Oakdale-native Michael Chau and his 11-year-old partner Tracy Tanovich ended up in second place in the Pairs Junior Nationals. (Photo: CBS)
A Minnesota family is still basking in the glow of victory after 17-year-old Michal Chau skated away with a silver medal. (Photo: CBS)MN Skater Comes Home To Win National Medal
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ― The U.S. Figure Skating Championships wrapped up at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Sunday.
However, a Minnesota family is still basking in the glow of victory after 17-year-old Michal Chau skated away with a silver medal. And it wasn't an easy feat for his family to get him to the medal podium.
"It was unbelievable. It was great. I couldn't ask for any more, especially the way we skated and the way we ended up," said Michael.
Oakdale-native Michael and his 11-year-old partner Tracy Tanovich ended up in second place in the Pairs Junior Nationals.
"It was a great experience for us. We weren't intending to have a placement, just a nice, solid skate. And we did get the silver medal, which is great and we're excited," said Tanovich.
So is Michael's family, who saw an exhilarating performance.
"I haven't seen him at the Nationals. This is the first time and in his hometown," said Thyna Chau, Michael's father. "I'm so proud of him. He's very independent. He loves skating, he has so much passion skating. And he works hard. He has a good work ethic, and he's wonderful."
Michael's family fled to Minnesota from Cambodia 27 years ago.
"I think this means a lot because they struggled when they were younger. And I think it's great to kind of see their son, who was their age when they were struggling, come up and do something for himself," said Michael.
However, that hasn't come without some life-altering changes.
"I moved away when I was 12. They had me down in Florida. And I think they did a really good job picking who I was going to be with, who was going to train me and who was really going to take care of me," said Michael.
And their sacrifice is paying off. Michael is staying in Minnesota this week to spend time with his family and friends, before he heads back to Florida to continue his training.
However, a Minnesota family is still basking in the glow of victory after 17-year-old Michal Chau skated away with a silver medal. And it wasn't an easy feat for his family to get him to the medal podium.
"It was unbelievable. It was great. I couldn't ask for any more, especially the way we skated and the way we ended up," said Michael.
Oakdale-native Michael and his 11-year-old partner Tracy Tanovich ended up in second place in the Pairs Junior Nationals.
"It was a great experience for us. We weren't intending to have a placement, just a nice, solid skate. And we did get the silver medal, which is great and we're excited," said Tanovich.
So is Michael's family, who saw an exhilarating performance.
"I haven't seen him at the Nationals. This is the first time and in his hometown," said Thyna Chau, Michael's father. "I'm so proud of him. He's very independent. He loves skating, he has so much passion skating. And he works hard. He has a good work ethic, and he's wonderful."
Michael's family fled to Minnesota from Cambodia 27 years ago.
"I think this means a lot because they struggled when they were younger. And I think it's great to kind of see their son, who was their age when they were struggling, come up and do something for himself," said Michael.
However, that hasn't come without some life-altering changes.
"I moved away when I was 12. They had me down in Florida. And I think they did a really good job picking who I was going to be with, who was going to train me and who was really going to take care of me," said Michael.
And their sacrifice is paying off. Michael is staying in Minnesota this week to spend time with his family and friends, before he heads back to Florida to continue his training.
7 comments:
http://www.skateygirl.com/nat2006/novpairs/tanovich_chau/index.htm
http://www.skateygirl.com/nat2006/novpairs/tanovich_chau/free/index.htm
watch video one :
http://wcco.com/sports/minnesota.skater.cambodia.2.639954.html
http://www.cs.kent.edu/~walker/photos/06-08-26_NACS_Pit/06-08-26e-Medals/pages/DSC_2215.html
Congrats to Khmer success. Michael Chau is representing Khmer well in the America, and soon to be at the world stage. Job well done!
Good luck!
It's wonderful to hear Khmer such as Michael Chau represents Khmer in the ice skating arena. I hope he will go to Olympic to represent American and to honor Khmer people in this great country. We support you, Michael. Go for the Olympic in the future. I watched the skating but I missed the pair. Can anybody upload Michael skating in Youtube that everyone can see.
Thanks,
great job, micheal. congratulations!
It's so nice to know that one of us can do this. Great job Micheal! Congratulation!
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