The 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships were all about inspiring performances. As much as I love to see Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu do well, it was wonderful to see the beautiful Alissa Czisny make her comeback to win the gold medal in the senior ladies event.
After her heartbreaking 10th place finish last year (after winning in 2009), Alissa recreated her skating with coaches Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen. It’s lovely to hear that Alissa’s coaches really believe in her and helped her find confidence in her skating.
What’s really inspiring about Alissa’s skating is her artistry and fluidity across the ice. In her Nationals free skate performance, Alissa lands her jumps with ease and still carries beautiful posture and grace throughout. It’s extremely rare for a skater to have both the jumps and artistry Alissa showed at Nationals.
Watch this performance from Alissa’s 2011 U.S. Nationals free skate as inspiration for your own skating … or even inspiration for finding your purpose in life, finding something worth sticking with through both good and bad times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfBkr9ioSCEPhoto Credit: Alissa Czisny at the 2009 Fiesta on Ice. Photo by Queen Yuna at Flickr Creative Commons.