177 Facts About Kimmie Meissner

Kimberly Claire Meissner was born on October 4,1989 and is an American former competitive figure skater.

Kimmie Meissner is the 2006 World champion, the 2007 Four Continents champion, and the 2007 US national champion.

Kimmie Meissner is the first American and the first woman to simultaneously hold the World, Four Continents, and national titles.

In 2005, Kimmie Meissner became the second American woman to land the triple Axel jump in national competition.

Kimmie Meissner was the youngest American athlete to compete at the 2006 Olympics, coming in sixth place.

Kimmie Meissner won the World Championships the following month, and the US Nationals the following season.

Kimmie Meissner was inducted into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2020.

Kimmie Meissner was one of the best technical figure skaters of her time, but was an inconsistent skater, especially towards the end of her career.

Kimmie Meissner was compared to Olympic skater and US champion Michelle Kwan, who called her "the new face of figure skating".

Kimmie Meissner was the spokesperson for the "Cool Kids Campaign", a pediatric oncology charity.

Kimberly "Kimmie" Meissner was born on October 4,1989, in Towson, Maryland, the youngest child of podiatrist Paul Meissner and Judy Meissner.

Kimmie Meissner's family is Catholic; she was baptized in Williamsville, New York, near where her parents grew up in Buffalo.

Kimmie Meissner skated for the first time in January 1996, when she was six years old, after "a freak ice storm" turned their backyard in Bel Air, Maryland, into a temporary rink; she used one of her brothers' skates stuffed with paper towels.

Kimmie Meissner took to skating right away, and her parents bought her a pair of skates and gave her lessons at a local rink.

Kimmie Meissner attended Fallston High School, a public secondary school in Fallston, Maryland, even though both her parents and all her brothers attended Catholic schools, because Fallston was closer to her family's home and made commuting to Delaware for her training easier, and because it provided her with more flexibility to attend classes early mornings and train in Delaware in the afternoons.

Kimmie Meissner's family worked hard to make Meissner's life as normal as possible; her mother acted as both her chauffeur and manager.

The arrangement allowed Kimmie Meissner to attend her school's prom in 2006.

Kimmie Meissner began skating when she was six years old, after watching her older brothers play hockey.

Kimmie Meissner had watched figure skating on television, eventually giving up ballet, which she began when she was four, because she "liked skating more".

Kimmie Meissner landed her first triple, the Salchow, six years later.

Kimmie Meissner came in first place after the short program, putting her in a good position, and won the free skate as well, with three triples, including a triple Lutz jump.

Kimmie Meissner singled a planned fourth triple, a Salchow, but ended her program with a double Axel-double toe loop-double loop combination.

Kimmie Meissner ended the season with a third-place finish at the Triglav Trophy in Slovenia.

Kimmie Meissner earned a silver medal at the Sofia Cup, the Junior Grand Prix event in Bulgaria, and a gold medal at Slovenia, which qualified her for the Junior Grand Prix final in Sweden, where she came in fifth place.

Kimmie Meissner competed as a junior at the 2004 US Nationals and won the gold medal, after coming in second place in the short program and winning the free skate.

Kimmie Meissner finished in third place after the short program, earning marks ranging from 4.9 to 5.7.

Kimmie Meissner successfully completed her triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple flip, and double Axel.

Kimmie Meissner later said that it was her first clean program of the season.

Kimmie Meissner came in second place after the free skating program, opening with a triple flip that was not fully rotated.

Kimmie Meissner completed a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple Salchow, a triple loop, two double Axels, a triple Lutz, but popped a second triple Salchow.

Kimmie Meissner earned marks ranging from 5.1 to 5.7, her highest scores in her career thus far.

Kimmie Meissner began the season at the Junior Grand Prix Courchevel in France, coming in second place in both the short program and free skate, coming in second place overall.

Kimmie Meissner finished in second place after the short program, earning 46.33 points.

