Washington — In
February, most students at San Jose, California’s Archbishop Mitty
High School will be focused on homework and midterm tests.
Sophomore Polina Edmunds’ thoughts may be elsewhere, because from
February 19 to 20, the figure skater will take center stage in the
Iceberg Skating Palace representing Team USA at the 2014 Winter
Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
“I haven’t talked about
it with my teachers yet,” said the 15-year-old skating phenomenon,
“but I’ll be taking my work with me and I’ll bring my iPad to keep
tabs on things.”
While Polina keeps on
top of her schoolwork, her Olympic journey will also double as a
homecoming. Her mother, Nina, was born in Tver and was a skating
instructor in Russia before marrying Polina’s father and moving to
the San Francisco Bay Area.
“It’s so special that
the Olympics are in Sochi,” said Polina, who last visited Russia
when she was 2. “We have so many friends and family there; this is
exciting, almost like it was meant to be.”
Polina — the runner-up
at January’s U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Boston — says her
skating is strengthened by her Russian heritage and American
upbringing.
“I definitely have some
Russian influence in my skating, and I think that’s to my benefit,”
said Polina, who began skating at 2. “While I wouldn’t say that
there’s a specific style of skating, it’s more of a style of
training, and I’m very fortunate to have had both styles of
training.”
Through this
perspective, Polina recognizes her sport’s ability to promote
understanding across cultures.
“Even though we live in
different areas, [my fellow competitors and I] are all so similar
because we got to where we are through hard work,” she said.
Thus far, Polina’s hard
work has paid tremendous dividends, and the Olympics’ global
audience represents a perfect venue to showcase her proud past as
well as figure skating’s bright future.
(2014-02-05 10:17:18) 
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