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Alissa Czisny of Bowling Green, Ohio, finished third at the U.S. Championships and 15th at the World Championships |
Birth Date June 25, 1987 |
| Hometown Bowling Green, Ohio |
| Training Town Bloomfield Hills, Michigan |
| Home Club Detroit SC |
| Coaches Julianne Berlin and Elizabeth Swallow |
| Choreographer David Wilson, Lori Nichol and Kurt Browning |
When 2007 U.S. Championship bronze medalist Alissa Czisny is skating her best, there is no shortage of words to describe her. Olympic Champion Peggy Fleming called Czisny, a longtime competitor known for spins and spirals, breathtaking with a "beautiful line."
"As you watch her, you will see one of the most exquisite skaters I think we've seen," Olympic Champion Dick Button said during her short program at last year's nationals. He is an ABC commentator with Fleming.
But Czisny has been less than her best this season. In her first Grand Prix appearance of the season, she finished ninth at Cup of China. She also finished sixth at NHK Trophy, where she singled a planned triple flip and fell on her combination jump in her West Side Story free skate.
In St. Paul, Czisny will be competing with a cast on her left hand because of a fractured thumb. She is looking to recapture the magic that helped her make her first appearance on the nationals podium as a senior last season. She also placed fifth at the 2007 Four Continents Championship and 15th at the World Championships, following two sixth place finishes at the World Junior Championships in 2005 and 2006.
Czisny is the 2005 Skate America silver medalist and Skate Canada Champion.
Skating is not the only place where Czisny excels. At Bowling Green State University, she is a triple major in international studies, French and Russian. She given the "Sophomore of the Year Award for International Studies" and the "First Year Russian Student Award" in 2006.
Off the ice and outside the classroom, Czisny is interested in pursuing an acting and modeling career. She has already done some part-time modeling but her other hobbies include 3-D artwork, biking, playing the piano, reading and rock climbing.
She has a twin sister Amber, who is a former senior ladies national and international competitor.
For more information on Czisny, visit figureskatersonline.com/alissaczisny/.
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.