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LATEST KWAN MENTIONS
news

The absolute latest (yes, "spoilers" too) Michelle headlines and articles are found to the left in a yellow box. Also, check out the Michelle Kwan Forum.  Other tidbits are found below. Old news can be found in the News Archives, sorted by month/year.

June 2006 - January 2007

  • U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appointed Michelle as the first first American Public Diplomacy Envoy on November 9, 2006.  She will help to educate youths around the world about American culture.  See article.
  • Michelle is a full-time student at the University of Denver, planning to major in political science and minor in international studies.

March - May 2006

  • Michelle is currently headlining the Champions on Ice tour, running from April through August. Her new exhibition is to Natalie Cole's "A Song for You." Her main focus is to get healthy and for now she will remain amateur (Olympic-eligible).
  • Michelle joined President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao at a White House luncheon on April 20. See article.

January - February 2006

  • Michelle withdrew from the Olympic Winter Games on Sunday, February 12, 2006 due to a groin strain. In the press conference (click here to listen) she said, "Taking myself off the team is the most difficult decision I've ever had to make, but it's the right decision. This injury prevents me from skating my best, and I've said all along that if I couldn't skate to the level that I expected from myself I'd withdraw from the team. The Olympics is the greatest sporting event in the world and what's most important is that the United States fields the strongest team possible. As much as I'd love to represent the United States in Torino, I would never stand in the way of that." Michelle will always represent the epitome of grace and class. You can leave messages for Michelle at the Michelle Kwan Forum.
  • Congratulations to Michelle on her nomination to the 2006 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team. The U.S. Figure Skating International Committee voted 20-3 to accept her petition, shown below:
    • "I would be pleased if representatives of USFS attended and observed my practice session in Los Angeles, California on or about January 20th and a run through of my short and long programs, again in California, on January 27th or 28th. The purpose of the latter would be to assure the USFS observers that my programs contain the technical elements necessary for an Olympic level performance, and to give further assurances to the USFS that my prior injury will not prevent me from being physically ready to compete at the highest level at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games on February 21, 2006. Should those USFS representatives, after observing my short and long programs on January 27th or 28th, determine, in their sole discretion, that my programs do not contain the technical elements necessary for an Olympic level performance, or that my prior injury will prevent me from being physically ready to compete at the highest level at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games on February 21, 2006, I will withdraw from the team. Thank you for your consideration."
    See the USFS article for more information.
  • Michelle announced her withdrawal from the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships due to a groin injury (unrelated to her now healed right hip ligament). She will petition the U.S. Figure Skating International Committee for one of three ladies spots on the 2006 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team, and commented, "If they say, 'OK, Michelle, you're ready to go,' and I don't feel I'm 100 percent, I will pull myself out of the team, because I want to be 100 percent at the Olympics." Michelle expects to resume normal training on January 13. See U.S. Figure Skating and Judy Tseng's article "Kwan Discusses Her Reasons for Withdrawing from Nationals" for more information.

July - December 2005

  • So what's been up with Michelle? A strained hip ligament took her off the ice for several weeks, forcing her to withdraw from the 2005 Campbell's Classic and two Grand Prix events (Skate America and Cup of China). Michelle's first competition of the season was the 2005 Marshall's U.S. Figure Skating Challenge on December 11, 2005. Michelle debuted her new short program to Maksim Mrivca's "Totentanz" and skated to "You Raise Me Up" for her second program (see Videos) Michelle overwhelmingly won the fan vote for both portions of the competition. Currently, Michelle is training for the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships (January 7-15, 2006) where she will attempt to win her ninth consecutive and tenth overall National title and qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team.

May - June 2005

  • On May 26, Michelle confirmed her intention to compete at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy.  During a VISA promotion with other Winter Olympians on the Today Show, she commented, "Coming to New York, I didn't really make a decision, but hanging out with the rest of the athletes and sharing our Olympic experiences... I just said why not; I'm gonna go for it."
  • Michelle has a new ice rink and training center! The East West Ice Palace in Artesia, CA (near the Los Angeles area) officially opened on May 16, 2005. Michelle is also the new spokesperson for East West Bank.
  • Following a 1st place finish at the 2005 Marshall's U.S. Figure Skating Challenge on March 29, Michelle toured with Champions on Ice.  She performed a new exhibition program to Madonna's "This Used to be My Playground," and her jump content, which was more difficult than that of her usual exhibitions, included a double axel, two triple flips, and a triple lutz/double toe/double loop combination.

