I don't find this too surprising. Michelle had an amazing career and will always be remembered as one of the best ever. I wish her luck with school and furthering her career. :thumbsup:
This was expected. But I wonder if she's planning on venturing into politics- running for public office or something. A lot of former athletes seem to be going that route these days.
I already saw this over at FSU, but I am glad and relieved that Michelle is not coming back to competition. I would have been too worried that she would hurt herself again under such rigorous training and anything less than gold, a very unlikely outcome for her in this particular Olympic cycle, would be a waste of time given her accomplishments. She's making the best decision for herself, I think. We can look forward to seeing her again in exhibition settings and perhaps a commentating job at the 2010 Olympics . . . who knows?
*GASP*
I wish MK all the luck even though she probably doesn't need it.
There are so many doors wide open for her, and whatever route she chooses, she will be great.
What a great move for her. Tufts has a very good Med School. I didn;t know it also had fame for Foreigin Affairs. It's one of those many Boston Schools which are more about achievement than football.
Very classy and well spoken as always. I did not expect an announcement until after her show in Korea. Now I think the Korea show will be even more popular, it may be the last time any of us she her officially on the ice.
I wish her the best in her career.
Just read the announcement over on www.icenetwork.com, though not surprised, I still thought she might just give it another go.
This has me reflecting back on her career, and how very lucky this sport was to have her, Michelle being in it made everybody else a better skater, which I haven't seen since she left. Her competitors knew that they had to do 7 triples to even come close, and if they wanted to win they had to do even better than that, thus came the triple/triple combinations (ala Tara Lipinski at 1998 Olympics & Sarah Hughes at the 2002 Olympics). They truly skated against the best of the best, something they can tell their kids & grandkids about, what memories...
Michelle was a true champion/gladiator/warhorse/dog soldier, a GIANT in her sport, having earned the honor of participating in 4 Olympics. Most just wish for the opportunity to skate in 1 Olympics, but not Michelle, I often wonder what could have been if she hadn't been injured during her last Olympics. I do know that it wasn't the same without her, the winner only needed to do 5 triples to win gold, but I'm sure if Michelle had been able to compete that wouldn't have been the case. As always, her mere presence would have pushed her competitors to go all out, to try everything in their arsenal, to make it one for the ages.
Ah, thank you for the memories, Michelle, you made this sport better just by being in it. Couldn't ask for more. Go with God, and enjoy the rest of your life.
I'm glad she is going to continue with skating. I think she made the best decision but I am like many here, it would have been wonderful to see her skate again in the Olympics.
I haven't posted here for awhile but will for this one topic. The smartest move she could make is to stay out of skating in its current incarnation. I am thrilled she made this decision. Good for her. Fletcher has an outstanding reputation and it is part of a world class university-Tufts. My husband and I met there when he was a student at Tufts and we had a great 4 years there. Boston, which is outside of Medford/Tufts, is a wonderful city. Michelle will never regret this decision.
Good decision Michelle. She has given her heart and soul to this sport for many years and imo made an impact on figure skating through her longevity and her competitive record. She truly deserved the title "Kween"
That said, I do admit that this news made me a little sad.
I didn't even know that come back was an option for her. Considering the way she withdrew from the Olympics due to injury and other activities she's been focusing on, I am surprised more by the fact that she did not retire until now. Fumie is as old as Michelle and I admire her determination as much as Michelle's next career because it is not easy to hang in there in a sport where mid-20s are considered "old," with declining competition results and younger generations coming in. Hope both women make their dreams come true in the paths each of them chose.
I found the following paragraphs from the link to sum it up well..
"That Kwan can still make headlines for not skating shows how much of a mark she left in the sporting community during her historic career. Kwan's nine U.S. Figure Skating titles were one more than Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill had combined. And it's those nine titles she'll be most remembered for rather than the disappointments in Nagano and Salt Lake City, where she won silver and bronze, respectively.
Though the lack of Olympic golds will be a bittersweet footnote in the career of Michelle Kwan, it won't define it. And, judging by her lofty career aspirations, maybe her success on the rink won't either. The lives of far too many athletes seem to end when they leave the playing field. Michelle Kwan's seems to be just beginning. "