Kimmie Meissner had difficulty with her triple Lutz-double toe loop combination, falling out of her Lutz jump and making a turn before her double toe loop.

Kimmie Meissner had difficulty with her triple loop, which was scored as a double jump, but the program had good flow, nice spins, and a double Axel.

Kimmie Meissner came in second place after the free skate; she completed a triple flip, followed by a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, but popped her loop jump.

Kimmie Meissner went on to complete a triple Salchow, a good triple Lutz, and a downgraded double flip-double toe loop combination.

Kimmie Meissner earned 87.40 points for the free skating program, and 133.73 points overall.

Kimmie Meissner finished in third place, despite a "poor short program" due to a popped triple Lutz that put her in seventh place.

Kimmie Meissner later said that her Lutz "was really wacky" the entire week, although she performed two of them in her free skating program, including one in a combination, and came back to finish in second place in the free skate and third place overall.

Kimmie Meissner made "an impressive senior debut" at the Campbell's International Figure Skating Classic in October 2004; she replaced Carolina Kostner of Italy, competed against Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen, and came in fifth place.

Gregory reported that Kimmie Meissner had been consistently landing triple Axels for only a week before Nationals.

Kimmie Meissner was in fourth place after the short program, which the Associated Press called "a very respectable showing for someone just breaking into the senior ranks".

Kimmie Meissner told the press that she felt good about her performance and the way she had completed all her jumps, although she thought she could have done better.

Kimmie Meissner chose to include a triple Axel, the third jump in her free skating program, after completing a clean one during the warm-up.

Kimmie Meissner was the first American woman to successfully complete a triple Axel in competition in 14 years, since Tonya Harding did so in 1991.

Kimmie Meissner "fought mightily" to keep her balance out of the last rotation of her triple Axel, but her landing was secure and she ended up in third place, her first senior-level medal.

Kimmie Meissner successfully completed seven triples, including two Lutz jumps and a triple toe-double toe-double loop combination.

Swift from Sports Illustrated reported that Kimmie Meissner earned the biggest response from the spectators and diverted attention away from Kwan.

Kimmie Meissner stated that Meissner was able to "breathe fresh air into a sport that had begun to stagnate in the US and offer a peek into the future of American skating".

Kimmie Meissner was not age-eligible to compete as a senior at the Worlds Championships, but was named to the US team for the 2005 Junior Worlds Championships.

Kimmie Meissner told reporters that she was not disappointed and was excited to compete at Junior Worlds, but Gregory stated that it could have given Kimmie Meissner valuable experience and prepared her for the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy.

At Junior Worlds in Kitchener, Canada, Kimmie Meissner came in fourth place overall.

Kimmie Meissner completed a triple loop and double Axel, earning 52.67 points and coming in third place, behind teammate Alissa Czisny by less than.

Kimmie Meissner turned both her Lutz and flip into single jumps towards the end of the program, earning 93.96 points and came in fourth place in the free skate, slipping to fourth place overall and earning a total of 146.63 points.

Kimmie Meissner abandoned her triple Axel, working on it from time to time during the season, to focus on her combination jumps and because the Axel was not consistent for her.

Kimmie Meissner started off the season with a third-place win at the 2005 Campbell's Classic.

Kimmie Meissner did not include her triple Axel, but earned 109.08 points overall, a personal best.

Kimmie Meissner stepped out of her triple Lutz, which prevented her from completing a planned combination jump, and had a fall, earning 44.92 points.

Kimmie Meissner came back to perform a "sparkling and difficult" free skating program that included two triple-triple combinations and two triple Lutzes.

Kimmie Meissner opened with a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, followed up by a double Axel, a triple Lutz-triple toe loop, and a triple loop, which was downgraded, but she did not fall.

Kimmie Meissner ended the routine with a double Axel-double toe loop-double loop jump.

Kimmie Meissner came in fourth place after the free skate, and in fifth place overall.

Kimmie Meissner came in third place after the short program, earning 56.10 points, which were higher scores than she earned at Paris.

