Champion Michigan Gymnast Rises Far Above a Disadvantage

Chris Cameron is the defending N.C.A.A. all-around men's gymnastics champion, a member of the University of Michigan's defending N.C.A.A. championship team, and a rising star for the national squad.

His skill is even more remarkable given that he was born with hemihypertrophy, a congenital abnormality that causes one side of the body to grow faster than the other. At 12, Cameron had a growth plate removed from his fast-growing left leg to allow his right leg to catch up. The operation evened the length of his legs, but Cameron's muscles developed differently, wrapping themselves around bones that are nearly identical in length but unique in structure, size and bone density.

"The calf is probably where you see the biggest difference," said Cameron, 22, nonchalantly rolling up his pants to show the contrast between his limbs. Both legs bear the bruises and scabs that all gymnasts have, but the right one is noticeably slimmer than the left. Cameron estimates that there is about a 10-pound difference between them.

"I have to tighten my right shoe a lot more than the left, or wear two pairs of socks if I'm wearing dress shoes. Other than that, it's absolutely no hindrance at all," Cameron said.

In fact, Cameron's seeming imperfection gives him an edge in his signature events. On rings, he has less dead weight dangling below him as he twists and turns through his Maltese crosses and handstands. On pommel horse and floor, it's easier to keep his momentum going, and he can perform leg flares, a high-value move that adds difficulty points to his start values.

"If I get a little tired, where a lot of people would kind of drop down in their circle and get smaller and then they hit the pommel horse, I can keep going," he said. "Once I get my left leg up, the right leg kind of pops my whole body up, so it gives the flares a good look."

"Chris does some very aggressive and yet still stylish gymnastics," said Kevin Mazeika, the United States men's national team coordinator, who named Cameron to his squad in 2009. "It's fun to watch him."

Having different legs on one body, however, has disadvantages. Cameron has an uneven stride, which hurts him in vault, in which the gymnast needs a running start to launch himself onto the apparatus. He cannot point the toe on his right foot as well as he would like. And he endured teasing in middle school.

"He went through a period where he didn't want to wear shorts because he didn't want anyone to see," Cameron's mother, Suzanne Heckman, said. "But on a more personal level, he was better able to be at peace with who he was. Because of his success in gymnastics, he knew that being different wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It gave him a mental perseverance."

Today, Cameron can laugh at his asymmetry. His teammates call him Little Leg, and last Halloween, he dressed up as a peg-leg pirate, borrowing a cane from the team trainer and painting his skinny leg to make it look like wood. A daredevil, he surfs whenever he is home in Winter Haven, Fla., and he helped his teammate Thomas Kelley build a skateboarding halfpipe in the backyard of their shared house in Ann Arbor. While most gymnasts struggle to find the sweet spot between easy routines they can execute perfectly and more challenging moves that have a higher point value, Cameron always pushes for greater complexity.

"That's really the name of the game," Cameron said, "deciding how much risk to take, deciding whether or not the juice is worth the squeeze, so to speak. You can't fall behind the curve, difficulty-wise."

Cameron's high expectations have had an effect on his entire Michigan team. After losing eight all-Americans from the 2010 championship team, the Wolverines are rebuilding. Beset by injuries, they stumbled in their season opener against Penn State but rebounded against No. 2 Illinois and No. 12 California-Irvine. Michigan, currently ranked No. 6, came up short, 351.25-346.20, at home against No. 5 Stanford on Saturday in a rematch of last year's national championship, in which the Wolverines edged the Cardinal by 0.7 on the meet's final rotation. Cameron will play a major role in Michigan's drive for a another title.

"He's very good with the athletes when it's time to take the next step," Coach Kurt Golder said. "Sometimes, you're a little afraid as a gymnast to actually do the skill out of the pit, or just to do it, period. When he believes somebody can do something, he just tells them, ‘You can do this, and you're doing to do it.' "

Cameron also has a knack for figuring out easy fixes to other gymnasts' problems. He recently talked his teammate Ian Makowske into adding a Gaylord II, a twisting release move named for the Olympic gymnast Mitch Gaylord, to his high bar routine. Makowske, a walk-on for the Wolverines, nailed the routine Feb. 6 at the Winter Cup. His score, 15.350, was Makowske's best ever, and good for third place against the best talent in the nation.

