Kwan feature in Sports Illustrated | Golden Skate

Kwan feature in Sports Illustrated

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
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Dec 28, 2006
i can't read from the scans so i will go out and buy the issue. But dear me.. isn't Michelle's dress scaring close to showing more on top that she would want shown? Little Red Dresses don't move as well as skating dresses!
 

MKFSfan

Medalist
Joined
Mar 15, 2006
Aw! She looks beautiful and so grownup! It's so strange...I don't know Michelle and yet I feel this sense of pride and even astonishment when I think of how far that little girl in the pink poofy dress has come, now become a beautiful, intelligent, well-rounded Lady.

And, Michelle...I don't watch SLC either.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Aw! She looks beautiful and so grownup! It's so strange...I don't know Michelle and yet I feel this sense of pride and even astonishment when I think of how far that little girl in the pink poofy dress has come, now become a beautiful, intelligent, well-rounded Lady.

And, Michelle...I don't watch SLC either.

I feel that pride also. I've been following her skating since she was twelve--and normally I don't catch on to good skaters until much later than that. I've rooted for her through thick and thin, and her graciousness and resilience have added to her lustre. I also love the way she skates! I can still look at her programs and be enthralled, which is not something one can do with every skater, or even with every champion. I love that she's embracing her new direction with such eagerness.
 

R.D.

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Jul 26, 2003
Thanks for the pics. You can tell from them that she has truly moved on.
 

Dee4707

Ice Is Slippery - Alexie Yagudin
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The picture in the red dress is funny!!

If you click on the scan itself, it enlarges somewhat.

Does anyone know why she was on Kathy Griffin???
 

fairly4

Medalist
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Oct 28, 2007
bought magazine, decent article about her--i have a few nitpicks but (1 is failure) she didn't win gold she is a failure. that what galls me. the sports media thinks a gold medal or title makes up for lack of character and anywrong doing illegal , unethical by the athlete.
If they really thought that way they shouldn't go after the athlete caught in any wrong doing whatsoever. They should leave them be and say--why print they won ogm, nba title, super bowl, world cup and or whatever. by our (sports media estimation that excludes them from behaving themselves) . than they shouldn't write about up and comer youngster that get into trouble since they excused the older ones due to winning whatever.
however, thank you for the pictures. I wonder why the picture in the magazine isn't in those shots that we seen, maybe cause they used it.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I have to agree that they didn't really "get" what Kwan has contributed to skating; they did make her sound as though she hadn't quite measured up, which is like saying that Derek Jeter hasn't quite measured up in baseball because he's not the home run king on top of everything else he's done. Sports Illustrated doesn't really have a great feel for skating, though, so one can't expect perceptiveness in this area. They did convey her personality wonderfully, and they allowed a lot of space to tell her story, which is nice--I expected a mere paragraph or two. That anecdote about how she ended up working for the State Department is charming. I love the idea of Rumsfeld and Cheney paying court to her during her visit to the White House. Not an image I'd have come up with on my own!
 

R.D.

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Jul 26, 2003
Can't ignore the elephant in the room though, which is the Olympics. And in that case, she came up short. Doesn't mean her career isn't any less valuable, but it's just a fact that she'll be known as a great skater who never won an OGM.
 

mousepotato

On the Ice
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Mar 24, 2010
Can't ignore the elephant in the room though, which is the Olympics. And in that case, she came up short. Doesn't mean her career isn't any less valuable, but it's just a fact that she'll be known as a great skater who never won an OGM.

Winning and OGM does not make or break a great skater. You could win every competition you enter but the Olympic long program and that doesn't mean you didn't "make it" as a skater. All it means is you didn't get a gold medal at one of the competitions you entered.

On the flip side you have skaters like Sarah Hughes who no one outside of the skating world knows who happens to win a competition at the Olympics and people think she is better than what she really is. She never won nationals and only won one world bronze. She didn't exactly set the skating world on fire. I would rather have Michelle Kwan's career even without an OGM.
 

iluvtodd

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Winning and OGM does not make or break a great skater. You could win every competition you enter but the Olympic long program and that doesn't mean you didn't "make it" as a skater. All it means is you didn't get a gold medal at one of the competitions you entered.

I will agree with you on this statement particularly with regard to Michelle, Kurt, and Todd.

I still respect Sarah for her gold medal win in SLC. She was on fire there. She does seem to be happy in post skating life as well, and I feel she will succeed in life, considering her educational bckground.
 
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Aug 16, 2009
Not to take anything away from Sarah or Tara, I'd also rather have Michelle's career (and her skills, technique, and musicality) than theirs. But then, that's why I'm a fan now and forever.

When I think of Michelle and Kurt, who can truly be called skating legends despite their respective lack of Olympic golds (and Kurt doesn't have an Olympic medal of any color), I think of movie luminaries like Garbo, Astaire, and Cary Grant. None of those three iconic film presences ever won a regular Oscar (though at least Astaire and Grant won special Oscars). On the other hand, Cher has an Oscar. Much as I enjoy Cher, there's no way she outweighs Garbo in terms of silver-screen legendary status.
 

miki88

Medalist
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Dec 28, 2009
Michelle Kwan and Janet Lynn, arguably the two greatest ladies figure skaters, did not win the OGM, but I think not winning it made them even more legendary. :)
 

R.D.

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Jul 26, 2003
Which skater's career one would rather have is just a matter of taste, IMHO. Don't think Hughes would trade her OGM for world championships, and MK, her world championships for an OGM. They had the careers they had, and both skaters have moved on to be (seemingly) happy in life. All's well that ends well, regardless.

MK will always have tons of fans, and I hand it to them for sticking by her through the disappointments. I always say, you have the "fairweather" or "bandwagon" fans that will jump on when the going is good, but as soon as the athlete messes up, either in performance or in personal life, these "fans" turn right back around and have at it. Or they'll vacate. The REAL fans are the ones that weather the storm, the ones that stick by the athlete whether he/she is on top of the world, or in the pits.
 

lavender

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Jul 26, 2003
All I know is that no way would I want to skate like Sarah Hughes. I wish I could skate like Michelle, a Janet Lynn or Kurt B who are real true skating legends without that piece of medal. This is why I just look at the pictures and don't read these articles any longer. It's been years since I read a Kwan article because her whole career is diminished because of one medal that seems to go to someone who just stumbled on luck one day.
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
All I know is that no way would I want to skate like Sarah Hughes. I wish I could skate like Michelle, a Janet Lynn or Kurt B who are real true skating legends without that piece of medal. This is why I just look at the pictures and don't read these articles any longer. It's been years since I read a Kwan article because her whole career is diminished because of one medal that seems to go to someone who just stumbled on luck one day.

I wish I could skate 1/10th as well as Sarah. You must be some terrific skater to throw out such a comment.
BTW, who were you referring to that "just stumbled on luck one day." ?

Did you mean Tara in '98, or did you mean Sarah and Irina in '02?
Did all three of them have "lucky skates" to finish ahead of Michelle in Olympic competitions?
 
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