Kimmie Meissner

When Kimmie Meissner filled out her first job application recently, she paused when she reached the line that asked for her employment history. She finally wrote: Team USA, 2002 to present. But the here and now is an unsettled place. Since last summer, the former world and national figure skating champion has been on the shelf, recovering from an injured right kneecap dislocated in a training mishap. She missed the Grand Prix season, the U.S. championships and, most importantly, a shot at competing at the Olympics next month - perhaps her last shot.

Olympic athletes Kimmie Meissner and Pat Winslow Connolly visited Pinewood Elementary School on April 16, and Rowdy Gaines, an Olympic swimmer who currently commentates on the sport, spoke to students via Skype. Meissner, a world champion figure skater and 2006 Olympian, and Connolly, a three-time track and field Olympian, visited the school as part of a 100-day countdown to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. Connolly is a women's sports advocate and has been outspoken about steroid abuse in sports.

Bel Air's Kimmie Meissner takes to the ice in search of Olympics glory as the Ladies Figure Skating competition begins at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Our reporters, photographers and artists provide complete coverage of Meissner's training for tomorrow's short program, as well as spotlight friends, family and fans cheering for the 16-year-old. In addition, you can keep track of Meissner by logging on to The Sun's Web site at baltimoresun.com/olympics where you can find full coverage of the Winter Games, including stories, blogs, podcasts and photo galleries.

Sports Legends Museum Wilson, Hoiles, Meissner to attend Babe's Birthday Bash The Babe Ruth Museum announced Friday that Ravens cornerback Josh Wilson , former Oriole Chris Hoiles and world figure skating champion Kimmie Meissner will be in attendance for Babe's Birthday Bash on Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards. The event will celebrate the 116th anniversary of Ruth's birth in Baltimore on Feb. 6, 1895. The museum will present the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation with the 2011 Babe Ruth Museum Community Service Award.

SPOKANE, Wash. -- For Kimmie Meissner, the question isn't, will she or won't she? Rather it's, why should she? The reigning world champion is in first place at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, with the free skate - "my area," she calls it - today. Her four-minute performance has seven triple jumps, four of them in combination, and ends with a double-double-double combination jump. U.S. Figure Skating Championships Women's final, today, 4 p.m., Ch. 2

The newest member of Kimmie Meissner's coaching team is a free spirit who cheerfully concedes that he knows nothing of figure skating, travels the country in a clunker Jeep with a bungee-corded tarp for a roof and 260,000 on the odometer, and keeps his clothes in a waterproof plastic box. Meet Gyula Pandi, at age 64, one part cheerleader, one part nag, one part choreographer. With the Winter Olympics eight months away, the former performer and teacher with the Hungarian Ballet Company is on board to help Meissner prepare for competition in the areas where judges have often downgraded her. "Tilt your head.

There are no figures in women's figure skating. Kimmie Meissner is finding that out the hard way. A growth spurt, or just a couple of pounds on hips and thighs, can upset a world-class skater's finely calibrated internal gyroscope or put stress on a teenager's developing bones. It happened to five-time world champion Michelle Kwan. It happened to former U.S. champion Sasha Cohen. And now, say skating experts who have watched Meissner's recent struggles, it's happening to her. Just two years ago, Meissner won the world championship and followed it last year with the U.S. Championship.

Unlike her recent gold medal at the World Figure Skating Championships in Canada, Kimmie Meissner can't wear her latest accolade - a street named after her in downtown Bel Air. Several hundred people gathered yesterday morning to watch the 16-year-old Bel Air native pull a long green cord to drop a tarp and unveil a sign proclaiming Main Street at Pennsylvania Avenue as Kimmie Way. "I'm looking up there and it's so funny," Meissner said afterward as...

Kimmie Meissner will recount memories of figure skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, as part of a program at Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards next Saturday. As part of the 1 p.m. program, "Olympic Experiences with Kimmie Meissner," the Bel Air native will also discuss the preparation she took to get to the Games, at which she finished sixth. The event goes hand-in-hand with the museum's "Treasures From Our Attic" exhibit, which features Meissner's 2006 world championship medal.

