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Catching Up Daniel Lee trades skates for school books, clubs Former novice national champion is eyeing a career as surgeon
(June 23, 2007) — It has been ten years since Daniel Lee established himself as rising star in American figure skating. As an eighth grader, he won the novice men's gold medal at the 1997 U.S. Championships, beating out eventual senior national medalists including Ryan Bradley and Scott Smith. "Winning nationals as a novice in Nashville is one of the fondest memories," Lee, 24, said in an interview from his southern Colorado home. The national title paved the way for a four year medal streak on the national level—he also won the junior men's pewter medal in 1998, 1999 and 2000. But the impressive medal streak ended when Lee, a member of the Broadmoor Skating Club, failed to make it out of the Midwestern Sectional Championships in late 2000, while skating on the senior level for the first time. A string of serious ankle injuries also kept him out of nationals in 2002 and 2003. "I wish didn't get all of the injuries I had during my career, which would have change a lot of things," he said. Lee underwent surgery in January 2002 to repair multiple ankle fractures, which were believed to have been there for two years. He placed 18th at the 2004 U.S. Championships in Atlanta, Ga. After finishing fifth and seventh at the next two Midwesterns Sectionals in late 2004 and 2005, Lee left the skating world to focus on his academic studies at the University of Colorado. "I had very high hopes for skating," said Lee, who also competed internationally on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. "But I felt I had other things to accomplish in my life and to pursue. I feel skating has given me many attributes to chase my other dreams as well." A double major in biology and chemistry, studying at the Colorado campuses in both Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Lee is an active member of the campus Biology, Chemistry and Medical Society clubs as well as the national Tri-Beta Biological Honors Society. "I plan to attend medical school in about two years and hope to pursue a career as a doctor or surgeon," said Lee, also a member of the National Honor Society. His goal is to attend the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles. "Other than school, I run one my father's business for him full-time because it is the least I can do as he paved my way through skating and life," Lee said. "Also, I am a competitive golfer. I traded in my skates for golf clubs and plan on competing for my school before my undergraduate degree is over. My biggest goal in golf is to qualify and play in the U.S. Open sometime in my lifetime." Looking back on a skating career that brought him to countries including Czech Republic, Hungary, Norway and Ukraine, Lee does have a few regrets about his time in competitive skating. "My biggest regret is the way my career ended," he said. "I had been skating the best I had in a long time and competed very poorly at sectionals. I tried very hard to make things happen, instead of letting my work do the work." He also regrets not training with renowned Russian coach Alexei Mishin sooner. For much of his career, Lee trained at the World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo., with Damon Allen, Janet Champion, Cathy Casey, Tom Dickson and Christy Krall, who he credits for his early successes. "The year before I stopped competing, I trained under Alexei Mishin and trained with (Olympic and World Champion) Evgeni Plushenko," Lee said. "I was able to travel to world with them and learned so many valuable life lessons and had the time of my life." Most of his thoughts about his career are encouraging. "Skating has been one of the most fulfilling and heartbreaking times in my life," he said. "With all the good and the bad, skating is the driving force behind all of my determination for life. Skating has taught me countless lessons in life and I plan to use those to accomplish my new goals. If you ever need a surgeon, look me up in about eight years." Lee added, "I want to thank my coaches, my family, my supporters and my fans for all the encouragement throughout my career." [TOP] |
The Inside Edge
