Stephanie Zhang

Sport: International Figure Skating
Club: Sydney Figure Skating Club
Date of Birth: 22/5/1985
Height: 168cm
Age: 17

Stephanie Zhang is an outstanding and inspirational Australian figure skater, who has achieved so much and travelled extensively at such a young age. Stephanie’s achievements include the following:

Australian Junior Champion 1999-2001
Australian Senior Champion 2000
Runner-up Australian Senior Champion 2001
World Junior Grand Prix, Harbin, China, 2000 3rd Place
World Junior Grand Prix, Mexico City, Mexico, 2000 7th Place
World Junior Grand Prix, Sofia, Bulgaria, 2001 5th Place
Goodwill Games, Brisbane, Australia, 2001 8th Place
Junior Grand Prix, Ostrava, Czech Republic, 2002 5th Place
Olympic Winter Games, Salt Lake City, USA, 2002 24th Place
World Junior Championships, Harmar, Norway, 2002 2nd Place Short Program
7th Place Overall

Summa Strawberry was very nervous and excited when she was told she was on an assignment to interview Stephanie and this is what they talked about…..

Summa Strawberry:
Hi Stephanie it is lovely to meet you.
Stephanie:
Hi Summa, it’s nice to meet you too.

Summa Strawberry:
Stephanie, since watching you at the Olympic Games I’ve wanted to ask you some questions for our website, such as who has been the toughest opponent?
Stephanie:
Definitely myself!!

Summa Strawberry:
Wow, it sounds as though you are very hard on yourself. If that’s the case, what would you say has been your most difficult event?
Stephanie:
I would have to say the 2002 Olympic Games. It was my first big event and I got too nervous!!

Summa Strawberry:
I know what you mean, I can get really nervous as well, you should have seen me before this interview. Have you ever had a really bad injury?
Stephanie:
I had a sore back for a month!

Summa Strawberry:
A whole month – that must have really hard. What do you think has been your biggest achievement in sport?
Stephanie:
I’ve had a couple: At the Goodwill Games in Brisbane in 2001 I came 8th, at the 2002 World Junior Grand Prix I came 3rd and at the 2001 World Junior Championships I came 2nd!

Summa Strawberry:
That’s fantastic. Do you ever have any time when everything seems really difficult and if so, how do you overcome these bad times?
Stephanie:
I just keep telling myself, that what has already happened has happened and I can’t do anything about it, but I learn from it and next time I won’t make the same mistakes again and I move on.

Summa Strawberry:
That sounds like some really good advice. Now comes my favourite part, Stephanie, what are your favourite fruits?
Stephanie:
Watermelon and mango.

Summa Strawberry:
Yum, they are some of my favourites as well, along with strawberries of course. So what are your favourite vegetables?
Stephanie:
Cucumbers and potatoes

Summa Strawberry:
What is your favourite food in general?
Stephanie:
Well, aside from fresh fruit and vegetables, I could go on and on...chocolate, pizza, ice cream, nuts and bread

Summa Strawberry:
Wow, lucky you only eat them in moderation. If you hadn’t turned out to be such a legend athlete, what do you think you would have chosen to do as a career?
Stephanie:
I would like to do fashion design.

Summa Strawberry:
I agree, wouldn’t that be a great job. I can’t imagine you have much spare time with all the training you do, but what do you like to do in your spare time?
Stephanie:
I love to listen to music and I read quite a bit, I also like to watch TV, of course shop and to also speak to my friends on the phone.

Summa Strawberry:
Do you have any nicknames?
Stephanie:
No!

Summa Strawberry:
Gosh not even one? What do you think is the best thing about participating in sport?
Stephanie:
Once you break into the elite levels of sport, you can travel around the world to compete and see different cities and cultures and meet different people, plus you keep your body fit and in good shape.

Summa Strawberry:
That’s amazing, I would love to travel around the world, but the best part is definitely that you keep fit and healthy. Stephanie, thank you so much for sharing your experiences of being one of the best figure skaters in the world and on behalf of the ‘F&V Gang’ I would like to wish you the very best of luck in the future and we look forward to cheering you on at your next event.