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TORINO -- About 2,000 fans who paid 20 euros (about $24 U.S.) each to watch figure skating practice Wednesday morning got a triple-jumping, one-teenager show from the USA's Kimmie Meissner.
Because she was fifth in the short program Tuesday, Meissner was scheduled to be in the same practice session with five others who will make up the last group in tonight's free skate. None of the others took part in the 40-minute session that began at 10:30. All the leaders except the USA's Sasha Cohen did an afternoon practice, but there were no spectators then.
That morning session, starting at 10:30 local time, put Meissner in the spotlight. As the music for each skater was about to be played for their long program run-through, the public address announced they were absent: "Shizuka Arakawa, representing Japan, is not at this practice. We will play all music for timing purposes."
The fans, who'd watched earlier practice groups, would have been looking at empty ice during the final group had not Meissner skated. It was not totally surprising she was alone. Tuesday night she skated second in a 29-skater field. The other leaders went late, including Cohen, who was last. Along with news conferences, it was after 12:30 a.m. when Cohen left the building.
But beyond how early she finished the night before, Meissner has an opposite attitude to NBA star Allen Iverson ("We're talking about practice!").
"I don't know if it's because she's young, (but) she has a real mentality that she likes to repeat her jumps, she likes a lot of practice," said her coach, Pam Gregory.
In the afternoon, Meissner even said if there had been a third practice she would have done that.
At one point in the morning session Meissner landed three triple-triple jump combinations in a row. She skated a run-through of her long program to the music of Queen of Sheba. When she was done, she bowed and waved to the crowd, which had applauded her throughout.
Said Gregory: "She likes a lot of exercise, and she feels good. If she's sitting around too much, she feels lethargic. I think it's made her very consistent, which has helped her move forward so quickly."
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