How many more years for Kwan after this season, if any?

[slutskayafan21]

How many more years, if any, do you believe Kwan will continue as an eligable skater? I think she will want to do one more year, to finish her career skating healthy and happy, and on her own terms. Also I think she wants to show the programs she had created for her this year, that nobody ever got to see. She knows the Olympic Gold would be beyond a fantasy by 2010 as a 29 year old though, so I would be surprised to see her then. That is just my opinion though, how many years do you think she will continue, if any, after this season?

 

[R.D.]

I think a retirement announcement is coming up after COI. Maybe she'll stay through 2007 and try to collect title number 10. But I think her prime is way past, now.

 

[flutterby1145]

I don't think there are any more eligible years left for Michelle. Maybe she will stay around long enough for another Nationals.

 

[Sasha_4_The_Win]

I'm sure she'd like to get one more National title before retiring, but unless Sasha retires this year she may not have much of a chance at that. She just hasn't competed that well under the new scoring system and it seems kind of late in the game for her to revamp her skating style appropriately. But who knows!

 

[Kwanford Wife]

I think she'll return for the '07 season, regardless of who's still skating. Kwan is injured, not dead and I'm sure she'd rather go out with a bang than a whimper... As for the NJS, pish posh... she had the programs to compete, just had an injury and I'm sure that injury would've manifested itself this season regardless... But whatever. She doesn't owe anybody anything, so if '06 olympics was the overarching goal, then retirement is logical.... we'll see...

 

[#1Kerryfan]

I think she'll retire.

 

[Dee4707]

I voted she'll retire this year.

Dee

 

[Lonewolf]

As long as she stays injury free, I think she will give it one more try.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

With Michelle, one never know, do one?

I think she'll hang around until she fulfills all the contracts and then somewhere, somehow, when we least expect it, she will make the Grande Reverence. Maybe in a TV special.

As for Nationals, I believe it will be Kimmie to win her first gold and then go on for three more before facing the throngs in Vancouver. She's TES very friendly and each year the PCS will get higher and higher. Just my thoughts.

Don't know much about the Asian gals. Will they hold up?

Joe

 

[Wolfgang]

I think Michelle knows that she is now the Grande vieille Dame of US figure skating, and it's time to move on.
Competitively, this is not a sport for those 'over the hill' (22....).
I'm sure she'll influence skating for a good while to come, in some form or another, and I'm sure there will be TV specials, perhaps a travelling ice show, or something like that, where she can showcase all those programs she herself came up with much better than in competition, as well as realize her exact ideas on how they should be done, which is tough to impossible under strict competition rules.

 

[Mathman]

IMHO there is also the possibility that she won't do all those things (go on tour, involve herself in creative skating projects, etc.) Brian Boitano has said several times in interviews that he has tried to persuade Michelle to go in with him on some projects of this kind, but her interest was strictly in working on her programs for competition.

I wouldn't be surprised if she just said, that's it, goodbye and thanks for all the fish.

In a way that would be more exciting. What will she do next, once she draws the curtain on her skating career?

MM

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I just read a post that MK signed for another 4 years with COI. If true, she'll be around for at least 4 years. It doesn't mean she will be competing seriously; Just the cheesefests.

Joe