Adam’s Top 5 Most Beautiful Places
Adam Rippon, the 2012
U.S. silver medalist, has spent the last decade competing around the world. He took a few minutes after his free skate at Champs Camp to list the five most beautiful places that he’s had the opportunity to see. Paris — “I love Paris be-
Denney and Coughlin ignite Olympic Downtown Celebration
Caydee Denney and John Coughlin stood next to the 15-foot-tall
cauldron and discussed how to light it as the honored guests of Colorado Springs’ Olympic Downtown Celebration. “It can be a basic lift,” Coughlin said. “Like a twist?” Denney asked. “Kind of. But remember, you’re wearing that dress.” “That dress,” a flattering red, form-fitting design, wasn’t exactly per-
formance gear. And while Denney has been lifted by Coughlin thousands of times on the ice, the 2012 U.S. pairs champions had never lit a cauldron in front of 12,000 people. But when the moment arrived on July 26, Denney floated high above the crowd to thunderous applause. Denney and Coughlin, who train in Colorado Springs, are the second
figure skaters in the event’s two-year history to be invited to light the caul- dron. In 2012, Kristi Yamaguchi and husband Bret Hedican had the honor. In both events, a team of firefighters passed the torch to the skaters. The annual event, held in front of the U.S. Olympic Committee head-
quarters, celebrates Colorado Springs’ Olympic presence, which includes the USOC, the Olympic Training Center, 22 national governing bodies (NGBs), and the only U.S. Olympic Training Site for figure skating: the World Arena Ice Hall. In 2012, U.S. Figure Skating constructed a large sheet of synthetic ice
and invited the public to skate in the middle of the street. This year, USA Volleyball was the featured NGB, and a huge beach volleyball court filled the street with sand and lots of excitement. U.S. Figure Skating’s mascot, Snowplow Sam, kept the crowd happy,
posing for hundreds of photos, encouraging kids to jump on the podium and dancing with the NFL Denver Broncos mascot. Denney and Coughlin, who mingled with invited guests inside the USOC building, closed down the evening by signing hundreds of autographs. “Caydee and I are so honored to have been asked to do this,” Coughlin said. “This is a moment I’ll never forget.”
— Barb Reichert
Hall of Famer Doug Wilson to debut book at Skate America Former ABC director and producer Doug
Wilson, who for nearly five decades brought many of the most compelling and memorable moments of figure skating competition into living rooms around the world, shares those stories and many more in his new book, titled The World Was Our Stage. With a foreword by Peggy Fleming, the
book focuses strongly on the skating world and its legendary champions. Wilson, and col- laborator Jody Cohan, also include anecdotes about Muhammad Ali, Evel Knievel, Nadia Comaneci, Arthur Ashe, Howard Cosell, Jim McKay and many others, all set against a back- ground of the golden age of television sports
and the changing times of the 20th Century. Wilson, a 2003 inductee of the U.S. Figure
Skating Hall of Fame, will debut the book at 2013 Hilton HHonors Skate America in Detroit, Oct. 18–21. Wilson will sign his book for fans on the concourse and at the annual Friends of Figure Skating breakfast. A percentage of the book’s sales will go to U.S. Figure Skating’s Des- tination Sochi Family Tree Program. Wilson was the driving force behind
many of the great moments in figure skating TV history, such as the “Battle of the Brians” (Boitano vs. Canada’s Orser) and the “Battle of the Carmens” (Katarina Witt of East Germany and Debi Thomas). He was also there every
cause I competed there and it’s usually my mom’s birthday during the competition so my mom would always go to the event.” Lake Arrowhead, Calif.
— “I’ve trained there for the past year. Honestly, there’s not too much to do but it’s incred- ibly beautiful. There’s nothing like it.”
Andorra (bordered by
Spain and France)—“It’s beau- tiful and in the mountains.” Ljubljana, Slovenia —
“It’s in the mountains, too. It’s one of my favorite places be- cause it was one of my first in- ternational competitions.” Clarks Summit, Pa. —
“It’s where I’m from. I always love going home and visiting my family. I don’t have the op- portunity to do that a lot so when I do I always have such a really nice time. I make a lot of memories, see all my family.”
step of the way during Michelle Kwan’s illustrious career on ice. “It is an honor
to be launching the book at Skate America in Detroit,” said Wilson, who in addition to figure skating produced or directed more than 50 sports for ABC and ESPN. The World Was Our Stage can be pur-
chased at
Amazon.com and at
www.createspace.com/4315491.
SKATING 7
PHOTO BY JACK MORRIS
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