Lu Chen

Redemption


Everyone had written it off as a competition between the two American teenagers. Michelle and Tara, Tara and Michelle... who would capture Olympic gold? Who would take home a piece of history? The stories were set, the battle lines drawn...

No one counted on Lu Chen�s story.

She was seen as a has-been, washed up at the age of twenty, a former world champion who�d tumbled so far from grace that she hadn�t even qualified to the freeskate at the previous season�s world championships. She was erratic, she was untrained, and the problems between herself and the Chinese skating federations plagued her still. No one expected Lulu to take home an Olympic medal.

No one but herself.

Fourth heading into the freeskate, she stepped out onto the ice and there was a collective intake of breath. She could sparkle, or she could collapse. No one knew what to expect - not the audience, not the judges, not even her own coach and choreographer.

But that night, the old magic returned. The world saw the Lu Chen of old, the woman who�d awed fans everywhere with her luminescent artistry and elegant lines. And when she struck her final pose, she felt it. She fell to her knees on the ice and wept in pure joy, knowing that even if a medal didn�t come her way, she�d done what she�d come to Nagano to accomplish.

She�d made the world sit up and take notice once again. She�d found herself on the ice once more. She�d written her own story.

It was redemption, and it was definitely sweet.


� 1998 by Y.T.S.. All rights reserved.

Photo courtesy of Slam Skating