Grabbing that Gold Ring One More Time....

If Michelle Kwan makes the Olympic team this will be her third trip to the Olympics and quest for Olympic Gold. One wonders the probablility of the outcome.

Toller Cranston once said, "when a skater does not make it to that top tier on the podium at the Olympics, it's like failing a grade. You didn't graduate."

Brian Orser spent years pondering the what ifs after the Calgary Olympics and never quite forgave himself for coming second. We (Canadians) did. He is still one of my all time favorite male skaters and has certainly been an inspiration to other Canadian skaters. Kurt Browing never looked back at his Olympic experience, except with a bit of humour - but that is our Kurt!!! He decided it was not worth lamenting over. Kurt does not need an Olympic Gold medal - he is a master on the blades.

I guess winning an Olympic medal is a feather in one's cap, but certainly not the end all and be all.

It would be nice for Michelle to cap her career off with an Olympic Gold medal, but she has brought such pleasure to others through her skating over the years, that is a reward in itself.

Best to her in the upcoming weeks as the decision is being made!

Her chances of the Olympic Gold will be about 10% what they were the last two times. A medal of any color this time around would be a huge victory for Michelle if she goes to the Olympics. If she really goes in with the "gold or nothing" mindset of the last two Olympics, she isnt really being realistic. I am not saying she shouldnt shoot for it, just that practically speaking she should know the odds of it are not that high this time around. In the last two Olympics the gold was more of less "hers to lose". This time around she would need a miracaleous recovery from all the injuries, and a quick mastery of the COP, and then need help from some of the more favored skaters this time around, like Irina, it certainly is not "hers to lose" this time around.

I dont think she needs the Olympic Gold to be a Champion either. Every great athlete wants to win the Olympics but she is a true Champion and an all-time great even without one in her career.

Most of these skaters have been to the OLYS

I always think Life is something that happens when your making other plans. Im not so sure who will win. NO SKATER HAS A LOCK not this time. Going to be a lot of surprised fans who have a mind set that this skater is going to win and no doubt about it. This skater is anyone who gets on the ice. Shock of all shocks Hughes just walked off the ice as OGM winner. Like the girl but her skating was as bad as it gets however the ice is slippery.

Hughes winning was the biggest upset in Olympic history. She probably came in as only 4th or 5th favorite, behind Kwan, Slutskaya, and Cohen, and about equal with Butyrskaya. She was a World bronze medalist, and two-time GP final medalist, and had a GP win over both Kwan and Slutskaya that year, yet even so it was still the biggest gold medal upset in Olympic history when one looks at all the prior winners compared to her going into their Olympic wins. Kwan winning this time around would be an upset atleast this big probably, now that we know she has a month at best to prepare after being too injured to even skate at Nationals, and considering she was 4th(virutal equal 3rd) at a Worlds where while she made mistakes, that was also overall not that well skated in general(Cohen's flawed performance won silver by a landslide with her COP-friendly programs, Arakawa was a mess, Kostner was so-so in her medal winning long program, Ando was so-so overall, Suguri ditto, Kwan was off form) while struggling to figure out a new system. So it would have to be the two biggest upsets in the history of womens skating, at the Olympics, two straight times.

You Bet

Now wouldnt that be a hoot. The Ice is slippery and NO ONE HAS A LOCK you can bet on it. I really dont know who will win and my Crystal Ball isnt talking either.

Medals

If I was a betting person I would say Kwan will not reach the podium but who knows. My crystal ball is fogged up at the moment too. Perhaps she is only after the "Olympic Experience" this time round. The other two times she was favourite and didn't have the luxury to just enjoy. Perhaps she thinks she can win ...only Kwan knows. I will enjoy her skating win, lose or draw.
As about Kurt’s Olympic experience, I thought he had said in some interview a few after the Olympics that he had a very hard time to come to grips with the fact that he didn’t have an Olympic medal in three tries and had seen a professional to deal those issues and get on with life. Perhaps I am wrong…
Orser never forgave himself for coming up short....twice ..even though the fans [especially me] appreciates the difficulty to win two Olympic silver medals in such a tough sport! Orser keeps getting better with age and I will never tire of his skating ability.

In a "fluff" shown in '94, it was reported that one of Michelle's dreams was to land a triple axel. Another was to win the OGM, and a third (mentioned in her autobiography) was to go to the Olys in '94, '98', '02, and '06. I think two of her childhood dreams (the 3/axel and the OGM) aren't too likely to happen. Maybe, she just wants one of her childhood dreams to come true.

ikfan said:

If I was a betting person I would say Kwan will not reach the podium but who knows. My crystal ball is fogged up at the moment too. Perhaps she is only after the "Olympic Experience" this time round. The other two times she was favourite and didn't have the luxury to just enjoy. Perhaps she thinks she can win ...only Kwan knows. I will enjoy her skating win, lose or draw.
As about Kurt’s Olympic experience, I thought he had said in some interview a few after the Olympics that he had a very hard time to come to grips with the fact that he didn’t have an Olympic medal in three tries and had seen a professional to deal those issues and get on with life. Perhaps I am wrong…
Orser never forgave himself for coming up short....twice ..even though the fans [especially me] appreciates the difficulty to win two Olympic silver medals in such a tough sport! Orser keeps getting better with age and I will never tire of his skating ability.

