Shaking off a pesky leg injury, artistic roller skater Kylee Berger earned her first national medal at the USA Roller Sports 2002 Championships earlier this month in Lincoln, Neb.
Berger, who will enter the seventh grade at Kellogg Middle School this fall, found out just days before leaving for nationals that she had sustained a stress fracture to her pelvic bone.
“She was complaining about pain but we thought it was just sore muscles,” said Kylee’s mother Keri.
An x-ray revealed the severity of Berger’s injury and doctors told her to stay off skates for four to six weeks. She withdrew from her singles events but still managed to complete her pairs routines with partner Trace Hansen.
The duo claimed a gold medal in the junior pairs division and was just three points shy of receiving a berth to the 2002 World Championships in Germany.
“We skated really good,” Berger said. “I thought we were right in there with everybody else.”
Due to Berger’s fracture, she and Hansen made a slight adjustment to their long routine.
“It was only in one spot, so it wasn’t a huge change,” Berger said.
Long programs last roughly four minutes, or twice as long as the short programs, and can include an unlimited number of lifts, spins and jumps. Short programs are limited to two lifts, two spins and one jump.
“I like the long program better,” Berger said. “It’s an ongoing program. You never really slow down.”
“Kylee likes to go fast,” added Keri.
Berger, 12, was by far the youngest pairs skater among the six teams that qualified for nationals. She and Hansen, 30, teamed up for the first time less than five months ago at the Everett Skate Deck, where Berger trains five days a week.
Next month Berger will resume her full practice schedule to prepare for a national invitational in January in Las Vegas.
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