Always looking for the D.C. slant to a story, DCist found a loose District tie, albeit a strong mid-Atlantic one, to all the Olympic action on the ice in Turin, Italy.

Sixteen-year-old figure skater Kimmie Meissner hails from Bel Air, Maryland, about 21 miles outside of Baltimore. It isn’t inside the Beltway, but it’s far closer than, say, California. Meissner, who trains at the University of Delaware in Newark, will be skating her long program in the women’s free skate event this evening. After the women’s short program on Tuesday night, she ranked in the top six competitors, meaning she’ll be one of the last to skate tonight. Let the medal-grabbing begin.

For those who are looking for some insightful and amusing commentary on ice skating, Slate’s Meghan O’Rourke brings us an informative article titled “Sexy Gypsies on Ice” that, along with a Maryland native’s stellar performance in Italy, should give us all some motivation to go tackle the outdoor ice skating rink at the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden. Well, minus the gypsy-like costumes, of course.

We’ll be rooting for fellow Americans Sasha Cohen (originally from Corona Del Mar, California) and Emily Hughes (from Great Neck, New York), too, but we’re all about the mid-Atlantic spirit. And for all of you who are planning to hike up NBC’s ratings by watching ice skating tonight, TiVo it and make sure to come out to Unbuckled. After all, it’s time-delayed. The skating, that is.