Yuna the Enigma

**skfan** · 05-11-2011, 01:27 PM

Originally Posted by Krislite

Even though she lost the Olympic gold, Michelle still had a little struggle the year after Nagano. Her 1998-1999 season was mostly forgettable, where she skipped the Grand Prix series and won silver at Worlds. She would not have quit immediately like Tara, but it's likely she would have struggled a bit more with motivation as well.

didn't she debut ariane at world pro and do a great job? best performance of the ariane program ever. her EoE at world pro is still the rare program that managed to hush sandra bezic through its entirety. i even thought the 99 US nationals ariane was a force--it looked like she was on cruise control and her attention lapsed at the 2nd lutz. therefore IMO she didn't struggle that much.

then she had a bad cold at worlds but in the exhibitions returned to the usual MK glory in the red violin debut. i always preferred this red violin version to her competitive program. too much time wasted setting up jumps. i feel the same when i watch yeonah and mao (if they didn't have to set up jumps, i could have seen more choreography, etc) what can i say, i watch for the art

**Krislite** · 05-11-2011, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by skfan

didn't she debut ariane at world pro and do a great job? best performance of the ariane program ever. her EoE at world pro is still the rare program that managed to hush sandra bezic through its entirety. i even thought the 99 US nationals ariane was a force--it looked like she was on cruise control and her attention lapsed at the 2nd lutz. therefore IMO she didn't struggle that much.

then she had a bad cold at worlds but in the exhibitions returned to the usual MK glory in the red violin debut. i always preferred this red violin version to her competitive program. too much time wasted setting up jumps. i feel the same when i watch yeonah and mao (if they didn't have to set up jumps, i could have seen more choreography, etc) what can i say, i watch for the art

I was talking about her competitive (ISU) record that season. That's why I said she had a "little" struggle.

Of course, her EoE at the 1998 World Pro pretty much makes up for that and more.

**Mathman** · 05-11-2011, 07:38 PM

I love enigmas.

Don't tell anyone anything, Yu-na. Be the mystery lady.

Here's the ticket: Never complain, never explain. Don't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. Tell 'em no more than you want 'em to know. Keep 'em guessing.

**pangtongfan** · 05-12-2011, 12:41 AM

Originally Posted by Olympia

Yeah, looking back I can see the advantage in Michelle's winning silver and then bronze in her two active Olympics. It meant that she kept going, and we got to see her for a decade instead of just a few years. Even with a healthy pro circuit, I suspect that Michelle wouldn't have stuck around to skate in shows and pro-ams the way Kurt and Scott did but would have gone to college right away. So her career would have been that of a Tenley Albright, with lifelong praise for winning the gold but a relatively short list of "immortal" moments on the ice.

Who knows what YuNa will do in terms of competing? At least it looks as if she will remain active in skating, with her show and her work to bring championships to Korea. But if she wants to end her competitive career now, it's easy to understand why.

The best thing that ever happened to Michelle Kwan for her own legacy was never winning the OGM. Had she won in Nagano she would have retired on the spot, I doubt she would have even gone to the Worlds after Nagano just like Lipinski didnt. Instead she goes on as a 5 time World Champion, 9 time U.S winner, and with incredible longevity, and a string of excellent performances many now crown her as the best ever.

Whereas skaters like Kristi Yamaguchi, Tara Lipinski, and now Yu Na Kim, who were all probably easily capable of duplicating a similar or even better resume (well maybe not Tara since her hip went out) retired due to winning Olympic Gold and now look less great by comparision. Or in Yu Na's case continuing to skate no longer having motivation to train or take it seriously as a sad showow of her old self, and embarassing herself by losing to the likes of Miki Ando who in her prime she would have beaten with a broken leg.