TLC's ICE DIARIES Profiles the Long, Hard Road to Gold for Top Competitive Figure Skaters

TLC's ICE DIARIES Profiles the Long, Hard Road to Gold for Top Competitive Figure Skaters

- New Ten-Part Series Provides Exclusive Access as Four Young Women Compete for a Slot on Team USA in Pursuit of Their Olympic Dreams -

SILVER SPRING, Md., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- In the new series ICE DIARIES, premiering on Friday, January 6 at 10 PM (ET/PT), TLC chronicles the lives of four young women on the brink of success as they make the final push toward achieving the seemingly unattainable: going for gold at Torino. With the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on January 16, and with only three spots open on the U.S. Olympic team, these elite athletes will put years of training to the test as they strive for perfection and compete against each other. In ten hour-long episodes with exclusive access behind-the-scenes, TLC follows their trials and tribulations as they face off in the hopes of making the U.S. team.

TLC followed four young skaters -- Alissa Czisny, Sandy Rucker, Beatrisa (Bebe) Liang and Danielle Kahle -- with exclusive access over the past several months as they trained and competed in preparation for the U.S. Championships and a possible slot on Team USA. Sandy, Alissa, Bebe and Danielle immerse themselves in competition, but mastering salchows and camel-spins in twice- daily sessions on the ice is only part of their training to become world-class skaters. These young women also endure dance and Pilates classes and spend long hours at the gym to keep their bodies in peak physical condition.

But the physical demands are not the only sacrifice these skaters have made to make it to the top. Alissa, the unexpected rising star whose style and grace is compared to that of Nancy Kerrigan and Peggy Fleming, travels four hours each day to Detroit for training while Bebe, a superb athlete who works on jumps usually reserved for male competitors, wakes up early each morning to weight train and run on the treadmill alongside her mother. In addition to struggling with an injury, reigning champion Sandy recently moved away from her family in California to train with a world-renowned coach in Colorado Springs. How will Sandy cope with being on her own- and with facing her last chance for the Gold?

Off the ice, audiences will witness the girls' attempt to integrate average teenage activities into their busy worlds, and deal with real-life issues. Spunky skater Danielle is one of five children, and is coping with her parents' recent divorce and attempting to adjust to a new life in a single-parent household. Skating is an expensive sport, from coaches to lessons to costumes, and paying for it proves to be a struggle for Danielle and her family. Meet their family and friends, tutors and teachers that motivate our skaters and shape their worlds, and see how the girls' dedication to the sport distinguishes them from their peers.

From failures and pain to success and victory, TLC captures all of the jitters and exhilaration as Danielle, Bebe, Alissa and Sandy axel, lutz and toe-loop their way to victory!

ICE DIARIES is produced by TWI-IMG for TLC. Steve Mayer, Susan R. Horowitz and Mark R. Freeman are the executive producers for TWI-IMG, and Elizabeth J. Browde is the executive producer for TLC.

Discovery Communications, Inc. is the leading global real-world media and entertainment company. Discovery has grown from its core property, the Discovery Channel, first launched in the United States in 1985, to current global operations in more than 160 countries and territories with 1.3 billion cumulative subscribers. DCI's over 90 networks of distinctive programming represent 25 network entertainment brands including TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery Kids, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Military Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Discovery en Espanol, Discovery Kids En Espanol, Discovery HD Theater, FitTV, Discovery Travel & Living (Viajar y Vivir), Discovery Home & Health and Discovery Real Time. DCI's other properties consist of Discovery Education and Discovery Commerce, which operates 120 Discovery Channel Stores. DCI also distributes BBC America in the United States. DCI's ownership consists of four shareholders: Discovery Holding Company (NASDAQ:DISCA)(NASDAQ:DISCB), Cox Communications, Inc., Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, the Company's Founder and Chairman.

Artwork is available at http://www.press.discovery.com/.

Source: TLC

CONTACT: Don Halcombe, +1-240-662-2952, Don_Halcombe@discovery.com, or
Katie Crockett +1-240-662-2707, Katie_Crockett@discovery.com, both for TLC

Web site: http://www.discovery.com/

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