It's number 14 for Kwan

[Schmeck]

Michelle Kwan has been selected as athlete of the month by the USOC for the 14th time...

http://www.usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=28921&type=news

[prunes89]

Why Kwan? What did she do that Sasha didn't? Why didnt' Kimmie get it? She landed the 3axel! That is awesome.
Good for Michelle though, but I still think Sasha or Kimmie should've won.

[Debbie S]

Why Kwan? What did she do that Sasha didn't? Why didnt' Kimmie get it? She landed the 3axel!

I don't think Sasha has won a 9th National title lately, or a 1st.

Kimmie's 3 axel was a great achievment. When she starts to accumulate the titles and other accolades that Michelle has over the years, I'm sure she'll win her share of these awards.

[Schmeck]

I think if Kimmie's 3 axel was a bit cleaner (although ratified, it wasn't the best 3 axel we've seen from a female skater) then it would have been nice to have honored her with this award.

Why not Sasha? Because she's not having a great year so far, I would guesss. She's had some pretty sloppy skates, didn't win Nationals, and has the added hoopla of changing coaches in mid-stream.

Since it was the United States Olympic Committee (sp?) that picked Michelle, it didn't have to be a figure skater, did it?

[Tapper]

Why Kwan? What did she do that Sasha didn't? Why didnt' Kimmie get it? She landed the 3axel! That is awesome.
Good for Michelle though, but I still think Sasha or Kimmie should've won.


If you read the article you might get a better sense of why Kwan won.

[iskatealot]

sure it was Michelles 9th title...and yes Kimmies triple axel was a bit underrotated in competition....but didnt everyone see hte one she landed in warmup?? it was perfect......

[Samskate]

I don't think jumps completed in warm-ups count quite as much as those landed in competition, do you? Kimmie will make her mark when she has competed more and won more. One underrotated triple axel doesn't qualify someone for athlete of the month IMHO.

[likes2skate]

Why Kwan? What did she do that Sasha didn't? Why didnt' Kimmie get it? She landed the 3axel! That is awesome.
Good for Michelle though, but I still think Sasha or Kimmie should've won.

Without reading the article...I am going to guess it was because she tied the record for most National Titles by a female skater (9), she broke her own record for most consecutive wins at the national championships by a female skater (8) and she broke her own record of most 6.0's earned by a skater at the National Championships. Granted, 4 of them were bogus but the 3 in the short program were deserved.

(This was all shoved down our throats during the broadcast. :frus:)


Kimmie became the second US female skater to land a triple axel in competition.

Sasha won her 3rd National silver medal due to a flawed program.

I think out of the three, MK was the most deserving even if her LP was really boring.

[fadedstardust]

Why Kwan? What did she do that Sasha didn't? Why didnt' Kimmie get it? She landed the 3axel! That is awesome.
Good for Michelle though, but I still think Sasha or Kimmie should've won.

a) what did Michelle do that Sasha didn't do? WON NATIONALS, MAYBE?
b) Kimmie landed an overrotated double axel with half a turn cheat on the ice. That's actually not a triple axel and wouldn't be ratified under the new system- I don't think a young girl who comes out of nowhere and lucks out with semantics deserves to win this honor. Maybe when she lands it fully she will. If she'd landed a CLEAN triple axel and had half the presentation either Michelle or Sasha did, she would have won Nationals. There's a reason she didn't.

[vanillalatte]

sure it was Michelles 9th title...and yes Kimmies triple axel was a bit underrotated in competition....but didnt everyone see hte one she landed in warmup?? it was perfect......

OK, but it's not the warm-up that counts. Sasha has completed quads in warm-up, but can't do pull it together in the program. When Kimmie completes a clean 3A in her program, I'll take notice of it. The one in her program at Nationals was not clean.

[Artemis]

I agree that Michelle is probably the most deserving of all the skaters at nationals to win athlete of the month. And certainly if there were a lifetime achievement award she'd be first in line.

However I do wonder if there was an athlete in some other, less glorified, Olympic sport that might have been as deserving or more so. I'm not saying Michelle's win at nationals wasn't deserved, just that it wasn't in especially spectacular or convincing fashion, so it seems unfair to make her athlete of the month for all Olympic sports.