For the Olympian from Bel Air, Jeff Kappus shipped a good luck bag of carrots. Kimmie Meissner, the Harford County figure skater, used to stop by Kappus' Subway shop in Churchville every afternoon and started adding carrots to her daily turkey sub about the time she landed her famous triple axel. Now she's in Turin, Italy, and today she will perform her short program. Meissner's goal -- Have fun, skate clean and don't freak out. PG 1C

Kimmie Meissner will recount memories of figure skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, as part of a program at Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards next Saturday. As part of the 1 p.m. program, "Olympic Experiences with Kimmie Meissner," the Bel Air native will also discuss the preparation she took to get to the Games, at which she finished sixth. The event goes hand-in-hand with the museum's "Treasures From Our Attic" exhibit, which features Meissner's 2006 world championship medal.

Four years ago, Kimmie Meissner marched in the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin, at 16 the youngest member of the U.S. team. Meissner, the silver medalist at the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships that year, finished sixth at the Olympics in only her third international competition on the senior level. A month later, she won the world title. This year, she's home in Bel Air, rehabilitating a dislocated kneecap that kept her out of competition last season and preparing for ice shows this spring.

Like most people, Phyllis Friello watched in horror the events unfolding in Haiti after the devastating earthquake. She donated to UNICEF, the United Nations organization that's distributing water, food and medicine and registering children separated from their families by the disaster. But Friello, a competitive figure skater who lives in Baltimore, wanted to do more. So she put on her skates. And she sent a Facebook message to former world and national figure skating champion Kimmie Meissner.

Like most people, Phyllis Friello watched in horror the events unfolding in Haiti after the devastating earthquake. She donated to UNICEF, the United Nations organization that's distributing water, food and medicine and registering children separated from their families by the disaster. But Friello, a competitive figure skater who lives in Baltimore, wanted to do more. So she put on her skates. And she sent a Facebook message to former world and national figure skating champion Kimmie Meissner.

When Kimmie Meissner filled out her first job application recently, she paused when she reached the line that asked for her employment history. She finally wrote: Team USA, 2002 to present. But the here and now is an unsettled place. Since last summer, the former world and national figure skating champion has been on the shelf, recovering from an injured right kneecap dislocated in a training mishap. She missed the Grand Prix season, the U.S. championships and, most importantly, a shot at competing at the Olympics next month - perhaps her last shot.

Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen , figure skater Kimmie Meissner and U.S. Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long will be among the guests for "Babe's Birthday Bash" next Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards. The event will celebrate the 115th anniversary of Ruth's birth in Baltimore. Tickets are $45 for members of the Babe Ruth Museum; $55 for the general public; and $60 at the door. Call 410-727-1539 or visit BabeRuthMuseum.com. ALOMAR: Former Toronto Blue Jays and Orioles second baseman Roberto Alomar will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame this summer.

Kimmie Meissner will return to the ice for the first time since her August knee injury and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton will go head over heels on a pair of skates - his signature trick - in a live music ice show Dec. 29. For Hamilton, the Holiday Concert on Ice presented an opportunity to get back into skating shape since his retirement five years ago and return to the spotlight. For Meissner, the former national and world champion from Bel Air, the show was a way to work with one of her heroes.

TOKYO -- It can take Kimmie Meissner nearly a half-hour to walk the two blocks from the Meiji Jingo practice rink to the main venue at the municipal gymnasium. Girls holding World Figure Skating Championships programs squeal, "Kimmie, Kimmie, please stop." World Figure Skating Championships Through Sunday, Tokyo TV today: Women's short program, 7:30 p.m., ESPN (tape) Meissner's short program Meissner's short program components, skated to "Snow Storm," by Georgy Sviridov Choreographer: Nikolai Morozov Personal best score: 60.17 at 2006 world championships Triple lutz-triple toe loop combination Triple flip Layback spin Spiral sequence Double axel Flying sit spin Straight line step sequence Combination spin with foot change

When Kimmie Meissner filled out her first job application recently, she paused when she reached the line that asked for her employment history. She finally wrote: Team USA, 2002 to present. But the here and now is an unsettled place. Since last summer, the former world and national figure skating champion has been on the shelf, recovering from an injured right kneecap dislocated in a training mishap. She missed the Grand Prix season, the U.S. championships and, most importantly, a shot at competing at the Olympics next month - perhaps her last shot.

Kimmie Meissner will return to the ice for the first time since her August knee injury and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton will go head over heels on a pair of skates - his signature trick - in a live music ice show Dec. 29. For Hamilton, the Holiday Concert on Ice presented an opportunity to get back into skating shape since his retirement five years ago and return to the spotlight. For Meissner, the former national and world champion from Bel Air, the show was a way to work with one of her heroes.