Kimmie Meissner's spins were the weakest of the program; she was not centered on her spins and was afraid she would fall, but was in good position for a medal.

Kimmie Meissner came in fifth place after the free skating program, earning 96.08 points and 152.18 points overall.

At the 2006 US Nationals, Kimmie Meissner won the silver medal and was named to the US Olympic team.

Kimmie Meissner was in fourth place after the short program, but after "a stellar performance" in her free skating program, overcame Emily Hughes, who came in third place.

Kimmie Meissner spent most of her time in an apartment with her family instead of staying at the Olympic Village, which kept her calm and focused for the competition.

Kimmie Meissner was one of the youngest competitors in the Games, and the youngest American athlete in Turin.

Kimmie Meissner came in fifth place after the short program with 59.40 points, 7.33 points behind Cohen, who came in first place.

Kimmie Meissner's presentation was clean, with some of the highest technical scores of the competition.

Kimmie Meissner's planned free skating program opened with two triple-triple jump combinations, with a middle section that included three single triple jumps.

Kimmie Meissner planned a combination with three double jumps during the final segment of her program in order earn the highest points possible.

Kimmie Meissner came in sixth place after the free skate, with 106.31 points, and in sixth place overall, with a total of 165.71 points.

Kimmie Meissner came down with the flu her last few days in Italy and suffered from a ruptured right eardrum on her flight home, which caused her pain while practicing her spins and disrupted her training for the Worlds Championships for two weeks, although she told reporter Rick Maese that her Olympic experience gave her more confidence.

At Worlds in Calgary, Kimmie Meissner came in third place after the short program, with a score of 88.63 points.

Kimmie Meissner's opening jump was a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination instead of two triples in the combination, but she earned higher scores than normal for her spins and level-3 footwork.

Kimmie Meissner successfully completed seven triples in her free skating program, including two triple-triple combinations, the only ones in the competition.

Kimmie Meissner hit all her elements and stayed focused throughout the program, including her double Axel-double toe loop-double loop towards the end, even though she said later that she could not hear her music over the audience, who were on their feet before she ended.

Kimmie Meissner earned a personal-best score of 129.70 points in her free skate, for a total of 218.33 points, almost nine points more than Suguri, who won the silver medal, ten points more than Cohen, and over four points more than the 2006 Olympic gold medalist, Shizuka Arakawa from Japan, earned during the Olympics.

Kimmie Meissner told reporters that her trip to Worlds in Russia the previous year as guest commentator helped her in Calgary.

Kimmie Meissner toured with Stars of Ice during the summer of 2006, but only for ten shows because of her school commitments and because she was studying for the SATs.

Kimmie Meissner procured endorsement deals with national sandwich chain Subway, sporting apparel company Under Armour, and VISA.

Kimmie Meissner worked with choreographers Lori Nichol and Nikolai Morozov, and focused on her artistry with Olympic ice dancing champion Natalia Linichuk; they put six triple jumps into her free skating program.

US champion Kristi Yamaguchi said that Kimmie Meissner had improved artistically since the Olympics, but needed to work on the emotional aspect of her skating.

At Skate America, the first Grand Prix competition of the season and her first major competition after winning Worlds the previous season, Kimmie Meissner came in second place overall.

Kimmie Meissner came in third place, with 58.82 points, ten points behind Asada, who came in first place, and eight points behind Miki Ando from Japan, who came in second place.

Kimmie Meissner planned to include two triple-triple combinations and her triple Axel in her free skate.

Kimmie Meissner came in second place in the free skate, was rough in places, but clean, with 118.96 points, 15 points behind Ando, the gold medalist, and earned 177.78 points overall.

Kimmie Meissner opened her program, which figure skating reporter Candus Thomson said "wasn't flawless", by successfully completing a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, followed by a double Axel and a triple flip-double toe loop combination.

Kimmie Meissner had a high-level spiral sequence and spins, and completed three more triple jumps.

