Should Michelle Kwan Automatically Go to the Olympics?

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Icebrat, let me ask you (and any other skaters) a question: Is competing/medaling at the Olympics THAT MUCH more special than competing/medaling at the Worlds? I always think that it would be so much fun to be in the opening and ceremonies of the Olympics, but quite a few of the atheletes skip those.

We look at our Olympic Champions as being the best of the best ever...but they were really just the best THAT YEAR...if you peak the year before or year after, too bad...

Do the skaters themselves think that an Olympic gold medal is that much more special than a World gold medal?

In the Sports arena genarally--the Olympics are THE sporting event.

The reason that many miss the opening ceremony is due to early scheduled competitions towards the front end of the Olympics. Basically--if it interferes with what they have to do--they don't go (at least for the Americans).


In the Marathon world --- you can run 100 marathons...but the golden ticket is earning the right to run Boston. Doesn't matter how many you finish---as long as you get to finish that ONE event. Even better if you can WIN it in the elites.

For many sports--the GOLD medal is THE coveted prize.

 

[BrinxFam]

Nope, don't think she should get another chance if she didn't qualify. That's just part of it.

 

[mom2kazkids]

OK, now I am getting really PO'D, the D@@M game just went into double overtime. I WANT MY SKATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Barb

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

And after reading the thread--if only the 1st place finisher is guaranteed a spot and a committee evaluates who they feel is best to go (which have in the past been #2 and #3, but not always) AND if MK is following proper procedures...then if the decision of the professionals is to send her, then good for her. If not, then good for whomever they name. No problems either way.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

the skating is never coming on triple ot of the game is still on

 

[lbgraves]

I trained 5 days a week. I was homeschooled to pursue my dream. I skated hours and hours a day, and then you have ballet and weight classes. My only friends were the friends I made on the ice. In real life, I'm horrible at making friends, if you don't count my SO and coworkers I have 1 friend and I have lived here for 5 years, although I attribute that to me being home schooled.

I think it was good for me to focus on something and work so hard at everything. Sure I made sacrifices, as do your parents, it's an expensive sport $1500 plus a year for new skates, plus ice time, coaches fees, costumes, travel fees, competition fees, well over $25,000 a year. As a skater I think we are aware of the cost per year and the sacrifices our families make to help us obtain our dream. It's a sacrifice for a lot of people. I feel happy that I had to opportunity to skate for over 10 years and that my parents paid that much money. It makes me appreciate them for that, even though they turned their back at me for being gay when I turned 18.

Finally the money is mentioned. Couldn't it be that the past two Olympic champions quit the sport because their family wouldn't be able to support their career for another four years. Some of the stories that have been told about the skaters & gymnasts especially are incredible. Perhaps it was agreed beforehand that if they got the gold, that would be it? I could understand that. Is Kwan's family well off & that is why she has been able to continue in the sport when so many other fine American skaters have not been able to. I remember seeing Michele at her first big competition back when her sister also skated. She lit up the crowd doing one spread eagle jump after another around the rink. That was amazing for a little girl then. Now they all seem to be that young & doing so much more.

 

[va32h]

I Can't believ no one has mentioed the Belbin and Agosto situation,which has caused a lot of controversy in the USFSA

Which part do you think is controversial? That Tanith became a citizen or Mitchell & Galler-Rabinowitz's alleged efforts to block her citizenship?

I love B&A, and am absolutely thrilled that they will be able to compete in the Olympics. It was Tanith & Ben's World Silver medal that gave the US three Olympic spots this year. And her citizenship process was well under way years ago, she just got snarled up in a post 9-11 change-and-change-again-the-rules-for-getting-citizenship snafu.

As for M &G-R, they are in 7th place after the Original Dance. So even if Tanith had not become a citizen in time, they wouldn't be on the podium, or contenders for the Olympic team.

 

[lbgraves]

How many OTs can they have in BB? Just another reason for me not to watch that sport.

 

[va32h]

Finally the money is mentioned. Couldn't it be that the past two Olympic champions quit the sport because their family wouldn't be able to support their career for another four years. Some of the stories that have been told about the skaters & gymnasts especially are incredible. Perhaps it was agreed beforehand that if they got the gold, that would be it? I could understand that. Is Kwan's family well off & that is why she has been able to continue in the sport when so many other fine American skaters have not been able to.

Tara Lipinski's family was quite well off. I don't remember what her father did for a living, but he worked in Houston and they did not have financial problems.

