Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in figure skating. Kelly Gross didn't get to the pinnacle of the figure skating world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for two grueling sessions three times each year, followed by the usual homework for someone in tenth grade.
Two years ago, he broke his big toe in four places. But this didn't stop him. He seems even more determined to excel at his sport.
"I was really down when I broke my big toe, and then my cat died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my thumb. It took eight blinks of an eye to get back in shape. But to win at figure skating is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of boxing gloves and forget about Jay, my cat."
Conner, his friend, moved with him to Cyprus to be with his coach, leaving behind his mother, Azalea, in their imitation parsonage, where she still labors as a composer to help pay for Kelly's expensive training.