Michelle Kwan, 2006 Olympic Gold Medalist??

Oh how I dread tempting the skating gods with this thread

I think it would be an absolute miracle and I believe in miracles so we will see.

Personally I would like to see Fumie win the Olympics in 2006.

Would that be the first time a Japanese skater won?

(stupid sight LOL I hate being blind)

bronxgirl said:

Oh how I dread tempting the skating gods with this thread

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Right there with ya sista. I know one thing for sure: I will be plastered to the t.v. and anything that dares interupt the fixation will be risking life and limb.

What if Michelle becomes the Svetlana Khorkina of skating? Silver once more...

Well Michelle Kwan is my idol of skating. There's no skater I love more than her and likely never will be. And I would love nothing more for her to win. She is certainly deserving of the title with her talent. But sadly I don't think it will be Michelle who stands on top of the podium. I think she will be on it, but I don't see it being gold. I'm a bliever in fate and that all things happen with reason. I believe Michelle not winning the gold is a strong message to athletes and people. How even though gold may be your dream, you sometimes achieve beyond them in other ways. It's corny and sappy I know but its how I feel about it. Regardless I hope she wins. And my only hope for Michelle in 2006 at Turino is that she walks away realizing how much she has accomplished.

I think one would have to define an underdog. For me it is someone who is not the favorite or among the favorites. IMO, The Misses Arakawa and Cohen are the favorites for the Moscow Worlds. The upstart would not be Michelle but Irina. We don't know how well she is doing and if she is better you can be sure that she will skate her heart out in the home town. Personally, I never liked Irina's style but I would never count her out because among all the ladies, she seems to me to be the most competitive. Let's see

As for the hype of MK. She doesn't write all those posts on all those forums herself. Her fans do that, and they have a right to do that as much as anyone who goes bananas about a diary entry, which, btw, gets full forum clutter all over the place.

As for the media, Miss Cohen is doing quite well with NBC and Matt Lauer. And Ms Cohen deserves the attention she is getting. She is the first lady of American figure skating at the moment. Only a Japanese lady keeps her from being the foremost World's figure skater. That can change. Let's see.

Joe

I'd like to see Michelle win in '06. I know Sarah had lots of respect for Michelle and said it many times. I think, if Sarah was watching, she'd be cheering for Michelle.
I don't think I could watch a Sasha/Wagner moment like Sarah had.
If not Michelle, then I will hope for one of the Japanese ladies. Or maybe Jenny Kirk?

I think that Cohen will win...though I want Jenny Kirk to, I HIGHLY doubt that but I don't think Michelle will, she gets too nervous. I would like to see her win though. She isn't one of my top 6 favorite skaters, but she's great!!!!

Joesitz said:

As for the hype of MK. She doesn't write all those posts on all those forums herself.

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Of course not, and neither does every other skater out there. I'm not sure what this has to do with hype. I see hype as the general feeling among a community that this or that skater will win something. Hype it's when there is a common belief that a skater will do well and win. As long as there is a majority of people truly believing a skater can win and discussing every tiny thing about that particular skater (which reveals people are very interested and eagerly awaiting for information), I don't see that skater as an underdog. An underdog is mostly ignored and not given much credit. An example for underdog was Sarah Hughes in SLC. She was hardly mentioned as a contender leading up to the Olympics. In fact, I doubt anyone believed she could win. And then she surprised everyone and took the gold.

As for Moscow, I don't see how Irina would be a favorite for next Worlds. She was battling illness for over a year and in Dortmund she placed nowhere near as she used to and skating very, very far from her usual level. Also, we do not know how she will hold a full season. If I had to make a prediction right now based on how she skated in the last events (Marshalls included), I think she would be lucky to finish in the top 5. Michelle, OTOH, won a bronze medal at Worlds, is National Champion and this, notice, without skating as much as the rest of the field. With the quality of her skating, good programs (hopefully) and commiting herself to a full season, I have no reason to believe she will not be a contender, just like she has been for many years. Like I said, she may not be a overwhelming favorite because the rest of the field is very strong and competitive right now and I don't think ANYONE can be a overwhelming favorite. But there's quite a difference between being an underdog (my view of underdog in the paragraph above) and not being the main favorite.

I hope my post isn't very confusing LOL

This is going to be a long 1.5 years

I am beginning to think that Sasha will never win a major event like Worlds or Olympics. Sasha will not win the OGM, just as she did not win Worlds this year despite finishing 1st in the QR and SP, and she didn't win Nationals after a superb SP. She wants to win so badly that she can't concentrate on putting in a great FS performance.

Kwan is better at handling pressure, but the Olympics are that mountain she hasn't yet been able to get to the top of. I hope she can pull it off in 2006, because I can think of no one more deserving of it.

hockeyfan228 said:

This is going to be a long 1.5 years

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anya_angie said:

Personally I would like to see Fumie win the Olympics in 2005.

Would that be the first time a Japanese skater won?

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Well that would be good in 2005 but I hope Michelle wins in 2006.

As I stated before I want Michelle to win the Olympics in 2006 more than anything. But I would still be happy for her if she won the silver or Bronze again. Afterall how many American ladies have three Olympic medals of any color?

chuckm said:

I am beginning to think that Sasha will never win a major event like Worlds or Olympics. Sasha will not win the OGM, just as she did not win Worlds this year despite finishing 1st in the QR and SP, and she didn't win Nationals after a superb SP. She wants to win so badly that she can't concentrate on putting in a great FS performance.

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Yes, I totally agree about Sasha. She wants to win so badly that she looses the right balance that should exist between wanting to win and performing in a competition. There is too much attack in her, although there of course should be that too, but not over to keep a cool head.

Marjaana

If Sasha can pull out a win at Nationals or Worlds (especially Worlds) then I'll put her in as a contender for gold in Torino. Until then I think Michelle has a more realistice chance of winning than Sasha. I'll have to see how Arakawa does this season before I decide her chances at the OGM. I have a feeling that Worlds was just a one time thing, I don't know if she can do it again.

I would love to see Michelle win gold in Torino but she will have to up the ante technically with at least one t-t combo. In the CoP, her artistic won't allow her to overtake competitors with superior technical. I absolutely adore Michelle (she is my favourite) but her jumps are small and not very powerful. She's not going to get a lot of bonus for jump quality. I believe the other competitors know this and are all working to up the technical ante (there were way more t-t combos at Worlds this year, plus many working on the t ax and q jumps).

Sk8n Mama said:

In the CoP, her artistic won't allow her to overtake competitors with superior technical.

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I agree, especially as a few of Michelle´s competitors are great technically and artistically.

Marjaana

It is not at all clear to me what the effect of the CoP will be, if any. The judges will still have plenty of opportunity simply to give the highest marks to the skater they like best, both in Grade of Execution and Component Scores.

About Michelle's chances, all I can say is, at this point they are as good as anyone else's. If not, there is always 2010.

Mathman