Michelle Kwan Heart Of A Champion

The 1996 World Figure Skating Champion discusses the rigors of competition, the importance of a strong support group, her love of ice skating, and her Olympic dream.

Profiles figure-skating star Michelle Kwan.

Profiles the life and career of figure skating champion Michelle Kwan.

The 1996 World Figure Skating Champion discusses the rigors of competition, the importance of a strong support group, her love of ice skating, and her Olympic dream.

From the day she laced up her first pair of skates, Michelle Kwan knew she belonged on the ice. When she was 7 years old, she vowed that she would one day be an Olympic skater, and went straight to work on making her dream come true. By the time she was 12, she was already competing with top skaters from around the world. At age 15, Kwan won her first national and world titles. And in 1998, she made skating history at the U.S. Championships when she received 15 perfect scores for presentation in her long and short programs, the most perfect scores ever for a female skater. Michelle Kwan is the story of a gifted young athlete whose determination and focus have enabled her to become the most decorated skater in U.S. history. Though the only medal ever to elude her was the Olympic gold, Kwan remains a true champion, and she has shown just as much grace in her setbacks as she has on the ice. Her positive attitude has earned her the reputation of sports' ultimate class act, and it is sure to inspire readers of this engaging new volume.

A biography of the young Chinese-American figure skater who won National and World Championships in 1996 and a silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. won the world heavyweight championship at the age of 22, the same year he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He would go on to become the first and only three-time (in succession) World Heavyweight Champion. Nicknamed “The Greatest,” Ali was as well known for his unique boxing style, consisting of the Ali Shuffle and the rope-a-dope, as he was for the catchphrase “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” He was an uncompromising athlete who brought beauty and grace to a very rough sport and became one of the world’s most famous cultural icons. Read Who Was Muhammad Ali? and discover “The Greatest.”