will Kwan ever win an Olympic gold? hmm...i think not, she will probably retire like malon, always bitter for all those chances slipped by...kind feel bad for her still. Sacha Cohen FTW
She just had bad luck - She was the best around for years, but some other girl happened to have her greatest performance ever during both finals. Oh, I'd probably hit it too. Not sure what bearing this has on the discussion.
uh-oh... don't get me started... too late. It's "Kwan" that you're talking about. (there was an Elisabeth Kwon a while back, who retired with injuries before she even really did anything at the senior level0 Even if Kwan skates at the Olympics, the Gold thing is extremely unlikely to happen. She peaked in 2001, coasted a bit since then, and has competed very little in the past two years. She has tended to avoid anything scored under the new point system, pulling out of competitions while her competitors adjusted to the new rules and raised the bar on their technical content and packed more moves into their programs. (This includes skaters her own age.) In her only competition under the point system, 2005 Worlds, she finished fourth. She has missed the entire season with injuries. Her only "competition" was a made-for-TV event (known as a "Cheesefest" by serious skating fans) that was judged by call-in votes. She won because of her many fans, but was too injured to land any clean triple jumps. That's the most anyone has seen her skate all season. She pulled out of Nationals and was named to the Olympic team conditionally while she recovered from the latest setback; today she is supposed to be monitored by a five-person committee from the USFSA to determine whether she is fit to skate. Knowing the internal politics of the organization, and the fact that lots of companies have invested in marketing with Michelle's image, my guess is that she will be cleared to skate regardless of what she actually does in that closed-door session. (we shall see, though) If I were Emily Hughes, the Olympic alternate, I would leave an open space in my schedule for Torino. Many believe that Kwan will not truly be recovered in time and that she just hasn't been able to convince herself of that yet. Even a healthier Kwan has fallen behind her competitors recently. The overwhelming gold medal favorite is Irina Slutskaya; I personally don't like this and think she is overscored, but she has the technical jump content and the favor of the judges right now. Sasha Cohen is the best U.S. hope in the ladies' division, but my guess is that she will finish second as she always does. (She doesn't do triple-triple combinations or any other jumps to set herself apart from the crowd, and tends to fall apart in major competitions. Great spirals and other moves, but not very fast on the ice according to those who have seen her in person.) The Japanese skaters are also hoping for medals: in my opinion (or maybe just wishful thinking) Shizuka Arakawa is most likely to do this. Some longer shots are Miki Ando and Fumie Suguri. Finally, if there really is a "hometown judging" factor and she doesn't fall apart, the Italian Carolina Kostner might sneak in for a medal. (I also like Canada's Joannie Rochette; the judges seem to forget about her, though.) I do think a healthy Kwan could outskate all the other American ladies except Cohen, especially since Alissa Czisny bombed Nationals and won't be in Torino , but she usually just does the "same old thing" instead of bringing difficult moves or excitement to her programs. I feel bad for her knowing how much she wanted this, but she's already been held up for years because of who she is. That's not happening lately, except when the hometown fans get to call in and vote. Yes, I did write all of the above myself, just now. Oh well, have to go to a meeting at work... ask me any other skating questions and I'll be happy to answer...
I actually recognized and got her autograph in Las Veges, Paris specifically. Not quite sure where her autograph is at the moment though.
Apparently she's not even popular enough to have her name spelled right. And Michelle Kwan has been one of the most enjoyable and dominant skaters in the world for the past decade. The only thing she's been missing is that elusive Olympic Gold Medal. I actually think she was somewhat robbed in her first Olympics. Tara Lipinksi might have had the jumps, but she lacked the grace and artistry that Kwan pulls off so effortlessly. And in Salt Lake, it was hers if not for that little slip up in the long program (I still wanted her to get it though... I didn't really like Sarah Hughes). And despite her being on the downward side of her career and the injuries she's endured lately, I'll still take a healthy Kwan over any of the competition. That's why I'm glad she's on the Olympic team, to give it one more try. And even if she doesn't win, it'll be nice to see her in Olympic competition one last time.
whoa our very own skating expert... i used to watch this stuff with my mom when i was little but not anymore. i remember we went and saw kristi yamaguchi(sp?) at the galleria.
texxx, I enjoy all winter sports, especially those included in the games of the winter olympiad. Sure, I may be a "t-shirt" figure skating follower, only tuning in nevery 4 years when it suits my convenience. But when you're a Biathlon-a-holic like me, you only have so much time to devote. I agree with JYD, btw. Lipinski over kwan was questionable - it's not all about the jumps.
She was robbed, no way Lipinsky should've won in 96, that little girl aint got no height in her jumps even if she was able to spin 3 times.
Kwan's best years are behind her. Most of the other top girls have such a technical edge and have continued pushing themselves, while Kwan has pretty much stayed stagnant. She really has no shot unless a couple of competitors in front of her take a tumble. Which is funny because if Slutskaya (the last contender to skate in 2002) had taken a fall during the long program, Kwan would have won the gold despite Hughes' strong performance (since Kwan was 1 in the short while Hughes was 3). I remember watching Slutskaya's performance and rooting for her to fall flat on her ass so that Kwan would win the gold and the Americans could finish one/two. Too bad it didn't work out that way. Oh and I definitely feel that Lipinski deserved her win. Kwan just didn't bring her "A" game to that performance. Her whole skate was just "meh", and didn't skate nearly as well as she was capable, while Lipinski skated out of her mind. Now I know that Kwan's "B/B+" skate is still impressive, but on that night watching them skate, I firmly believe that Lipinski was just plain better.
Michelle Kwan is past her prime and her chances of winning this year is slim at best. 25 to a figure skater is like 40 to a basketball player. In fact I'd argue that she made the cut to the Olympics mainly because of who she is, rather than how good she is now.
Kwan finished 2nd in '96? for some reason i didn't remember her coming that close in either olympics. now i even feel worse for her. not that i ever watch figure skating outside of the winter olympics (and then for some reason i really like it), but i would definitely like to see Kwan get the gold. although i'm trying to remember, was Sasha Cohen hot? that might change my mind. also, no wonder i thought Ali G's real name sounded familiar the first time i heard it, b/c it's the same as a female figure skater.
Sasha Cohen has no breasts. (she has a classically beautiful baby doll face though. It's just kind of freaky to think she's 21.) So... some will think she's hot, some will think she's not. I didn't know we had so many skating fans on this board - cool! We should start a separate forum for skating... or at least an ongoing discussion thread.
