The Ice Storm

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Just don't let the girlish innocence mislead you. Meissner, the youngest of four children, is a competitor. After she missed a jump combination in her short program at nationals last month, she vowed to complete it two days later in the free program. And she did, flawlessly. "Once she sets a goal for herself, she's determined to reach it," says her mother Judy. This season that goal was making the Olympic team. "She is a great competitor. She's mentally tough," says her coach of nine years, Pam Gregory. "She stays in the moment and is able to not get distracted when she's competing by what is going on around her."

That focus doesn't always apply, of course, to practice sessions. During her first warm-up at a major international event a few years ago at the junior level, where skaters like Slutskaya were competing as seniors, Meissner was so starstruck, "she couldn't land a jump for two days," says Gregory. After the skater pulled herself together, she realized that if she wanted a ticket to Torino, she needed to master some mighty moves. "She got to see some of the Japanese skaters doing quad jumps and triple Axels, and it got her motivated," Gregory says.

Along with the jumps, Meissner concentrated on improving her expressiveness on the ice. She enlisted the help of Lori Nichol, who has choreographed routines for Kwan, to design a more sophisticated long program that would help judges see her as a worthy senior-level competitor.

It's a progression that is all the more remarkable given her exhausting schedule. Meissner still attends Fallston High School in the morning and skates every weekday afternoon at the University of Delaware, an hour's drive from her home. If there is any danger of her becoming a skating diva, her three elder brothers will dispel it. "They don't really pay attention to what I'm doing," she said during a break in her training last summer. Nate, a firefighter, learned about his sister's Axel feat last year only when a buddy in the firehouse saw the replay on ESPN and called him over.

Meissner is determined to add the triple Axel to her long program in Torino, but even without it, her programs are packed with the points that could land her on the podium. "I don't feel pressure about anything," she said, assessing her chances with youthful realism. "I've never gone to [the] world [championships], never won nationals, never been to the Olympics. So I have nothing to live up to."

That may change in Torino if Meissner keeps with tradition: the past two women's gold medalists have come from the U.S., were teenagers and claimed their titles in upset wins. If Meissner can do that, maybe even her brothers will pay attention.