The last four and a half months haven't been much fun for one of the area's youngest accomplished figure skaters, Belle Vernon's Alissa Oblak.

Oblak, who turned 13 earlier this month, started on the comeback trail last week after a freak accident in March.

Oblak was injured after winning four gold medals and one silver medal in a USFGA (United States Figure Skating Association) meet in Annapolis, Md.

Let Oblak tell you the story.

"My friend ran off the ice to give me a hug and she stepped on my foot," she recalled. "I had canvas tennis shoes on at the time. I ended up having to get stitches. I think I went into shock. I saw that my toe was just hanging there and started freaking out.

"I ended up going to a surgeon and two days later had surgery for a tendon cut."

Oblak, who's been skating for six years, trains at the Center Ice & Blades of Western Pennsylvania in Delmont.

Instead of skating two hours four days a week, Oblak's time has been trimmed drastically because of the injury.

"I can just skate 15 to 20 minutes and can't do any jumps," she said. "It's pretty discouraging."

Barb Gahagen, one of Oblak's four coaches, sees a bright future for the youngster.

"Alissa has had plenty of success and she really enjoys skating," said Gahagen. "She's been reaching her goals one or two at a time.

"She's a real team player and easy to coach. She has so many opportunities ahead of her. Besides the Olympics, there's professional shows and Disney. The injury will cost her some time but she's the type who will make it up."

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