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1999 Worlds

I first saw Stefan (in person) at the 1999 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. The only other time I'd seen him was on TV at the European Championships, and I had simply liked his program. But when I saw him up close at a practice session, I fell in love with his rosy red cheeks, and I was hooked as a fan. Since he skated so well in the short program, I decided to buy a rose to throw to him after his free skate.

So for his free skate, I left my assigned seat and went down to the second row near the Kiss n' Cry to watch him. Once his music stopped, I stepped down to the first row, right behind the railing. I decided not to throw the flower; I wanted to see if he would take them directly from me. There was a three-foot walkway between the railing and the boards, so I had to stretch. I saw him look at me as he left the ice, but he skated right past me and stood in the exit to hug his coach (the exit was about 5-8 feet away from me). Disappointed, I was just about to throw the flower when he let go of his coach, walked over to me and took the flower, and kissed me on the cheek. I was thrilled, to say the least - my first kiss from a skater!!! LOL And, they showed the whole scene on the Jumbotron for the entire arena to see. :) I only wish someone had gotten a picture!

I talked to him briefly the next night - he was very friendly and let me take his picture. :)


Stefan and Kelly at Hartwall Arena, '99 Worlds

2000 Worlds

This story isn't an actual encounter with him, but it still has to do with him. Because he skated in the Junior Grand Prix in the fall, which wasn't shown on TV, this was the first time I had seen Stefan all year. So of course I was excited to see him, and I took more pictures of him than almost any other skater, LOL! I decided to throw him a flower after the free skate again. Now, the Palais des Exhibitions was not set up for an event like this, and it certainly wasn't set up to permit easy tossing of items to the skaters - there were several rows of VIP seating between the main sections and the ice. A lot of the VIPs were getting hit with things, and more often than not, the ushers had to pick things up and throw them on the ice themselves. So, with one lightweight flower, I didn't have high hopes for it making it to the ice unaided. I gave it a try, but, sure enough, it only went a few feet and whacked some lady on the head!! Everyone around me started laughing and yelling "nice shot!" The lady did pick it up and throw it on the ice. It was pretty funny. :)


Kelly and Stefan at the Novotel in Nice.
Kelly's hair seems to have grown since last year. :)

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