Kimmie Meissner had a minor injury to her left middle finger, which she gashed during a catch spin, treating with a tissue while waiting in the kiss-and-cry for her scores.

The Baltimore Sun reported that Kimmie Meissner did not intend to include a triple Axel in her free skate in Paris.

Kimmie Meissner came in fourth place, with 105.47 points, but came in third place overall, with a total of 158.03 points.

Kimmie Meissner came in eighth place towards eligibility to compete at the Grand Prix finals, making her the first reigning World champion to not qualify for the following season's Grand Prix final.

Figure skating writer Philip Hersh called Kimmie Meissner's season performances prior to the 2007 US Nationals in Spokane, Washington "underwhelming", and raised questions about her inconsistent skating, and if her free skating program that won her the Worlds title, as well as the triple Axel she completed only once in competition, was "a one-time wonder".

Kimmie Meissner came in first place after the short program, with a personal-best score of 65.69 points, "easily topping" Emily Hughes' score of 62.32 points.

Kimmie Meissner skated a clean program, something she had been struggling with all season, by successfully completing her triple Lutz-triple toe combination, triple flip jump, and double Axel.

Kimmie Meissner produced two level-four spins, a good spiral sequence, and a level-three straight line footwork sequence.

Kimmie Meissner later admitted that skating immediately after Hughes, who skated well, motivated and challenged her to excel in her own short program.

Kimmie Meissner put her hand down after completing her opening triple Lutz, which lost her some points by foregoing a planned triple-triple combination.

Kimmie Meissner had difficulty landing her triple flip-triple toe loop combination, but she successfully completed a double Axel, a double Axel-double toe loop-double loop combination, four more triple jumps, and a level-three straight line footwork sequence.

Kimmie Meissner later told reporters that she was shocked after putting her hand down on the Lutz, but that she was able to refocus, regain her composure, and get through the program.

Kimmie Meissner was certain that she could finish strongly and win the gold medal if she continued despite her mistake.

Bunch stated that Kimmie Meissner's choice demonstrated her self-confidence and experience.

Kimmie Meissner won her first senior US title, with 181.68 points overall, less than a point ahead of Hughes, who came in second place, with 180.86 points.

Kimmie Meissner was the first female skater since Barbara Roles in 1962 to win what Bunch called the "US nationals triple crown": gold medals in the Novice, Junior, and Senior divisions.

Kimmie Meissner struggled through her layback spin, so only received a level-one in her scores, and had a "wobbly" triple flip and received negative grades of execution for it.

Figure skating reporter Elvin Walker reported that Kimmie Meissner "seemed disconnected from her program and didn't seem to present a clear artistic vision to the audience", but was in a good position to move up in the standings after the free skate.

Kimmie Meissner came in sixth place after the short program, with 52.49 points; four points separated Kimmie Meissner and Canadian Joannie Rochette, who came in first place.

Kimmie Meissner later admitted that she came into the free skate disappointed and angry with herself for missing her opening combination jump during the short program, but that it gave her determination to do well during the free skate.

Kimmie Meissner struggled with her triple flip-triple toe combination, popping the flip jump, but she felt stronger as the program progressed.

Kimmie Meissner opened her routine with a successful triple Lutz-triple toe combination, the only skater to include one in her program.

Kimmie Meissner completed five clean triple jumps, including a second triple Lutz at the end, and a successful double Axel-double toe loop-double loop combination, towards the end of her program.

Kimmie Meissner planned to not include a triple Axel and chose to complete a clean double instead.

Kimmie Meissner was in fourth place after the short program, earning a personal-best score of 64.67 points.

Kimmie Meissner skated a clean program and like the other top three skaters, performed triple-triple combinations in her program.

Kimmie Meissner had good speed throughout her level-four spiral sequence, and as reporter Laura Fawcett put it, her level-three straight-line footwork sequence was "musical but seemed a little slow across the ice".

Kimmie Meissner ended her program with a combination spin, which demonstrated "nice position variations".

