Elk Grove High Student Has Eyes On Competing In International Figure Roller Skating Competition
ELK GROVE (CBS13) — An Elk Grove High School student will head across the pond to take on other athletes in an unusual sport.
Meranda Detlefsen has been figure roller skating since she was in the second grade. Now, she's been invited to Europe to compete against athletes from around the world.
She's been waiting 15 years to be on this world stage, But there are still 1,500 obstacles standing in her way
"I'm so excited," she said.
It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to compete on the international stage in the sport of figure roller skating.
She's already skated circles around other athletes regionally and nationally, which qualified her to compete in Spain.
"I really like the challenge," she said.
Like a graceful ballerina on wheels, it's been her passion since she was 5 years old.
"I saw all these skaters with these pretty sparkly dress, and i wanted to be like them because they look like princesses out there," she said.
She got the competitive bug at the ripe old age of 7.
"I won my first contest and I got first and was pretty cool and I just kept skating from then on," she said.
Her biggest obstacle is trying to raise $3,500 to get to the world competition. She's $1,500 short, and has less than a week to find it. But staying positive, she already sees herself in Spain.
"It's going to be so cool to just go to a different place and like hear different languages and eating different food and stuff. It'll be pretty cool," she said.
Meranda and her family will be holding a fundraiser this weekend at King Skate in Elk Grove from 6 to 8 p.m. where she will perform to raise the last $1,500.