March - April 2005

  • Michelle finished 4th at the 2005 World Figure Skating Championships, placing 3rd in both the short and long programs after one of her worst long programs in the qualifying round where she placed 7th. Michelle landed a new triple flip/double toe/double loop combination in the free skate and showcased more difficult spins and footwork throughout the competition. Despite a fall on the triple salchow, she quickly got up smiling. In an interview with Christine Brennan, Michelle was very optimistic about continuing to improve certain aspects of her skating such as spins, jumps, and transitions, and she firmly declared, "I think I can win under this new judging system." Click here for detailed competition results. Check out the club for photos and discussion.

January - February 2005

  • Congratulations to Michelle for winning her 9th U.S. title (1996, 1998-2005), tying Maribel Vinson Owen (1928-33, 1935-37) for the most U.S. titles. She earned 7 perfect marks of 6.0 during the competition, raising her total number of perfect scores at Nationals to 42. Check out the 2005 Nationals photo album posted on the group website for over 40 photos of Michelle collected from various news websites (Not a member? See here).
  • Gain some insight into the glamorous side of Michelle's life in Philip Hersh's new article, "Embracing the Glitter, Chasing the Gold."

November - December 2004

September - October 2004

  • Michelle has withdrawn from both of her scheduled Grand Prix events, Skate America and Skate Canada. She stated, "I chose not to compete in the Grand Prix Series the past two years, and I feel that my overall skating benefited from the reduced competition schedule." It has also been reported that Michelle has been suffering back problems, but she will continue to train, focusing on the National Championships to be held in Portland, Oregon from January 9-16, 2005. Michelle's next scheduled competition is the 2004 Marshall's World Cup of Figure Skating on December 3, 2004.
  • Michelle placed first at the 2004 Campbell's International Figure Skating Classic. Check out photos, results, and articles at the U.S. Figure Skating website.
  • Michelle will skate to Ravel's Bolero for her 2004-2005 season long program. It was choreographed by Christopher Dean, who won the 1984 Olympic Ice Dancing Gold Medal with Jayne Torvill, earning 12 perfect 6.0's using the same music. To watch Torvill and Dean's legendary Olympic program in RealVideo format (6.49 MB), RIGHT CLICK and select SAVE TARGET AS on this link. For more information about Michelle's program, read the press release.

July - August 2004

  • Look for Michelle on the long-running FOX animated series "The Simpsons" again in February 2005 after the Super Bowl! She, NBA stars LeBron James and Yao Ming, and NFL defensive tackle Warren Sapp will lend their voices in an episode "poking fun at America's obsession with broadcast indecency."
  • Happy 24th Birthday Michelle (July 7)!

May - June 2004

  • Michelle is scheduled to compete in the 2004-2005 ISU Grand Prix Series at Skate America and Skate Canada. The events of the Grand Prix Series will be judged using the new Code of Points system. See the other entries at the ISU website.
  • Michelle will be honored with the 2004 Citizenship Through Sports Alliance (CTSA) Award for demonstrating an "enduring commitment to citizenship, sportsmanship and community service." For more information as well as the other award recipients, check out the USFSA website.
  • Michelle graces the cover of the July 2004 issue of Women's Health and Fitness magazine, where she shares her get-fit tips. Check out some photos from her photo shoot for the magazine here.

March - April 2004

  • Michelle is now on The John Hancock Champions on Ice 2004 Tour. Her new exhibition is to Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up."
  • Michelle placed 3rd at the Marshalls World Skating Challenge on April 6, 2004 in Providence, RI behind Sasha Cohen and Shizuka Arakawa. See the results here.
  • Michelle won the bronze medal at the 2004 World Championships in Dortmund, Germany. It was a bizarre Worlds for Michelle because she fell in the qualifying round, received a deduction for skating over the time limit in the short program, and dealt with a streaker on the ice before she began her free skate. She was able to overcome all of these obstacles to place 2nd in the free skate to pull up to 3rd place and win her ninth consecutive medal at the World Championships. She now has a complete collection (Gold - 96, 98, 00-01, 03, Silver - 97, 99, 02, Bronze - 04)! Also, congratulations to the new World Champion Shizuka Arakawa of Japan, who landed two triple-triple combinations in her free skate. Below are links to some photographers' sites which have photos from Worlds:
  • Congratulations to Michelle for being voted the 2003 USOC Sportswoman of the Year! Read the article here. Michelle was presented with this award at The John Hancock Champions on Ice 2004 Tour on Sunday, April 4, 2004 in Boston. See her with USOC vice president Paul George and the award in this photo.

January - February 2004

  • Michelle won her seventh consecutive and eighth overall National title on Saturday, January 10! She received seven 6.0's for presentation for a career total of 35 at Nationals. See the complete results at the USFSA website and view photos here and here.