Kwan is a multi-millionaire in her own right these days. The rules concerning eligible skaters receiving compensation have been considerably relaxed. Michelle was able to earn endorsements, appearance fees, and prize money during her career.

Eligible skating has come a long way from the days when Nancy Kerrigan worked part-time at a clothing store to help pay for her skating!

I do think that Sarah Hughes came from a "working class" family, and Rudy Galindo, a men's US champ many years ago, was very poor indeed - living in a trailer, sometimes homeless, often without coaching. His win, in his hometown of all places, is a US Nationals legend.

There are resources for skaters who need financial assistance - the USFSA does have "scholarships" for lack of a better word. And there are coaches - like Brian Boitano's coach, Linda Leaver, who coached him for free for many years because she believed in him so much.

Irina Slutskaya is another skater who really does need the money. She is not only paying for her own expenses, but her mother's ongoing medical care. (I think her mother needs a transplant of some kind). She has admitted that she continues skating to make a living.

 

[icebrat001]

Does anyone remember the tibit during the short program about danielle Khale? They were talking about the fact that her mother is a single mom and she has several children and with the rise of gasoline, the daughter had to miss her lessons because she couldn't afford it.

Money is an important factor.

 

[shamrock30]

I do think that Sarah Hughes came from a "working class" family, and Rudy Galindo, a men's US champ many years ago, was very poor indeed - living in a trailer, sometimes homeless, often without coaching. His win, in his hometown of all places, is a US Nationals legend.

I believe that Sarah's family fairly well off. Isn't her father a doctor?

 

[icebrat001]

I do think that Sarah Hughes came from a "working class" family, and Rudy Galindo, a men's US champ many years ago, was very poor indeed - living in a trailer, sometimes homeless, often without coaching. His win, in his hometown of all places, is a US Nationals legend.

I believe that Sarah's family fairly well off. Isn't her father a doctor?

I think he an atttory.

Michelle's family wasn't always well off either.

Sasha comes from a family with money.

 

[scoutsmom99]

Does anyone remember the tibit during the short program about danielle Khale? They were talking about the fact that her mother is a single mom and she has several children and with the rise of gasoline, the daughter had to miss her lessons because she couldn't afford it.

Money is an important factor.

That is a bummer she had to miss out on practices. I have been watching that Ice Diaries on TLC and she is one of the 4 girls that are featured on the show! The other gals are Bebe Liang, Alissa Czinsky, and Sandy Rucker.

 

[Michelle2]

First, Kwan has said many times it is not about winning Olympic God, it's about competing. Shannon Miller, the gymnast, always said the same thing.

Kwan beat Sasha at a competition last month. She had only been skating a few weeks due to a previous injury and she beat Cohen.

I doubt that any of us are USFSA judges, therefore we don't know the rules like they do.

Kwan has stated that if she is named to the team, but feels she is not ready she will then give her spot to someone else.

Kwan did not "choke" at the past two Olympics. She won a silver and a bronze medal. Where are the skaters who did win gold? Both retired because they only wanted the Olympic medal. They have both said that in interviews.

This new code will be the death of hips to the present skaters. Our best two skaters in the country, Sasha and Michelle, have had to withdraw from competitions due to hip injuries. There have also been male skaters and skaters from other countries that have had the same injuries.

To the person who said Michelle doesn't have a triple triple. She doesn't need one in the new code as she can make the points up in her spirel sequences. A triple double is worth only a little less than the triple triple now. A skater would lose more points by not making a triple triple when attempted than only trying a 3x2. Few women skaters are consistently hitting the 3x3 so it is a dangerous risk.

Finally, the USFSA has rules in place for a reason. They know, as they are the experts and we are only Monday morning quarterbacks, what the best team will be for the Olympics. While I do not want to see the skating Olympic process to turn into the womens gymnastic process, I would like to see more than one competition play a role in who makes the team.

Even if Michelle does go and doesn't win a medal, I want to see her artistry and love for skating one final time.

I totally agree... well said! To tell you the truth, if Irina wins, I think that she is not as good as Michelle. She may be faster, and have better jumps, but her spirals are dismal, and her programs are so weird and boring to me.
At least after this nationals no one can really complain about Michelle going after the others skated so badly (except Sasha). Sometimes people place just because they have to take the least of the mistake makers. I'll bet that is what this Nationals will be, and in that case, Michelle will definitely be better to go to the Olympics.

 

[JennyMominRI]

Which part do you think is controversial? That Tanith became a citizen or Mitchell & Galler-Rabinowitz's alleged efforts to block her citizenship?

