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Michelle Kwan

And Worlds It Is

March 11, 2004
Article © Gary Anolik

On Wednesday March 10, 2004 , the reigning United States Women's Figure Skating Champion, Michelle Kwan, met with reporters to discuss her preparations for the upcoming World Figure Skating Championships. The event will be held at Dortmund Westfalenhallen in Dortmund, Germany beginning on March 23, 2004.

Kwan has competed at every World Championship event since 1994, winning the gold for the first time in 1996 and again in in 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2003. Kwan also won silver in 1997, 1999, and 2002 for a total of eight medals of the 10 World competitions.

The 23-year-old won her eighth US National Championship this past January, receiving seven perfect scores in her long program.

Given that Kwan has had a very distinguished and long career, which also includes two Olympic medals, the same question comes up time after time. Has she had enough? Is the icon of American figure skating going to bow out, or is she going to give the Olympic gold one last try?

"It's not time for me to stop skating now," Kwan stated. "When I got home from the 2002 Olympics, I was going to hang up my skates," she continued. "But it just didn't seem right. The desire was still there."

Kwan asked some of her friends on the pro skating circuit how they knew that it was time for them to stop skating. "They all answered the same. 'You'll know'," commented Kwan. "So I continued to skate, and for the past two years I feel like a six-year-old again, enjoying the skating, getting excited, loving the sport."

Kwan continued, "I could quit right now and be content. The only pressure I feel at a competition is the pressure I put on myself. I enjoy the competition and the feeling on the ice."

Currently, the sport's scoring system is going through a major renovation. The New Judging System, known as the Code of Points (CoP), which was developed following a decision of the ISU Congress in 2002, was used for the 2003 Grand Prix of Figure Skating series and Grand Prix Final.

As the ISU Council prepares the CoP for a congress decision in June, the interim 6.0 system will be used at ISU Championships. The CoP has received widespread support from skaters and officials during the Grand Prix series and the Council will propose that it be included in ISU Regulations from 2004/5 onwards.

The new scoring will not be in place for this year's World Championships, but will be used at next year's National Championships.

"In the long run," a realistic Kwan said, "the best way to win will be to perform the triple-triple jump. It will take me about a year and a half to get that move to perfection, but at the same time, I have to see if my body can handle the demands required by the new scoring system," Kwan acknowledged.

So as it stands, Worlds it is for Kwan, making it her eleventh consecutive showing at this event.

Then it's on to touring with Champions on Ice. "Touring right after World's is switching gears so fast," commented Kwan. "It's so much more entertaining. More relaxing."

Champions on Ice begins their 2004 tour on April 3 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

So the final question of the day was: "Whom do you prefer, Bruce Springsteen or Jon Bon Jovi?"

Kwan gave a definitive answer: "Springsteen."