Olympic Champion Peggy Fleming Gives Michelle Kwan a Replica of her Gold Ice Skating Medal

MSNBC ^ | February 22, 2002 | Lester Holt

[codebreaker]

MSNBC showed footage of a press conference and Michelle had two medals on her neck the bronze and the one given to her by Peggy Fleming.

She looked liked she was about to lose it..

[LaDivaLoca]

Kwan did not make any mistakes at Nagano, won the silver and Carroll was at her side. Kwan won Nationals hands down without Carroll at her side. She was great in the short program at SLC but faltered in the Long program w/o Carroll. They had and still have a wonderful relationship - 10 years. And they are still friends by the way. But on the ice, like Kwan says, nobody is there to hold your hand or catch you when you fall. You are on your own. She faltered on her triple-triple combination and fell on the triple flip - she knows what she did wrong. With her experience she does not a need coach to tell her what she did wrong.

[It's me]

Michelle Kwan was acting professionally. When someone has been there done that before, the excitment eventually wears off. This was Sarah's first time at the games, of course she was lighting watt excited and smiling. Kwan was just trying to keep her cool. And as for me personally, I don't like to cry in front of people either. Cut her some slack.

I'm talking about before her routine. She was not acting very nicely.

[codebreaker]

Michelle can compete into her 30's at the Olympics and that's fine, but she will never be able to land the quad-she just cant!

So if Cohen and Volchkova are battling quads with comparable artistry for the next two Olympics, Kwan may as well be skating exhibitions..she would have no shot

[codebreaker]

How do you explain in esssence Miss Thang Kwan 'flipping the bird' to the judges in the short program when her heiness gives the thumbs down..

Daddy/Coach Danny was nowhere to be seen, and that lack of coaching may have cost her the gold with the U.S. Judge who was curiously anti- Kwan in the long.

[TracyPA]

Maybe in some sports you can win when older, but not figure skating. Michelle has trouble with triple-triple jumps while Sasha Cohen has made the quad in practice. Also Sasha is a beautiful artistic skater. These young skaters will be doing these harder jumps and at thirty Michelle could never do it. If you think it's sad when Michelle falls now, wait when she's thirty. It broke my heart to see Todd Eldredge fall attempting the quad. Kwan should turn pro now and get on with her life. An olympic gold only means you were best on that one day.

[Prodigal Son]

Awesome photo!

[Utah Girl]

Um actually, Danny Kwan was sitting right next to Michelle in the kiss and cry area when the marks for the short program were announced. Michelle was not wise to give a thumbs down, but I have seen many skaters do that in the Professional competitions. Kristi Yamaguchi springs to mind for one. I think it is tacky no matter where one is skating.

[Utah Girl]

Spot on comments about Michelle's jumping ability. She had four years to add a more difficult triple-triple combination jump to her program and didn't. She was winning on her artistic marks though. Hindsight is great. She needs to get a coach and a choreographer and work on those jumps. And go pro.

[Republican Party Reptile]

Wonder if Kwan would have had so much media support if she weren't Asian?

What a silly question ...

Wonder if Kwan would have elicited some of the anti-Kwan venom on these threads if she wasn't Asian? Not "All American" enough for some people?

She was one of the best skater of her generation, unless anyone wants to contest her ability in winning the 4 World and 6 Nationals and the Silver in Nagano. Why wouldn't she be favored in the Olympic and the focus of media attention?

She lost fair and square, Hughes won fair and square, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a surprise or considered an upset.

When hasn't the American media not fawned over the medal favored American female ice skater in the Olympics? Did the media ignore Dorthy Hamill and Peggy Fleming because they were not "Asian"? Did the media hype Kristi Yamaguchi and Tiffany Chin only because they were "Asian"? What about Debi Thomas?

[LaDivaLoca]

I really like Todd too and was rooting for him, as well as Tim and Mike. You have a point there where the harder jump combinations and even the quads are concerned. But I'm one of those who still enjoy watching Kwan skate (a personal preference although I like Cohen, Hughes and Kirk too - it's great to have these young, talented ladies to skate for our country). I selfishly would like Kwan to skate for 4 more years or maybe take off 2 years then go back to try out for the Olympics one more time. But if she decides to retire sooner that is fine too. She's had one amazing career.

[Gamecock]

Explain something: It was Kwan was leading Hughes when Sluts.. uh Slutska.. whats her name took the ice. The Russian skated well and that gave Hughes the gold. How does that work?

Peggy Fleming or Dorothy Hamill? Hamill. She sent my then 16 year old heart fluttering when she won her Gold....

[codebreaker]

Kristi did that at the Olympics?

[Republican Party Reptile]

She was 1. Pretty and 2. a Minority, two qualities that the media LOVE!!!

Yeah ... and being one of the best skater in America and the world, winning 4 World and 6 National and the favored American to win the Gold (and hindsight of her fall aside, based on her performances leading up to the game, why shouldn't she have been favored?), has nothing to do it?

Surely this is another PC consipracy to keep the more desrving "real" Americans down.

The media just stood on the sideline and did nothing to hype Peggy Fleming, Dorthy Hamill, or Nancy Kerrigan because, gosh, they weren't minorities! Is that how you are remembering it?

[Utah Girl]

No, read my comments. Kristi did it at a professional competition a couple of years ago. All the skaters were giving the thumbs down at the marks given. I found it quite tacky.

[Utah Girl]

Breaking down the voting

The short program is worth one-third and the free program is worth two-thirds of the total score. Based on the nine judges marks, the skaters get a factored placement for each program. The lowest total of the two factored placements determines the overall winner. In case of a tie, the skater with lower free program score is the winner.

The scores after the short program were:

1. Kwan 0.5
2. Slutskaya 1.0
3. Cohen 1.5
4. Hughes 2.0

In the free program, factors are 1.0 for first, 2.0 for second, 3.0 for third based on their postion.

The factored placements of the free program were:

1. Hughes 1.0
2. Slutskaya 2.0
3. Kwan 3.0

The total factored placements were:
1. Hughes 3.0
2. Slutskaya 3.0
3. Kwan 3.5

Hughes and Slutskaya finished with 3.0 factored placements after both programs. By virtue of the 1.0 factored placement in the free program, Hughes wins the gold.

[Dog Gone]

I haven't watched figure skating since the Kerrigan/Harding fireworks. And I really think that's how these matches should be determined--with a lead pipe across the knee. Last one who can still do a double-axel wins.

But you're right about one thing. Hamill was hot.

[codebreaker]

Exactly correct, no racial bias what so ever Kristi is always mentioned with Katerina, Dorthy and Peggy Fleming as the best ever.

[codebreaker]

I was referring to Danny Kwan in the coaching/advisory sense.

He is running the show now and couldn't cover up the fact that Michelle felt like she should extend her middle finger to the judges with the long program still to go and expect to come out unharmed.

A real coach would make sure that didn't happen.

[jimt]

Kwan was gracious after Nagano...

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. My impression was entirely the opposite. I can vividly recall a conversation with my daughter on how to lose and how to win, and that Michelle's behavior was something I wouldn't want her to emulate. Maybe we saw different interviews.