About this story

Reporter Rachel Blount and photographer Jerry Holt spent five months following Nick Mattson, spending time with him at home in Chanhassen, in Ann Arbor, Mich., and on the road in Russia. They interviewed his friends, his parents, his coaches, his host family and others.

Quotes that are in italics are recollected by sources. Quotes that are within quotation marks were spoken in the presence of a reporter.