Ina & Zimmerman Join Stars on Ice

Cast of Olympic, World and National Champions To Tour U.S. Beginning December 2002

August 16, 2002

(August 16, 2002 - New York, NY) - 2002 Olympians, 2002 World Bronze medalists and 3-time U.S. National Pair Champions Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman have signed to tour the United States in Smucker's Stars on Ice, the premier skating production in America, beginning in December 2002, it was announced today by Ina & Zimmerman's representative, David Baden of IMG.

The announcement heightens a banner year for Ina and Zimmerman, who enjoyed their most successful competitive season to date, with second place finishes in three Grand Prix competitions, a third consecutive U.S. National Pair title, a distinguished fifth place finish at the 2002 Winter Olympics, and their proudest achievement: a Bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships, the first World medal awarded to a U.S. pair since 1998.

"John and I are thrilled to be joining Smucker's Stars on Ice this year," said Ina. "We feel it is the best skating production in the world, and we're very excited to begin working with such a terrific cast, production staff and choreographers. It's a great opportunity, one that will allow us to be more creative and expressive with our skating."

Ina & Zimmerman will join 2002 Olympic Pair Champions Jamie Sale & David Pelletier and Elena Berezhnaya & Anton Sikharulidze, who had recently signed with the star-studded production. Also making his debut with Smucker's Stars on Ice will be 2002 Olympic Champion and four-time World Champion Alexei Yagudin who made Olympic and World Championship history in 2002 with the highest marks ever received by a single skater. The new season of Smucker's Stars on Ice will also feature returning stars such as Olympic Champion Tara Lipinski, 2-time Olympic Champion Katarina Witt, 4-time World Champion Kurt Browning, 6-time U.S. National Champion and World Champion Todd Eldredge, 3-time U.S. National Pair Champions Jenni Meno & Todd Sand, and 8-time British Champion Steven Cousins.

For more information, visit the Stars on Ice website at www.starsonice.com.