Kimmie Meissner successfully completed her double Axel, triple Salchow, and triple loop, and produced a level-three straight line step sequence.

Kimmie Meissner completed a double Axel-double toe loop-double loop combination, but two-footed the second triple Lutz.

Kimmie Meissner toured with Stars on Ice and Champions on Ice between seasons; she later said that it helped her improve her artistry and performing skills.

Kimmie Meissner began college, taking three courses at the University of Delaware, and looked to defend her US title and medal again at Worlds.

Kimmie Meissner changed her free skating program and choreographer four weeks before her first competition of the season because the original routine failed to inspire and challenge her.

Kimmie Meissner returned to her previous choreographer, Lori Nichol, who created a routine to "Nessun Dorma," a piece usually reserved for pair skaters.

Kimmie Meissner's aunt was diagnosed with cancer, she struggled with physical changes, experienced a sprained ankle that bothered her all season, and transitioned to the new judging system.

At Skate America, Kimmie Meissner won her first Grand Prix gold medal, even though she came in second place in the free skate, by less than 1.5 points than Miki Ando, who came in second place overall.

Kimmie Meissner won the short program anyway, by almost three points over Ando, with 59.24 points.

Kimmie Meissner successfully completed a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, although the toe loop was downgraded, and earned level fours on her opening spiral sequence and flying sit spin.

Kimmie Meissner was disappointed with the low levels of her step sequences, and later told reporters that she would increase their difficulty.

Kimmie Meissner stepped out of a triple Salchow, popped her second triple Lutz into a single, skated slowly through her spins, and received downgrades on her opening triple flip-triple toe loop combination and her triple loop jump.

Kimmie Meissner was able to successfully complete two triple jumps and a double Axel-double toe loop-double loop combination.

Kimmie Meissner earned 103.99 points in her free skate, and 163.23 points overall.

Kimmie Meissner came in second place after the short program, earning 55.98 points, less than a point behind Asada, who earned 56.90 points.

Kimmie Meissner again did not include the triple Axel into her free skating program, a choice she made at Skate America, because she and Gregory felt that it was too risky, that other jump combinations were worth more points, and that she could win competitions without it.

Kimmie Meissner came in second place overall; Asada won the gold medal and teammate Ashley Wagner came in third place.

Kimmie Meissner underrotated a triple Salchow, singled a Lutz, and fell on her triple loop.

Kimmie Meissner compensated for her errors, presenting the rest of the program well by completing her choreography with precision and earning high scores and levels for her spins.

Kimmie Meissner came in third place in the free skate, earning 102.76 points and qualified for the Grand Prix final in Torino for the first time in her career.

Kimmie Meissner stated that her program components were not as challenging as the other five competitors, so she needed to "skate perfect programs" to excel in Torino.

Kimmie Meissner came in fifth place after the short program, with 59.08 points.

Kimmie Meissner later told reporters that she felt that she had delivered a strong program, despite her scores.

Kimmie Meissner ultimately came in sixth place, after coming in sixth place in the free skate, with 95.14 points.

Kimmie Meissner fell on both her triple Lutzes and on her opening triple flip, which was penalized because she took off on the wrong edge.

Hersh said that Kimmie Meissner's skating was inconsistent since winning Worlds in 2006, and that she needed to figure out the reasons for her unsuccessful performances before Nationals in order to qualify for the 2008 Worlds Championships.

At the 2008 US Nationals in St Paul, Kimmie Meissner came in fourth place after what Elvin Walker called a "disappointing" short program.

Kimmie Meissner started with "an elegant" spiral sequence, but then fell on an underrotated triple flip, which she called "a silly mistake".

Kimmie Meissner successfully completed her triple Lutz-double toe combination and double Axel, but was over 12 points behind the first-place finisher, Mirai Nagasu, earning 57.58 points.

Kimmie Meissner performed a revamped free skating program that was the most difficult free skating program of the competition, with two triple-triple combinations.

