in the 2003 World University Games. She returned to the national scene and finished 15th at nationals in 2005, her first appearance since placing 14th in 1999.
Both levels of competition fulfilled Lien.
“I think they’re motivating in different ways,” she said. “This one, I love the crowd, I love performing. At college you’re still performing (but) the crowds are smaller. You’re around people who know exactly what you’re doing (as a full-time student).”
When Lien started, young skaters were choosing heroes from the likes of Kristi Yamaguchi, Nancy Kerrigan and yes, even Tonya Harding. She competed against Michelle Kwan.
“Mostly it’s just guys I know that are still around the sport,” Lien said. “It’s weird for me to be around the young skaters and hear their stories. It’s fun. The most response I always got is, ‘You go to college and still do this?’ A lot of them when they’re done with high school, they’re done at this level.”
Flatt may be one of them, but the ninth-grader could be a gold medalist before she graduates.
The 2005 Novice champion was sixth after the short program, making the final group for the long program. Her skate was delayed as judges examined Alissa Czisny’s outstanding, best-of-the-day performance, but Flatt was not rattled.
Though she lacks a little of the strength and speed of the older performances, she skated a solid performance until tumbling on a triple Lutz when she said she ran out of gas in the closing seconds of the 4-minute program.
“I did pretty well,” she said. “I didn’t honestly know what to expect. I was just hoping to skate well and that’s what I did for the most part. My long could have been better, but I’m really excited.”
Watching the older skaters has been an education, even, she said, dealing with the media. She handled that flawlessly when asked about a small, behind-the-scenes judging controversy from the short program. Flatt complimented the judges before adding, “No comment.”
Flatt’s age makes her a candidate to make the national Junior team that will compete at the World Championships.
That would be great experience for future nationals, enhancing her chances for the 2010 Winter Olympics, when Angie Lien would be one of her biggest fans.