Olympic Skater Admitted To Harvard

When American figure skater Sarah Hughes defeated highly favored Michelle Kwan in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, winning a gold medal at the age of 16, she had her mind on another great challenge: beating Ivy League acceptance odds and getting into Harvard.

Hughes accomplished that goal Friday, when she found out she was one of 1,150 students accepted under Harvard’s Early Action program—but she is keeping figure skating fans in the dark for now about whether she will matriculate.

The main factor in Hughes’ decision will be the intensity of her training schedule during the upcoming year and whether or not she will participate in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, her father John Hughes said yesterday.

Hughes, who lives in Great Neck, N.Y., is seriously considering both Columbia and Yale so that she could remain closer to her training site in New Jersey and coach Robin Wagner.

“Columbia would be the more logical alternative,” said John Hughes. “It would make things easier in terms of training and would be a lot less of a change for Sarah.”

But ice skating enthusiasts at Harvard hope Hughes will ultimately follow the footsteps of her sister, Rebecca L. Hughes ’99, and join the approximately four-fifths of Harvard admits who decide to come to Cambridge.

“Having the current Olympic gold medalist here would definitely increase campus interest in the sport,” said Liane L. Young ’04, co-chair of next year’s Evening with Champions, a figure skating benefit event hosted by Eliot House each fall.

Young said she plans to invite Hughes to participate in next year’s show regardless of her college choice.

Members of the Harvard Figure Skating Club suggested that if Hughes comes to Harvard, the College might be convinced to increase its support of figure skating.

“It would be great for the club to have her here. Hopefully we could get increased ice time in the [Bright] Hockey Center,” said Alexandra K. Levin ’04, president of the club.

John Hughes said his daughter considered delaying college in order to pursue her athletic endeavors but has decided to continue competing both nationally and internationally while in school.

“She’s been very rewarded so far for both her skating and academics, and she has been able to parallel them both very well,” John Hughes said. “As long as she wants to try to run these two challenges together, I will support her.”

Students at Harvard said they hope Hughes’ decision will not mirror that of Kwan, who considered applying to Harvard but chose to attend UCLA in order to remain near to her training site.

But Kwan has so far been stifled in her bid for an Olympic gold.

“The decision for someone like Sarah Hughes, who has already won an Olympic gold medal, should be altogether different,” Young said.

Sarah’s older brother Matt Hughes said he isn’t completely surprised by his sister’s success in the rink and in the college admissions process.

“When she won the gold medal I was standing right outside of the rink, completely shocked, going ecstatic, bonkers,” he said. “But I knew deep inside of me that she could do it, that it had to happen at that moment.”

A current Ithaca College student, Matt Hughes applied to Harvard but was not accepted.

“I guess we know who wears the pants in our family,” he joked. “But I’m so proud of her—she deserves it.”

—Staff writer Ebonie D. Hazle can be reached at hazle@fas.harvard.edu.