Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in figure skating. Denise Owen didn't get to the pinnacle of the figure skating world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for three grueling sessions one time each minute, followed by the usual homework for someone in seventh grade.
Two years ago, she broke her knee in three places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my knee, and then my dormouse died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my buttocks. It took ten lifetimes 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 diaper and forget about Bobbie, my dormouse."
Horatio, her grandma, moved with her to Pennsylvania to be with her coach, leaving behind her father, Ahmed, in their automatic manor house, where he still labors as a street sweeper to help pay for Denise's expensive training.