Todd Eldredge Figure Skater Age: 25 Birthplace: Chatham, Massachusetts Residence: Chatham, Massachusetts, and Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Height & Weight: 5-feet-8, 145 pounds Events: Men's singles TNT Todd Eldredge retrospective (1.2MB)

A fter Bill Johnson won the men's downhill at the 1984 Winter Olympics, he was the subject of a made-for-TV movie called "From Guts to Glory." Bear in mind, Bill Johnson was a juvenile delinquent -- literally. As a teenager, Johnson was nailed for car theft and narrowly avoided doing time at a camp for juvenile offenders. Can you imagine what Hollywood could do with Todd Eldredge should he finally come through and nab his own piece of the golden pie?

Eldredge, 26, is from Chatham, Massachusetts, a small town on Cape Cod whose year-round population is about 7,000. His father is a commercial fisherman, his mother a nurse -- neither a profession that throws off the kind of cash needed to support a national-class skater. Therefore, the good people of Chatham took it upon themselves to establish the Chatham Youth Hockey/Todd Eldredge Fund to support both the skater and young hockey players. The fund raised $30,000 a year from pledges, clambakes (clambakes!) and a Christmas ball. "Thank God for these people," says Eldredge's father, John. "Without [them], there is no way Todd would be skating today." Then again, even with them, a few years ago it looked like he might not be skating today.

In 1991, Eldredge won his second straight U.S. title and finished third at the worlds. But in '92, a nagging back injury forced him out of the nationals, the qualifier for the world team. Given a medical waiver onto the team for Albertville, Eldredge skated poorly and wound up 10th. "It brought my attitude down," he says of his performance. "My mind wasn't into it. I wasn't thinking too highly of skating or myself." It showed: He went into such a tailspin that in early '93, his coach, Richard Callaghan, advised him to take a break.

Eldredge occupied himself playing golf and tennis but returned to the ice after a month, fully expecting to redeem himself at the '94 Olympics at Lillehammer. Oh, well. Nailed by the flu at the U.S. Nationals, he finished fourth -- and failed to qualify for the Olympics. But in '95, Eldredge finally fulfilled the promise he had demonstrated five years before: He won his third national title and finished second at the worlds. In '96, he was upset at nationals by Rudy Galindo, but he went on to win worlds.

Eldredge enters Nagano as the only American man ever to win five national titles (he won his fifth this year), and though he has won worlds once and finished second twice, he still finds himself something of a dark horse. Unlike his two primary competitors, Russia's Ilya Kulik and Canada's Elvis Stojko, Eldredge hasn't added a consistent quadruple jump to his repertoire. Still, many people, Eldredge included, think the quad is overrated. "It could give you that extra little tenth on the technical mark," he says. "But you don't just get one mark. You also get an artistic mark."

Quad or no quad, if Eldredge comes through in Nagano, he will have engineered to the perfect ending to the perfect biopic. Oh, hey, all you producers out there: Over the years, Eldredge has repaid Chatham's generosity by funding the construction of baseball fields and other recreational facilities. Cut. Print. Maybe it's a wrap.

Each day during the Olympics, CNN/SI will bring you TNT's Athlete of the Day, a detailed look at the personalities that spice up the Games. Check back every day for a new athlete, and be sure to catch TNT's daily in-depth coverage of the Winter Olympics.

Athletes of the Day

• February 20 - KC Boutiette • February 19 - Alberto Tomba • February 18 - Michelle Kwan • February 17 - Eric Bergoust • February 16 - Todd Lodwick • February 15 - Kirstin Holum • February 14 - Thorpe/Sheer • February 13 - Masahiko Harada • February 12 - Todd Eldredge • February 11 - Elvis Stojko • February 10 - Donna Weinbrecht • February 9 - The Forsbergs • February 8 - Picabo Street • February 7 - Cammi Granato • February 6 - Tommy Moe

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