Skating for Glory

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"It's strange to be recognized," muses Samuelson, nineteen, an ice dancer who trains at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube with partner Evan Bates. They finished third in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane in January--earning them a place at the 2010 Olympics this month in Vancouver.

Samuelson, from Livonia, and Bates, raised in Ann Arbor and a Huron High grad, have been spinning toward this moment since they were kids of nine and ten (see "Olympic Dreams," January). The wholesome looking duo are "down-to-earth" kids, says Diane Wilson, manager of the Cube. Bates rooms with three other male ice dancers--including Charlie White, who, along with partner Meryl Davis, took first place in the U.S. competition. White and Bates are long-time friends.

"There aren't that many ice dancers," explains Bates, "especially who have similar instruments." Besides, he adds, "We're both big Detroit sport fans.

"The competitiveness is always there. [But] I think both of us would say figure skating is not the only thing we want to do with our lives. It's not a life-or-death situation."