I love B&A, and am absolutely thrilled that they will be able to compete in the Olympics. It was Tanith & Ben's World Silver medal that gave the US three Olympic spots this year. And her citizenship process was well under way years ago, she just got snarled up in a post 9-11 change-and-change-again-the-rules-for-getting-citizenship snafu.

As for M &G-R, they are in 7th place after the Original Dance. So even if Tanith had not become a citizen in time, they wouldn't be on the podium, or contenders for the Olympic team.

I'm not saying that I hav a problem with it but both things were talked about by the press quite a bit. Personally do I have a problem with eaither of them? I'd have to say I'm pretty surprised the Mom got involved.. They are beautiful skaters and I'll be glad to see them at the olympics

 

[LJC1861]

Sarah's Hughes' father is an attorney and there are also 6 kids in the family. Sarah is among the youngest, and her younger sister skates. So, even if they are well off, money could still potentially be an issue in that it costs big bucks to send kids to college as well as pay for skating.

I am a former skater myself.....started as an aduld and therefore paid for it all myself. I skated at a rink in NYC. Ice time was $10-15 per 45min-1 hour session. Lessons were $1-2 per minute. My skates, great skates but nothing as expensive at Olympic level skaters wear were $520 for the boots and another $135 for the blades. Practice clothes, skate guards, taxi fare to the rink 4 mornings per week all add up too. I made my own competition dresses, but even so, the cost to put nice beads on them was incredible. Swarovski beads can run as much as $1 per bead. Now keep in mind that Olympic level skaters often have dresses made for them by top level designers. Some of these dresses can run as high as $10,000! When skaters compete they bring along their coach. Guess who pays.....yup, the skater! The skater is responsible for the coache's airfare, meals and coaching time while at a competition. Add to that hundreds of dollars in competition entry fees. There are scholarships and stipends available, but only for a select few and only at the elite level.

I can only imagine the struggles of some of these skating families and can totally understand why some choose to go professional after only a short time. Yes, there are appearance fees associated with most of the major amatuer competitions these days, but the good pro tours pay lots more.

As for myself, the time and money I put into my skating was well spent. I would not trade those years for anything. I got to learn something I had always dreamed of being able to do, I got to travel around the country and to Europe skating and I got to meet some of my skating idols in my travels as well.

Linda

 

[mom2kazkids]

Bringing this forward now that national are done. Yes I think that Kwan should be named to the Olymipics, looking at the way that the younger skaters did tonight. I think that the team will be Cohen, Meisner, and Kwan. Just my 2cents.

Barb

 

[cheerbop]

Absolutely NOT!
Too long has she tried to win it and never done it. Time for all of us, including Michelle, to move on.
Feel bad she is injured, but what if another skater were injured, would we be discussing this issue? Just not fair at all to those that were there at Nationals. Both of the top skaters tonight were ill...........
What if Michelle is placed on the Olympic team and was NOT healthy enough to skate well or at all? So, too bad so sad for those that actually went to Nationals and earned their spot on the team?!

Never will agree with "giving" someone a spot on a team for any sport. You have to earn it through the proper channels, just like anything else in life. I feel that some people in sports these days feel like their name should get them exactly what they want..bad example for my impressionable young children, IMHO.
I have been a coach for many many years and have used that philosophy for my athletes....you earn it properly...there are rules for a reason.

That being said, if she is placed on the team, I wish her and the others all the best and bring home (someone) a gold for the U.S.!

 

[SandiH]

She did go through the proper channels to be nominated to the Olympic team. The rules allow for just this situation. It's up to the committee to decide if she's fit to compete or not. If you go to www.usfsa.org, you will see that she is indeed nominated however, she will have a committe of 5 people I believe, determine by Jan. 27th to ensure that she is indeed fit to compete and that she has a technically sound program to compete at the Olympic level. After watching tonights programs, I do believe that if healthy, she would have placed in the top three. Will she win Olympic gold? I will be rooting for her but I would be surprised if she won. Would Emily Hughes win instead? I doubt it. You can count on it that Emily will be training very hard over the next few weeks just in case!

I'm tired of people saying she should have gone through the proper channels - she did. The rules allow for her to petition due to injury - she's not the first skater that has needed to do this.

 

[Sandy22]

Yes she deserves to go. She applied through the proper channels and was granted approval.

She clearly has a much better chance at a medal than #4 Emily Hughes does. Aside from the incredibly talented Sasha Cohen, none of the younger skaters are anywhere near Michelle's level and consistency of skating.