Kwan feature in Sports Illustrated

[Mathman]

The US judge said Michelle was just as good at her tech, and better on presentation.

For what its worth , I agree with the U.S. judge. Michelle did 7 triples and a double Axel, despite not having her full repertoire to draw on (her 3T/3T) because of her broken foot. Tara did fine, too.

In presentation -- puh-lease. Michelle is Michelle, the other girls are not.

I think the reason that the triple loop comes in for so much discussion is because training it seems to lead to career-ending chronic injuries, disproportionately to the adverse effects of other elements. Tara compulsively did dozens of them non-stop in practice, and neither her coach nor her mother could make her stop.

When Michelle's hip situation forced her to omit the loop in her last couple of years of competition there was a certain amount of sentiment along the lines, "See, Michelle can win championships without a loop, so why should I do one and ruin my health, too?"

By the way, the U.S. judge in question was Joe Inman, right? Inman, a professional musician and music teacher, was known in those days as a dyed-in-the-wool Michelle judge. He liked superb musical interpretation and was not afraid to let his marks reflect his passion.

But in 2002 he put Michelle third. Booo. His flimsy excuse was, "Well, Michelle was the third best, after Sarah and Iriina."

So? Is that any reason to turn traitor?

(I guess Inman was only dyed-in-the-skein after all.)

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Edited to add: Heh heh. I love it when my post accidentally becomes the first post at the top of a new page. That way, my opinion rules for the next fifteen posts (depending on how you have set your preferences).

[Blades of Passion]

What's so impressive about Tara's technical content is not just the 3Loop-3Loop but also the 3Toe-3Sal at THE VERY END OF THE PROGRAM.

That is ballsy as all get out and it also worked with the music. Part of why it was such a special performance that deserved to win Olympic Gold.

[prettykeys]

What's so impressive about Tara's technical content is not just the 3Loop-3Loop but also the 3Toe-3Sal at THE VERY END OF THE PROGRAM.

That is ballsy as all get out and it also worked with the music. Part of why it was such a special performance that deserved to win Olympic Gold.

Absolutely ballsy and impressive that she mostly succeeded. Did Tara ever do an interview that asked her why the layout of her program was constructed like that? Typically, the most contrived aspect of even a technically and artistically superb program is how predictably the most difficult elements are put in the first couple of seconds. Did Tara do her program the way she did because she liked to ease into her program and "warm-up"? Or did she adhere to some sort of code of skating integrity that insisted she stick to her favourite interpretation?

For what its worth , I agree with the U.S. judge. Michelle did 7 triples and a double Axel, despite not having her full repertoire to draw on (her 3T/3T) because of her broken foot. Tara did fine, too.

I know. I thought it was cute that it was the U.S. judge that pulled for Michelle, and I wouldn't protest against that decision too hard, although I've explained my reasoning on why I think Tara truly deserved it, even if Michelle had given her best Lyra Angelica in Nagano. I've heard of some elite music competitions whose standards are so high than in some years they refuse to give out any winners, and on some very rare occasions, give titles to more than one outstanding individual. If Olympic figure skating was like that, I wish both Tara and Michelle had been given golds in 1998. Others have gotten golds with lesser performances.

As for the 3Loop, I remain steadfast in my assertion that it hasn't gone anywhere. Before I left for work, I didn't bother to edit my last post in saying that the top 8 ladies in the FS in Vancouver (after YuNa) performed it cleanly according to the protocols. I don't know how difficult it is relative to the other jumps, but most top ladies don't seem deterred at all. I shrug.

[janetfan]

Here is an article written after Michelle's injury forced her out of the '06 Olympics.

http://www.slate.com/id/2136059

Although it is a somewhat brutal assessment of Michelle (and skating fans too) it made me think of what could have been - and even mm's "alternate universe."

Still, I think I prefer this universe and although Michelle may have missed out on winning the OGM her status as "legend" will forever dwarf the accomplishments of Tara and Sarah.

Skating is truly an unusual "sport" and to this day Oksana is still remembered for one magical moment, one SP where she dazzled us and the judges enough to go on and capture the OGM even with a subpar LP. Like Tara and Sarah who followed her it would be the last title Oksana would ever win.

Some like to talk about the "body of work" and others are quick to note that if Michelle had won Gold in '98 we might never have seen some of the glorious programs that followed both Nagano and SLC.

I wonder if Yuna and Mao are influenced by Michelle's legacy, which not only includes five WC's - but this wonderful "body of work." I think it is good that Mao is continuing and doubt that we have seen her best yet. I feel the same way about Yuna as well.

Only time will tell but OGM or not it feels to me as if Michelle is the Gold standard that today's greatest skaters look to. I don't think either Yuna or Mao wants to be remembered like Tara. I think they want to leave a body of work and a lasting legacy that equals or surpasses Michelle.

They want to become legends too.

[Olympia]

I'm with you on this one, Janetfan!

It's interesting that before the 1998 Olympics, Michelle said something like this: "In the future, when people are doing quintuple jumps and skating is all weird, I hope they still remember me." Rather prophetic of her.

When you think about it, there are a lot of people remembered for a gold medal--six people every Olympics, counting singles, pairs, and ice--but not a lot remembered just as themselves. Certainly the skater you named yourself after, Janet Lynn, is one of them. Michelle is another. That's not to say that everyone has to place these skaters at the top of their personal "best" lists. But there's a reason that Janet and Michelle are at the top of so many lists.

[janetfan]

I was actually looking for a "Michelle leaves Carroll" interview for the Yuna/Orser thread but didn't find anything.
I did watch this and thought some who never saw it might enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jmqN...ext=1&index=15

Michelle is just so gracious and like her skating - she also wears her heart on her sleeve in this interview.