** 1998 Olympc Figure Skating Competition **

[Jaana]

Kwan was my favourite and I hoped that she would win... I had to admit though that Tara was better that night. Well, actually that was not the only time she was better than Michelle. Anyway, I felt that Kwan was nervous as she came on the ice (looking at her uncharacteristic arm movements, she was trying to push herself). Her performance felt flat and slow and also hesitant; there was no joy as during the Nationals freeskate. She had a demanding programme that needed that joy very much.

I believe that Michelle would have stayed eligible even after the gold medal. As I watched certain skaters performing in the show "Disney´s greatest hits", I felt that Michelle was not a very good show skater as she performed to various numbers. In group numbers even Elvis was better, LOL. Yes, Elvis, Ilia and Oksana really went out...

 

[demarinis5]

Just jumping in with my 2 cents. I felt that night and I still feel years later that Michelle should have won in Nagano. She performed that program brilliantly and I never saw the hesitation, flatness and slowness that other folks saw, but hey that is just me. I felt that Michelle's skating was superior to Tara's that night, but overall I was happy that the US had gone 1-2 and very happy for Lulu who I will always have a soft spot for because Lulu was my first uber, lol.

 

[Jammers]

I think Michelle took her father's advise and made sure she didn't make any mistakes and thought that would be enough to win. But as Frank Carroll said to win Olympic gold you have to be aggressive and go after it and i don't think she did.

 

[pangtongfan]

I thought Chen was technically mediocre by 98 even when she skated fairly clean and did not deserve her medal. Her spins which were never her strong suit even in her prime were absolutely abysmal, and her jumps were stalked and cheated even when she landed them. I would have probably given for the long programs:

Chen: 5.4 technical, 5.8 presentation
Butyrskaya: 5.6 technical, 5.8 presentation
Slutskaya: 5.8 technical, 5.7 presentation

Since Irina did not deserve 5th place in the short though I probably would have given Maria the bronze overall.

As for Michelle and Tara I scored the long programs:

Michelle- 5.7 technical, 5.9 presentation
Tara- 5.9 technical, 5.8 presentation

So on that night I agreed with the decision.