Sarah Hughes astonished the world on February 21, 2002 when she skated a joyous, near perfect program to capture the 2002 Olympic Gold Medal in Womens Figure Skating and our hearts. Her seemingly effortless and exuberant performance was the culmination of years of training and thousands of hours of practice, practice, practice. That night she became the first person to rebound from fourth place to win the gold medal since the short program-free skate scoring system was instituted in 1992. Ms. Hughes skated the most technically demanding long program ever seen in a womens Olympic figure skating competition including two triple-triple combinations (triple Salchow / triple loop and triple toe / triple loop). With her win, she became, at 16, the fourth youngest Olympic womens figure skating champion ever and only the seventh American woman to capture figure skatings most coveted prize. The grace and aplomb that Ms. Hughes has exhibited since that unforgettable winning moment have made this Long Island athlete a role model for young people everywhere. At her April 13th meeting at the White House with President Bush, she knowledgeably discussed the plight of Afghan women and children. In an interview broadcast worldwide on Voice of America, she stressed her view that we should make more immunizations, textbooks and school supplies available to rebuild society for these victims of Taliban oppression. She has been hired as the spokesperson for General Electric Corporation, the first person to be entrusted with this position since former President Ronald Reagan in the 1950s. NBC has asked her to produce two, prime-time specials portraying her experiences both as a skater and a teenager. The Campbells Soup Company introduced Sarah this year as its spokesperson for the Campbell Labels for Education program. In addition to the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence, Sarah has received numerous prestigious awards. She was nominated for five ESPY awards and won an ESPY for Best Olympian. She has also been chosen as the March of Dimes Sportswoman of the Year. Clearly, Sarah Hughes is a young woman of extraordinary depth and compassion. Sarah Hughes began skating at the age of three, because her older brothers and sister skated, and became a regular at Parkwood Ice Skating Rink in Great Neck at the age of four. Within a few years, she announced on television that My dream is to be in the Olympics and get a gold medal. Soon her talent and love of the sport propelled her into competition. Ms. Hughes became the United States Junior Champion at the age of 12. Since then, she has continued to compete in various national and international venues with continuing success. Prior to her Olympic win, she placed third in the United States Championships in January 2002 and first at Skate Canada in November 2001 beating her Olympic rivals for the first time. She also captured bronze medals at the 2001 World Championships and at the 2001 Grand Prix Final. Additionally she has toured on weekends with Champions on Ice, a non-competitive ice show. Sarah Hughes is the fourth of six children. She graduated with honors from Great Neck North High School in the spring of 2003. In the fall of 2003, she began her freshman year at Yale University. At Yale, Sarah has continued her skating career and has been given practice ice time at the Yale Hockey Arena. She looks forward to continuing to combine high level sports achievement with outstanding educational success. 2005 marks Sarahs return to skating and her debut with Smuckers Stars on Ice. Sarah Hughes Olympic Gold Medalist Competitive Highlights 2003 National Championship 2nd 2002 Winter Olympics 1st 2002 National Championship 3rd 2001 World Championship 3rd 2001 Grand Prix Final 3rd P 2001 Skate Canada 1st 2000 World Championship 5th 2000 National Championship 4th 1999 World Championship 7th