Ex-Olympic figure skater Kimmie Meissner finds a second life on ice as youth coach and mentor

[jenniferlyon]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/olympics/bs-sp-olympics-kimmie-meissner-0204-story.html

She assesses her former self from the perspective of a 28-year-old who’s living a life in full. Meissner rekindled her romance with the ice, first by coaching kids who reminded her how innocently she’d loved the sport and then by skating with her old compatriots in professional exhibitions. She graduated from Towson University in 2014 and made plans to become a physician’s assistant. She moved to downtown Baltimore, where she works as a part-time physical therapist at Johns Hopkins Hospital and trains her 4-year-old Australian shepherd, Keats (after her favorite Romantic poet), to be a therapy dog. She talks of joining Michael Phelps and others in speaking out about the darker moods that sometimes consume athletes in the wake of Olympic glory.

 

[caseyedwards]

Good that she wanted to go back to skating and found a way.

 

[feraina]

Aww. That was really lovely. She’s always been such a sweet and down to earth girl.

 

[alj5]

Nice article and I'm glad she seems happy.

But she's definitely not a physical therapist (I checked). That's like calling everyone who works at a doctor's office a doctor.

 

[Ohyes]

Good for her! I love when prominent Figure skaters becoming coaches in their later years!

 

[Debbie S]

But she's definitely not a physical therapist (I checked). That's like calling everyone who works at a doctor's office a doctor.

She is a PT aide.

 

[Dr.Siouxs]

I never understood why judges dumped her after the 2008 season. She showed up looking more polished than ever in 2009 and I loved her Un Ange Passe program

 

[skatingguy]

I never understood why judges dumped her after the 2008 season. She showed up looking more polished than ever in 2009 and I loved her Un Ange Passe program

She was injured, withdrew from Nationals in 2009 and never competed again.

 

[falling_dance]

I loved Meissner's speed and facility and wish that she'd had better technical coaches. Choreographically, her free programs ranged from good to brilliant, IMO.

She was injured, withdrew from Nationals in 2009 and never competed again.

My guess is that what Dr.Siouxs meant was that she was out of favor after the 2007-2008 season (and that he meant to say "in the fall of 2008" rather than 2009).

 

[Dr.Siouxs]

^Yeah that

 

[skatingguy]

My guess is that what Dr.Siouxs meant was that she was out of favor after the 2007-2008 season (and that he meant to say "in the fall of 2008" rather than 2009).

^Yeah that

Yes, that makes more sense, but I don't think you can say that she was out of favour. She was injured, skated poorly in the Grand Prix events in 2008, and was never able to compete again.
Here are the details for the free skates from the 2008 Grand Prix events she competed. At Skate America she fell twice, had only 1 clean triple, and no combinations, and at Cup of Russia she had another rough skate with a number of under-rotated jumps.
http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpusa08/gpusa08_Ladies_FS_Scores.pdf
http://www.isuresults.com/results/gprus08/gprus08_Ladies_FS_Scores.pdf

 

[falling_dance]

I remember that many FSUers were surprised at her eighth place finish after an apparently clean SP ("Un Ange Passe"), though, looking over the protocols again, I see that she had two level 1 spins and just a level 2 step sequence to go with that downgraded triple loop. Still, it was a lovely performance. I love the quick spiral with the kneebend just before the double axel.