"It adds a good five-tenths to my routine, which is huge, and it's kind of similar to a skill I do very, very well," said Makowske, who is also Cameron's roommate. "He's done so much with his own gymnastics that he knows how to help other people."

In addition to another N.C.A.A. title, Cameron wants one of the six spots on the 2012 Olympic team. At the world championships in the Netherlands in October, Cameron and Team USA were uneven. The team finished fourth, and Cameron fell on pommel horse, scoring 14.333, more than a point off his personal best. Pommel horse has traditionally been the Americans' worst event in international competition, and turning a perceived weakness into a strength is something Cameron knows how to do.

"It's a matter of adaptation," he said. "The rules of the sport are constantly changing, the skills are being updated and the level of gymnastics is advancing constantly. Everybody has to adapt to the changes of the sport. I just had to do it a little differently."

Men wearing Uggs - the history, the why and the why not?

Forever the preserve of ladyfolk, Ugg are now looking to corner the men's market with a more masculine take on the sheep skin shoes. Do you dare?

By Sinead Ryan

Ugg boots burst into our lives over 5 years ago and they aren't going anywhere soon. Made from sheep skin and lined with wool, they are designed to keep your feet warm in winter and cool in summer and were first marketed towards women with nothing better to spend their money on.

Available in a variety of styles, different colours and different finishes, there was a perfect pair for everyone. The worst pair I ever set my eyes on was in the U.S - silver and metallic, they resembled something that Neil Armstrong probably wore on his trip to the moon. I hoped that they wouldn't make it across the Atlantic but unfortunately for Irish eyes everywhere, they did. They have invaded our shores and wardrobes of Irish womenfolk alike.

The Ugg phenomenon is down to an Australian man by the name of Shane Stedman. A lifelong surfer living by the beach in Sydney, Stedman made the boots to keep his feet warm at the beach after leaving the water. The idea was brought to America by a young surfer by the name of Brian Smith and soon the boots were beginning to gain popularity.

Stedman sold the rights to an American company which turned the product into a $799 per-year enterprise. You're probably thinking that Stedman earned a fortune when he sold the rights. In actual fact, he sold the rights to the multi-million dollar enterprise for ￡10,000 and three pairs of Ugg boots every year for the rest of his life. Sounds like an easy man to keep happy.

Now however, Ugg have started to get their dirty hooves into Irish men. They are falling into the lovely, cosy and comfortable world of the Ugg or the Mugg (Male Uggs). It's not just ordinary guys who are being sucked in by the phenomenon, Hollywood stars such as Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio (above) have all been spotted wearing Ugg boots.

At first, you may think that Uggs on a man would be completely different to a woman. I mean, you couldn't go around wearing the same boots as your lady friend, could you? Yet, surprisingly, there are some styles that aren't that similar to the female boots available.

Wearable male uggs? They exist

Ugg has brought out styles of boots for men that are actually wearable fo men. The makers of Uggs realise that you don't want to look like you're heading out to get some milk in your girlfriend's boots. As such, they have expanded their range by keeping the important elements of the original Ugg boot and mixing them with hard-wearing, manly looking boots.

Schuh currently stock a small range of men's Uggs which include the original classic styles, slippers and leather boots.

So if you do decide to venture over to the dark side, I won't judge you for wearing Uggs, but beware of those non-believers.

Ugg lovers everywhere will have to accept that they will be in a minority group and they should be prepared for a backlash. They'll rip the absolute piss out of you for wearing them. So make sure you pick the pair that doesn't make you look like a girl. No pressure there then.

Frugal Family: A Sharp Deal on Suits at Victor's

In hard fiscal times, it's important to find the right deals to keep your finances in the black. See a couple of good deals for the family this week.

1) Head over to Joaillier in Ridgewood and get a free jewelry cleaning and inspection off one piece starting on Feb. 25. Customers will also get 25 percent off all jewelry cleaners, polishing cloths and jewelry organizers.

2) Victor's Fine Men's Clothing is having a sale on suits. Stop by the East Ridgewood Ave shop, grab one suit and get the second free. The sale ends Feb. 28

3) Ecco/The Village Tannery will be doing a buy one pair of men's, women's or children's shoes and get the second half off. The sale will run for at least another week, a store worker said.

4) Select women's shirts at Ann Taylor on East Ridgewood Avenue are on sale by as much as 50 percent.

5) Head over to Old Navy in Paramus and get $10 off any $50 or more purchase.