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I think Kurt may have had his ups and downs with the Oympics, but on the whole remained objective about it. There are many great skaters and athletes period who never became Olympic champions, but that does not demean their worth nor abilities. To me Kurt is a "skaters skater" and Brian is one of the most gifted skaters Canada has had the privilege to have.

Both Kurt and Brian have contributed to Canadian Figure Skating and Figure Skating period with their wonderful gifts. That's enough for me.

It's a young person's game. Sasha Cohen says in the paper this morning, that sure she wants to make the Olympic team. But it is not the life-or-death obsession that it was four years ago when she was 17.

MM

skating

Ladskater
It's enough for me too!

Sasha has also said in so many words that the top three at US Nats should go because going to your first Olympics is such a special experience. It seems to me that although she claims to have matured, and is in it for the love of skating and not just for winning, that a snide remark, clearly aimed at Michelle Kwan, the skater who has kept Sasha from the US title for all of those years, is uncalled for and undoes all of her remarks about "maturing" (JMHO)

Ladskater said:

If Michelle Kwan makes the Olympic team this will be her third trip to the Olympics and quest for Olympic Gold. One wonders the probablility of the outcome.

Toller Cranston once said, "when a skater does not make it to that top tier on the podium at the Olympics, it's like failing a grade. You didn't graduate."

Brian Orser spent years pondering the what ifs after the Calgary Olympics and never quite forgave himself for coming second. We (Canadians) did. He is still one of my all time favorite male skaters and has certainly been an inspiration to other Canadian skaters. Kurt Browing never looked back at his Olympic experience, except with a bit of humour - but that is our Kurt!!! He decided it was not worth lamenting over. Kurt does not need an Olympic Gold medal - he is a master on the blades.

I guess winning an Olympic medal is a feather in one's cap, but certainly not the end all and be all.

It would be nice for Michelle to cap her career off with an Olympic Gold medal, but she has brought such pleasure to others through her skating over the years, that is a reward in itself.

Best to her in the upcoming weeks as the decision is being made!

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In his autobiography, Brian Orser wrote of his deep disappointment at winning "only" silver at Calgary. When he sat in the kiss 'n cry area and saw his second-place scores, he experienced a range of emotions, including anger over the fact that he did not win the gold medal at Sarajevo. He had outskated Scott Hamilton in both the short and long programs, but had to settle for second, as he (Brian) had finished only 7th in the school figures, which Scott had won. Brian wrote that for a few weeks after Calgary he experienced a huge pang of regret and disappointment whenever he thought of Calgary. I'm glad he's put that experience behind him. Orser is a terrific figure skater, a master entertainer, and he's still going strong in his 40s. Good for him!

One certainly does not need to win Olympic gold to be considered a champion; however, that piece of medal has long been the benchmark for American women skaters. If you won the gold medal at the Olympics, you were a star for life; if you finished second, third, or did not medal, you were considered to be a "failure" of sorts. Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, and Kristi Yamaguchi have enjoyed long professional careers and enduring fame, thanks to the excellence that won them their Olympic titles.

Of course, Tara Lipinski isn't skating any long, due to her lingering injuries, and she's pursuring an acting career. As for Sarah Hughes, who knows what she's going to do. IMHO she's holding on to her celebrity for as long as she can, but her time in the spotlight will probably come to an end if another American woman wins in Torino.

Carol Heiss skated professionally, left the sport to raise her family, and has been a highly respected coach for many years. Tenley Albright, the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating, left the sport to pursue her medical career.

Linda Fratianne, who won "only" silver at Lake Placid, was hounded for years by self doubts and disappointment. Rosalyn Sumners, who finished second to Katarina Witt at Sarajevo, also went through several unhappy years coming to terms with her "failure" to win gold.

It's a shame, really. An Olympic silver or bronze medal is a fabulous achievement, and something to be proud of. Personally, I get disgusted with this "winning is the only thing" mentality that permeates the media.

I agree, a silver or bronze medal should not be treated as a "failure", but often is, the skater often deep down feels that way, and the media and people who pulled so hard for them to win can often make them feel that way as well. It depends who wins it though. People like Elizabeth Manley, Paul Wylie, Nancy Kerrigan(92, first time around), and Goebel, seem to make for good examples of well known North American singles skaters who would have been very satisfied, even elated by winning an Olympic medal. Others recent North American singles stars like Debi Thomas, Brian Orser, Nancy Kerrigan(94, second time around), Elvis Stojko, Michelle Kwan, view it with more of a sense of remorse and deep dissapointment since they had hoped for the ultimate reward. Alot of it depends on who you are and the expectations thrust on you going in.

bronxgirl said:

Sasha has also said in so many words that the top three at US Nats should go because going to your first Olympics is such a special experience. It seems to me that although she claims to have matured, and is in it for the love of skating and not just for winning, that a snide remark, clearly aimed at Michelle Kwan, the skater who has kept Sasha from the US title for all of those years, is uncalled for and undoes all of her remarks about "maturing" (JMHO)

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I never saw it as a snide remark to Michelle. It's true--these other girls would LOVE to go to the Olympics, it's a very special once-in-a-lifetime thing for 99% of these athletes. She didn't say Michelle shouldn't not go; she said it's important that these kids also could get the chance to go because they've also deserved it by skating well enough. When asked about Michelle not being at Nats Sasha has been nothing but gracious.

I don't think Michelle has a chance at medaling if she goes to Torino; if she does, it'll be a great victory for her, but as someone else already said--if she goes in with that "I'm getting gold or nothing" mindset she'll fail big time.