Kimmie Meissner fell three times, on her first two elements, a triple flip and a triple Lutz, and another triple Lutz, but successfully completed a double Axel-double toe combination and two triple jumps.

Kimmie Meissner finished in seventh place overall, with 149.22 points, her lowest scores at US Nationals, and in what Candus Thomson called "the worst performance by a reigning women's champion in the past 50 years".

Thomson reported that Kimmie Meissner seemed to have "melted down and looked completely bewildered and near tears".

Thomson wrote that Kimmie Meissner "hasn't been her old self" and "Instead of beating others, she's beating herself".

Kimmie Meissner told reporters that her problem was not physical, but that it was mental, and promised to fix what was wrong.

In February 2008, Kimmie Meissner left her long-time coach Pam Gregory and moved out of her family home in Delaware to work with coach Richard Callaghan in Florida.

Kimmie Meissner later said that she had grown apart from Gregory as early as 2007, and had misgivings about her career.

Kimmie Meissner hoped that the change in coaches and the opportunity to compete at Worlds would help salvage what seemed to be a declining career, saying, "I'm grateful to Pam Gregory for everything she has done, but I needed to make some changes in order to regain my focus and confidence".

Kimmie Meissner said that she changed her triple-triple combination into a triple-double combination to make sure that she had a clean program.

Kimmie Meissner came in 12th place in the free skate, which figure skating reporter Anna Kondakova called " a hit-and-miss experience" for Meissner.

Kimmie Meissner stepped out of her first jump, underrotated the last jump in her triple flip-triple toe loop combination, and fell on her Lutz and Salchow, which were underrotated.

Kimmie Meissner came in seventh place overall, with 149.74 points.

Kimmie Meissner withdrew from the 2009 US Nationals due to a hip flexor injury that occurred during an off-ice training session, while sprinting on a treadmill, and exacerbated while training jumps on the ice.

Callaghan said that training had gone well over the summer before her injury and that Kimmie Meissner was upset about the situation, but he was confident that she would be able to compete at the 2014 Olympics.

In early 2010, Kimmie Meissner changed coaches again, to Baltimore-based coach Chris Conte, who had previously worked with Sasha Cohen, Emily Hughes, Miki Ando, and Timothy Goebel.

In 2016, Kimmie Meissner told figure skating reporter Sarah Brannen that the end of her competitive career was difficult for her, and that without training for competitions, she felt depressed, lost, directionless, and betrayed by her own body.

In 2012, she competed in a pro-am competition, coming in sixth place, in 2014 and 2015, Kimmie Meissner toured full-time with Stars on Ice, and in 2016 she served as a researcher for NBC at the Sochi Olympics.

Kimmie Meissner called it "'one of the top' achievements of her career" and "the ultimate in an athlete's life".

In October 2018, Kimmie Meissner became engaged to long-time boyfriend Josh Heyne; they were married in the summer of 2019.

Kimmie Meissner was one of the best technical figure skaters, with good position in the air on her jumps, smooth landings, fast speed, and high energy, but her weakness was her artistry, which the Associated Press, in 2007, speculated was due to her young age.

Also like Lipinski and Hughes, Kimmie Meissner enjoyed performing in front of loud, enthusiastic crowds.

Kimmie Meissner's performances tended to be inconsistent, especially after late 2006.

In 2005, Kimmie Meissner told Candus Thomson of the Baltimore Sun that she knew the day of a competition if she would be able to land her triple Axel.

Reporter Rick Maese stated in 2006 that Kimmie Meissner tended to do better in the free skate than in the short program, "when her myriad of jumps can compensate for artistic deficiencies".

Kimmie Meissner designed bracelets, inspired by cyclist Lance Armstrong's Livestrong bracelets, to raise money for the charity.

Kimmie Meissner became the spokesperson for a public school reading challenge.

In 2007, Meissner headlined her first ice show, "Kimmie's Angels on Ice", a fundraiser in Baltimore for the Cool Kids Campaign and the Belanger-Federico Foundation.