NANCY KERRIGAN

Falling down became second nature and it really didn't bother me.

Even now I can't describe why I love skating so much.

Sometimes it was difficult to make friends and be social in school because I was always practicing while other kids were getting together and doing things. But it just made me closer to my family, and I realized that they would always be there no matter what.

I like to try all kinds of styles so it always challenges me and forces me to try to look different.

It wasn't always easy getting up at 5 o'clock in the morning to go to the rink. Sometimes I wanted to just go back to sleep.

I get to see the different sides of skating now which involves not only competing, but entertainment.

My parents never pressured me to skate. They always said I could quit if I wanted to. They only expected me to skate when they had already paid for the expensive lessons. But, otherwise they said I could do what I wanted to do.

My hobbies are painting, crafts, and I like golfing.

My dad worked several jobs to pay for my expense in skating.

I was a tomboy who liked to play rough just like my two older brothers. That's probably why I liked the athletic part of skating - especially the jumping!

I won my first medal when I was nine years old. It was at the Boston Open.

My life has been a whirlwind since the '94 Olympics.

I was thrilled one year when I was younger when not only did my brothers get hockey sticks for Christmas - but I did too!

I think it's a lot harder for the pros to have a long career in ice dance and in pairs. It seems the singles have a little bit of a longer career.

People are really sick of seeing the winner not win and what the public thinks should happen.

It is a process of finding the right music then planning a costume to fit that style of music.

I worked also, doing things such as our paper route and, later on, waitressing.

I took group lessons at a rink near my home. We first had to learn how to stand up on the ice wearing skates. Eventually we learned to move forward, but soon found out that it was not that easy to stop! So that was our next important lesson.

There is no age, height, or weight requirement to skate. It is good exercise no matter what your age is. If you want to be competitive, most start young. But, I practice with many adult competitors.

Even now, my husband Jerry, our son Matthew and I live only five minutes away from my parents home, and my brothers live about ten minutes away. It's been great having such a supportive family.

It was always fun to skate with Paul Wylie and Paul Martini.

I started skating when I was six years old.

And I love what I do and I love skating.

But after a few minutes of convincing myself that I really wanted to go - telling myself that I love skating and that my coach is there waiting for me - I would get up and go. And my mother would always get up and eat breakfast with me!

It was never about winning medals or being famous.