Starting lessons at age 4, Emily has been skating ever since—but on her own terms. The eighth-grade honors student has different coaches than her Harvard-accepted big sis, trains at another rink and sets her own schedule. "I don't think Emily feels she has to be able to do the same things at the same age that Sarah did," says dad John Hughes, 53, of the fifth of his six kids. "She's got her own timetable."
At the recent U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Dallas, Emily competed as a junior while Sarah, 17, went toe-to-toe with the sport's elite in the seniors. (Emily, who fell on her opening combination, finished 11th; Sarah placed second to Michelle Kwan.) "I was a little excited and eager—maybe too excited," Emily says, laughing. "But I thought I skated very well."
After the competition the sisters, who frequently shop and bake together, hit the Competitors' Party. Emily, who loves to dance—she learned all the moves that her favorite actress, Cameron Diaz, does during a number in Charlie's Angels—boogied so long in a borrowed pair of Sarah's high heels that "I couldn't walk after a while." But even if her sister's shoes may not be a perfect fit, Emily allows she wouldn't mind following in her footsteps. "I think everyone dreams of Olympic gold," says Emily. "But I want to take things one day at a time."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