[Debbie S]

However I do wonder if there was an athlete in some other, less glorified, Olympic sport that might have been as deserving or more so. I'm not saying Michelle's win at nationals wasn't deserved, just that it wasn't in especially spectacular or convincing fashion, so it seems unfair to make her athlete of the month for all Olympic sports.

Well, I agree that athletes in other sports should get attention too, but remember, there is an award every month, and you don't see figure skaters winning all of them. I think it was a combination of all the records Michelle set or broke at Nats that got her the honor. And remember, a win is a win - yes, her LP was not her best, but in almost every other sport, no one takes notice of "close" wins. After all, when a skier or speedskater or runner or swimmer wins a national or Oly championship by 1 or 2 tenths of a second (which frequently happens), no one dwells on how they almost didn't win, or if their winning time was not their lifetime best.

Figure skating is one of the few subjective sports, so people do analyze the specifics of the performance - one of the things that makes it such an exciting sport - but let's not forget that mainstream America, and the media, essentially focuses on the end results of all athletic contests, b/c that's usually all that can be discussed.

[ditzysk8r]

Kimmie so should have gotten it - Kwan wins every year, but does someone land a triple axel every year? Nooo...

[fadedstardust]

Actually, people land triple axels in Japan almost every year. But no one's landed one at U.S. Nationals since Tonya Harding, not even Kimmie Meissner. No one in the U.S. landed a triple axel in competition this year. Watch the tape. Just cause Kimmie got a gift for TRYING it and encouraging her to keep it, doesn't mean it's right.

[loveskating]

Without reading the article...I am going to guess it was because she tied the record for most National Titles by a female skater (9), she broke her own record for most consecutive wins at the national championships by a female skater (8) and she broke her own record of most 6.0's earned by a skater at the National Championships. Granted, 4 of them were bogus but the 3 in the short program were deserved.

(This was all shoved down our throats during the broadcast. :frus:)


Kimmie became the second US female skater to land a triple axel in competition.

Sasha won her 3rd National silver medal due to a flawed program.

I think out of the three, MK was the most deserving even if her LP was really boring.

It should have been KIMMIE for landing a 3 axel...this is a prime example of Kwan HYPE and her stealing the thunder from skating in general...its like when Irina landed the first 3 lutz/3 loop and American skating fans were not allowed even one SECOND to celebrate that accomplishment for the sake of the cult of Kwan.

Even as to marketing, this Kwan Cult is such a huge mistake...for instance, you can SHOW a 3 axel being landed, you cannot show some "record" that means nothing to anyone but a few people in skating!!

[Lise]

I think it's fitting that it is Michelle that gets the award. Kimmie's program, even without the 3 axel was simply not up to par with the rest of the top competitors. I beleive she was given a huge gift for attempting the axel, and besides the fact that it was severaly under rotated, can not understand why people would fantom that she deserves all these accolades. Sasha, imo, still has to prove herself; yes she has won a medal at Worlds, however, she has yet to have a competition where she is clean throughout.

I'm not a Michelle fan in the least, but, imo, she deserves this award.

Lise

[Schmeck]

There is no way that Kimmie deserved this award, as it was a joke that they called that jump a 3 axel. It was a gutsy attempt, I'll give her credit for that. For those of you crowing about the supposed 3-axel, go back and watch your tape please. It was pre-rotated on takeoff, and underrotated on the landing. The ratification in itself was gift enough...

Next you'll be saying Sasha deserved it because of how well she falls :roll:

[Tapper]

How is it that this thread, which is about Michelle Kwan winning recognition has turned into a thread about who "should have won" the prize?

Congratulations, Michelle!

[Lark]

In my opinion, Michelle deserves EVERY recognition that she gets.
Without Michelle, skating would have NO eligible skaters known to the general public.
Except for every 4 years, when someone like Tara or Sarah gets a month of attention for having a splendid, if not way too short, career.
Michelle rocks.
She is not my favorite skater of all time, but heck, give her props!!!!!

