Young figure skaters inspired by Olympic dreams at 4th annual Fort Myers Winter Festival competition

FORT MYERS, Fla. —

Young figure skaters took to the ice at the Fort Myers Skatium for the third day of the 4th annual Winter Festival Figure Skating Competition, inspired by Olympic athletes and figure skating movies.

Lilly Downing, a figure skater, said, "I saw, like, this one figure skating movie. I kind of forgot the name of it, but I was like, that looks cool. I want to try that.

Downing was inspired by a movie to take up figure skating and now competes, performing spins and jumps she once saw on screen.

Diana Deyeva, another figure skater, draws inspiration from Olympic athletes.

"Kamila Valieva. She's my favorite figure skater," Deyeva said.

She has big dreams of reaching the Olympics herself, saying, "I want to kind of get towards the Olympics somewhere, towards there."

Deyeva believes that reaching the Olympics would be a life-changing experience, adding, "It just changes their life. They're up there. They made it. And I think it's just a whole great experience."

Lacey Beggs, another competitor, is motivated by this year's Winter Olympics and has her eyes on her favorite figure skater. "Alysa Liu," Beggs said. "My favorite program was her Lady Gaga."

These athletes may not be competing for gold medals, but they are building the same foundation of discipline, resilience, and big dreams.

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