November - December 2003

  • Michelle will compete at Nationals in Atlanta! It takes place January 3-11, 2004. Check out this TV schedule to see when to tune in!
  • Michelle won the International Figure Skating Challenge on December 5 in Auburn Hills, MI. She skated to "Tosca" but doubled her first triple lutz and fell on her second. However, it was enough to win over Shizuka Arakawa and Sasha Cohen.  See the full results and photos at the USFSA site.
  • Michelle's new coach is Rafael Arutunian. He was the former coach of Russian skater Alexander Abt and is a technical specialist. Below is an excerpt from an L.A. Times article:
    • Kwan said her collaboration with Williams "worked out perfect for last year," when she had a light competition schedule, but added, "I need to start training hard and skate more. I have to keep on pushing myself and keep moving because the competition is becoming extreme, with triple-triples and triple axels. I have to keep up with the times.

September - October 2003

  • Michelle will be featured on 10,000 billboards nationwide as part of the "Pass It On" campaign promoting positive values. One will also be in Times Square, New York!
  • Michelle is a nominee for the 2003 Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year. Read her season recap and view the other nominees.
  • Michelle attended ABC's Primetime Preview Weekend in order to promote the ABC network shows at Disney's California Adventure Park on September 6.  See some beautiful photos here.

July - August 2003

  • Michelle has returned to summer school at UCLA and has flown to New York to work on her new programs for next season. She will not skate on the Grand Prix circuit, however. Read more about her plans and her appearance at an Arizona figure skating camp.
  • Happy 23rd Birthday Michelle (July 7)!

May - June 2003

  • Michelle attended the movie premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pear on Saturday, June 28. Check out some photos here.
  • Michelle is nominated again as Favorite Female Athlete for the 2003 Teen Choice Awards (She won in 2002). The other nominees are Jennifer Capriati (tennis), Kelly Clark (snowboarding), Mia Hamm (soccer), Anna Kournikova (tennis), Mary Osborne (surfing), Serena Williams (tennis), and Venus Williams (tennis). Go and vote, if you are 13-19 years old (you can also use AOL Keyword: Teen Choice Awards). The show airs on Wednesday, August 6 at 8pm ET/7pm CT on FOX.

March - April 2003

  • Michelle was named the USOC March Female Athlete of the Month! This is the 12th time she has received this honor. See the USFSA site for details.
  • Michelle won the Kids Choice Award for Favorite Female Athlete! She also won last year :)
  • Michelle now has a new exhibition for the 2003 Champions on Ice tour to Alicia Keys' "Falling'."
  • Michelle won the 2003 ABC Sports International Figure Skating Challenge held on April 8 in Connecticut. Check the USFSA site for results and see the event on TV on ABC on Sunday, May 11 from 1-3pm.
  • Congratulations to Michelle, now the 5-time World Champion! Check out the U.S. Olympic Committee's Michelle Kwan Photo Gallery for quotes, historical factoids, and more on Michelle's win.
  • The 2003 World Figure Skating Championships take place March 24-30 in Washington, D.C.! I will attend the Saturday, March 29 practice session at the MCI Center, since I live too close to D.C. to let the opportunity to see Michelle slip by!
  • Michelle is nominated once again for the 2003 Kids Choice Award for Favorite Female Athlete (Michelle won in 2002). Check out the other nominees here.

January - February 2003

  • Michelle was named the USOC's Female Athlete of the Month for January 2003! This is her 11th USOC Athlete of the Month Award, which is the most won by any athlete in the history of the award. For more, see the USFSA's press release.
  • According to a recent Harris poll, Michelle is America's favorite female sports star! She ranked #8 behind athletes like Michael Jordan (#1) and Tiger Woods (#2) in the poll which asked, "Who is your favorite sports star?" Serena Williams, tied at #9, was the only other female athlete to make the list. Check out the press release here.
  • Michelle will not participate in the Grand Prix Final in St. Petersburg, Russia this year. Read the USFSA's press release here.
  • Read an interview with Michelle's coach, Scott Williams, conducted by Paula, of Golden Skate, on January 23, 2003. There are several Michelle mentions!
  • Michelle skated to her *7th* National crown last night. She earned one perfect 6.0 in presentation for her free skate to Aranjuez, despite skating first in the final group. Michelle nailed six triple jumps and oozed with flair. Sarah Hughes finished second and Sasha Cohen was third. (The top 3 were named to the World team). For complete ladies free skate results, click here.
  • Nationals (January 12-19) are almost here! Check out my Nationals section for TV/Event times. Michelle will be going for her seventh crown (sixth consecutive)!
  • A recent national survey on smiles conducted by Harris Interactive for Trident White Spearmint sugarless chewing gum revealed that Americans say Michelle Kwan has the best smile of all female athletes! Read here.

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