Stephen Carriere

The season keeps getting better for Stephen Carriere. Following a fourth place performance at Skate America that put him behind two World Championship medalists, Carriere won a bronze medal at the NHK Trophy despite an injury.

"I fell on a double Axel of all things and the heel of my left skate went into the toe of my right foot and went down and cut in between the toes," Carriere said. "I had a couple stitches. It was kind of scary but the doctor assured me everything was fine and I went back there and did my job."

He lives by the motto: "There is no gain without pain."

His third and fourth place finishes made him an alternate for the Grand Prix Final in his first year on the senior circuit. Carriere finished first at the 2006 Junior Grand Prix Hungary, the Junior Grand Prix The Hague, the Junior Grand Prix Final and the World Junior Championships, during his last year as a junior internationally.

His was ninth in his senior debut at the 2007 U.S. Championships. Carriere's goals are much higher for St. Paul—he wants to medal for the first time and then move onto Four Continents or the World Championships. He could also qualify for the World Junior Championships.

Carriere, the 2006 U.S. Champion in junior men's, enjoys collecting video games and DVDs when he's not skating. He also likes reading and lists his favorite books as The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Kahled Hosseini, and East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

For more information on Carriere, visit figureskatersonline.com/stephencarriere/.

— Jamie M. Blanchard

Figure Skaters Online's Guide to the 2008 U.S. Championships is
written and produced by Figure Skaters Online in cooperation with the athletes and staff.

Photographs are courtesy of Leah Adams unless otherwise noted.