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Q+A SARAH HUGHES

The 19-year-old gold-medal-winning figure skater is covering the Athens Olympics as a reporter for New York City's WCBS-TV.

SI: Now that you're a reporter, you're finally getting a sense of what it's like to work hard at the Games, right?

Hughes: Hey, I worked hard at the last Olympics.

SI: What's the best question you've asked in your new gig?

Hughes: I was with Michael Phelps's mom, and I asked her, "What are my chances of getting a date with Michael?"

SI: What did she say?

Hughes: She said since Michael and I are friends, she didn't think dinner would be too difficult.

SI: Have you gotten a chance to interview Australian softball pitcher Tanya Harding?

Hughes: No, but one time I did interview American boxer Tonya Harding.

SI: At Yale how often did you party with the Bush daughters?

Hughes: I think this a trick question (laughs).

SI: Are you going back to Yale next fall?

Hughes: I'll be going back to Yale often but not to take classes. I'll be skating on the Smuckers Stars on Ice tour. I got a year of Yale under my belt, and I made great friends, but it turned out I miss skating. This is a one-year thing, and afterward I'll see what I want to do regarding [the 2006 Games in] Torino. But ask me why I wanted to do the tour.

SI: O.K., why did you want to do the tour?

Hughes: Well, I figured if I want to find a boyfriend, I can go to every city in the country, find the cute boys and give them seats on the ice to watch me do what I do best.

SI: You were one of Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2002. Are you still fascinating?

Hughes: I didn't even know if I was fascinating in 2002. Perhaps I'm two years more fascinating.

SI: So, what should Michael Phelps know about living life as an Olympic champion?

Hughes: That there are other very cute Olympic champions from America who were not in the Summer Games. --Richard Deitsch

For more from Sarah Hughes, go to si.com/siexclusive.

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AL TIELEMANS (HUGHES)

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DONNA MCWILLIAM/AP (HUGHES SKATING)