figure skating's next generation

Here's a brief profile on America's new generation of figure skaters, the young ladies who have the potential to be the next Michelle Kwans of the sport: Figure Skating's Next Ones Are Closing in on Their Moment.

The new young challengers include 14-year-old Mirai Nagasu of Arcadia, CA, who made an impressive senior-level debut yesterday at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and gave defending champion Kimmie Meissner a run for her money: 'Wow' effort from Nagasu.

There's also 14-year-old Caroline Zhang of Brea, CA, who has drawn the inevitable comparisons to Kwan, but did not do quite as well yesterday, landing at seventh. The road to the 2010 Winter Olympics has begun...