[likes2skate]

It should have been KIMMIE for landing a 3 axel...this is a prime example of Kwan HYPE and her stealing the thunder from skating in general...its like when Irina landed the first 3 lutz/3 loop and American skating fans were not allowed even one SECOND to celebrate that accomplishment for the sake of the cult of Kwan.

Even as to marketing, this Kwan Cult is such a huge mistake...for instance, you can SHOW a 3 axel being landed, you cannot show some "record" that means nothing to anyone but a few people in skating!!

Your dislike for this woman is as obvious as Lyndsey Lohan's breast implants.

[susan6]

It should have been KIMMIE for landing a 3 axel...this is a prime example of Kwan HYPE and her stealing the thunder from skating in general...its like when Irina landed the first 3 lutz/3 loop and American skating fans were not allowed even one SECOND to celebrate that accomplishment for the sake of the cult of Kwan.

Even as to marketing, this Kwan Cult is such a huge mistake...for instance, you can SHOW a 3 axel being landed, you cannot show some "record" that means nothing to anyone but a few people in skating!!

8O

That's right, the Kwan Cult is running things; it's a Kwanist konspiracy. They control figure skating; they control the media; and they shot Kennedy from the grassy knoll.

Remember.....just because you're paranoid doesn't mean Michelle Kwan isn't out to get you. Beware the wrath of Kwan!

:twisted:

[fadedstardust]

8O

That's right, the Kwan Cult is running things; it's a Kwanist konspiracy.

:twisted:

A Kwanspiracy? Never. ;)

[apache88]

It should have been KIMMIE for landing a 3 axel...this is a prime example of Kwan HYPE and her stealing the thunder from skating in general...its like when Irina landed the first 3 lutz/3 loop and American skating fans were not allowed even one SECOND to celebrate that accomplishment for the sake of the cult of Kwan.

Even as to marketing, this Kwan Cult is such a huge mistake...for instance, you can SHOW a 3 axel being landed, you cannot show some "record" that means nothing to anyone but a few people in skating!!

Kwan hype and her stealing the thunder from the skating in general? We are talking tying a 7-decade long record here!! It's a big deal in any sport. And Michelle delivered it so it wasn't a hype at all. Landing a 3A by a lady is a bg deal too but it might pale in comparison to Michelle's 9th victory at Nationals. Let's be objective here, in the next 30 years, what's the likelihood of skater male/female equaling that record? Now let's see how many ladies can land the elusive 3A in the next 30 years. Probably a few if not 10. You get the picture? Tittles may mean little to you (I respect that) but they still whether you like it or not, play a great deal in any sport.

[likes2skate]

Kwan hype and her stealing the thunder from the skating in general? We are talking tying a 7-decade long record here!! It's a big deal in any sport. And Michelle delivered it so it wasn't a hype at all. Landing a 3A by a lady is a bg deal too but it might pale in comparison to Michelle's 9th victory at Nationals. Let's be objective here, in the next 30 years, what's the likelihood of skater male/female equaling that record? Now let's see how many ladies can land the elusive 3A in the next 30 years. Probably a few if not 10. You get the picture? Tittles may mean little to you (I respect that) but they still whether you like it or not, play a great deal in any sport.

The record means little to loveskating because Michelle has (shares) the record. If Sasha shared the record, it would be important to her.

IF you look at what is important to loveskating vs what is not, the "important" things always favor Sasha, and the "non-important" things always favor Michelle.

Example- Loveskating has stated before that the ISU ranks are VERY important. I have come to the conclusion that this is because Sasha Cohen is ranked #1. If Michelle were ranked #1 and had been dominate on the GP seen for the past year, loveskating would post something to the point that the ISU purpously scores the events so Michelle can maintain her spot at the top and everyone is in a cult to make her the best.

Loveskating has also said how important GP series is. If Michelle wins all her GP events next year and others (Sasha) do not do as well, I am willing to bet the GP series will all of a sudden not be that important. She will also accuse Michelle of paying judges to let her win, and say the reason Sasha did not win is because Michelle's fans put too much pressure on Sasha. :lol: