December 2009, Volume 86, Issue 10

For U.S. silver medalists Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates, standing out from the pack means skating one program to music from the Dixie Chicks and another to an Italian aria.

November 2009, Volume 86, Issue 9

It was late in the summer of 2005 when Mroz's life changed forever. His brother and mother were critically injured in an automobile accident. The tragedy left 10-year-old Spencer paralyzed from the waist down, their mother Cindy with mental and physical challenges, and the entire family heartbroken but determined to reclaim their lives.

October 2009, Volume 86, Issue 8

Though she could not have known it at the time, Caydee Denney's move back to her hometown of Wesley Chapel, Fla., from Colorado Springs, Colo., where she relocated in 2006 to take up singles training, would prove to be the 15-year-old's best decision in her young figure skating career.

August/September 2009, Volume 86, Issue 7

There's a familiar figure at Toronto's Richmond Training Centre, gliding along with unmistakable elegance and a megawatt smile while Rachael Flatt works on programs she hopes will take her to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

June/July 2009, Volume 86, Issue 6

There's also more than meets the eye to Alissa Czisny, whose model looks mask determination and focus. This spring, hot on the heels of her first U.S. senior title, she earned a bachelor's degree in liberal studies from Bowling Green State University after juggling the demands of college and skating for five years.

May 2009, Volume 86, Issue 5

Limited in his preparation for the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships by a stress fracture in his left foot, Lysacek scaled back his training - as well as the difficulty of his programs - to focus on fundamentals. The approach paid off as he delivered two virtuoso performances to win his first World championship and the first World title by a U.S. man since Todd Eldredge accomplished the feat 13 years ago.

April 2009, Volume 86, Issue 4

When the smoke cleared at the 2009 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, Miami had taken its third U.S. title and its second in the last four years, albeit by the slimmest of margins: 204.72-203.97.

March 2009, Volume 86, 3

The U.S. Championships, held Jan. 19-25, was a showcase for the top figure skaters in the country, mixing a blend of youth and experience to entertain the enthusiastic crowds that walked through the turnstiles.

February 2009, Volume 86, 2

When the 2008 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series began in October, few expected Jeremy Abbott would qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, let alone win the competition. But in a season of unexpected finishes, that's what happened, and Abbott is still shaking his head.

January 2009, Volume 86, 1

When the skating world was formally introduced to Caroline Zhang, back at the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Wash., she was a giddy teen who was just excited to get close enough to Kimmie Meissner and have the U.S. champion give her an autograph. Zhang, now a worldly 15, has done a lot of growing up since then.