Figure skater staying cool
DAILE PEPPER , The West Australian
18th November 2003

WHILE her schoolmates swelter through Perth's summer, Emilia Ahsan will be spending the majority of her spare time on ice.

The 15-year-old champion figure skater dedicates hours to her sport, completing an average of 10 training sessions a week.

Ahsan began her career at an outdoor rink in Russia when she was five and a half.

When her family moved to Australia in 1994, she continued to be coached by her mother, Ekaterina, and became more serious about the sport as she got older.

The Murdoch College student has recently returned from competing in the Gdansk Cup in Poland, part of the Junior Grand Prix. She was 19th in a field of 33 competitors from all over the world.

Ahsan, whose next challenge will be the Australian championships next month, said: "I get personal satisfaction out of being able to achieve something like learning a new element which takes a while to learn.

"It takes many years to learn the required jumps and spins and footwork."

Ahsan knows her competition and is confident about her abilities.

"I know that if I do well I will definitely win gold," she said.

She was nervous before stepping on to the rink in front of a crowd but it was what she worked towards.

"There is pressure but I think that to a certain degree pressure is good," she said. "You have to get a little bit nervous but I would say I handle my nerves pretty well."