Michelle Kwan (USA) - 2002 Salt Lake City, Figure Skating, Ladies' Free Skate

[@debbiecassier9212]

I remember watching this live.. And I was st nervous for her.. My heart beat so loud. I don't know how she made it through this. Michelle will always be the ultimate skater to me. Olympic medals be damned. She is the gold standard.

[@francopedro4910]

InstaBlaster.

[@stephanie3848]

I remember it too, I felt for her

[@millyonair9225]

You mean the bronze standard. Also know as second loser.

[@gutsfinky]

Me too! I was 16 and a sophomore in high school, on February vacation. I sat on the living room couch late into the night. What a weird competition it was!

[@gutsfinky]

In a way I'm glad she didn't win the Olympic gold medal. If she had, she probably would have stopped competing and we would have missed her later programs, some of which were remarkable.

[@dkblazer24]

When she says “I didn’t give up” in the kiss and cry- I always get emotional.

[@amymantravadi5057]

It’s been 20 years and I still am on the verge of tears watching this. So happy for Sarah Hughes who gave an amazing performance, but would have liked to see Michelle be able to give a clean performance. She skated so well in Nagano. But without question, she is the skater of all of these skaters who is most remembered, and that’s something.

[@TT-ee4qp]

I love Michelle's program. Unfortunately, she fell and it's unusual, so sad .

[@millyonair9225]

Some people remember the losers and choke artists. Weird.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@millyonair9225 Some people didn't deserve the Olympics gold and got it with good lucky, like Sarah Hughes. Without Michelle and Irina, no one remember who is Sarah.......so funny. （∩▽∩）

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@millyonair9225 Sarah was lucky to win the Olympics gold and Irina had some opinions about that. (*^ω^*)

[@crazyasianman07]

I remember crying when she didn’t win. I was rooting for her. & cheered her on during these Olympics. She still amazing no matter what. Still love Michelle & will always be a loyal big fan. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@sassy9182]

Me too!

[@sunshineland]

It's been said, "In any competition, the best competitor doesn't always win. The competitor who makes the fewest mistakes does." This performance has proved it to be true.

[@isacampos5968]

@@aliciascott4299 Totally agree!

[@elizabethhurley1129]

@@aliciascott4299 That's what every Olympic medal means.

[@elizabethhurley1129]

@@aliciascott4299 The best competitor that night was Sarah Hughes. It wasn't even close.

[@elizabethhurley1129]

​@novakd1530 Hardly. They all prepare the same way - some have the ability to do their best under extreme pressure; some do not. You may like one better than the other, but at this level (top 6 in the world), they are all supremely talented. Sarah Hughes skated brilliantly and completed elements Michelle never even attempted at any point in her career. That comment just makes you sound petty.

[@Pitorro_X]

"Best competitor" was Sarah Hughes, thus she won. Bronze should've been awarded to Sasha Cohen, who skated better than Kwan and had a way more difficult program.

[@ehrenjw]

It’s just a medal. What she did in the sport is far greater than that. And greater than almost any other before or again has achieved. It’s truly bigger than medals when it comes to Michelle Kwan.

[@9395gb]

Agreed

[@larry-kp9sp]

Olympic gold is the crown jewel of figure skating. She selfishly fired her coach to keep all the glory for herself. He went on to coach another gold medalist. And she went home in third place.

[@unknown-lf6zx]

Michelle Kwan is such joy! Forgot how fun she was to watch! Ty Mk

[@elfology]

Michelle Kwan

[@ADEAL918]

elfology I'd still say she deserved to place ahead of Slutskaya in the long and thus, holding on to the gold even with Sarah rightfully winning the long program. But, that being said, this program was far from her best artistically even independent of technical issues. It was still artistically much better than Irina's and by a greater margin than any technical margin Irina might have held. But she definitely has better artistic moments than this.

[@Ishikawa-r8v]

This games are held in her own country. She was the gold medal favorite. I mean that no other top individual skaters have competed at Olympics under such a huge pressure until today.

[@Helen3691]

In my eyes no one has ever achieved her level of artistry and interpretation. Still gives me chills to watch this young woman.

[@guillaumedupont7565]

LOL what a bullshit...She is stiff like a stick

[@Kreatures100]

Gorgeous artistry.

[@Zanderthegrape]

6:47 Michelle: 😟 Her father: 😠 Her siblings: ☹️ Her mother: 🙂

[@JustMe-px9qy]

That ending pose...the best I’ve ever seen. Love it!

[@edwardbak4459]

She was such an extraordinarily beautiful skater.

[@andrelhuliganga7312]

I love Michelle Kwan! Unfortunately, she was under pressure both Olympics (‘98 and ‘02) with Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes. Lipinski and Hughes both had a very wonderful program technically speaking which unfortunately, is the advantage. I look to Michelle for her artistry! I mean come one, that spiral of hers will always be her trademark move!! 😊❤️

[@minavamp2811]

the difference between michelle and tara is that michelle skates not to lose and tara skates to win. she has another chance to redeem herself 4 years later, leading into freeskake and crumbled again under pressure allowing sarah hughes to come out from nowhere to win the gold. michelle couldn't deliver at a competition where it matters most is the olympics, period.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@minavamp2811 You are sick. So sorry for Tara, so many years, so many people thought Tara didn't deserve the Olympics gold because her performance just like a happy puppy.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@minavamp2811 Tara had no pressure because no one supports Tara would be the Olympics winner. Tara had no artistry and she fell again and again by the incorrect triple triple combo before the 1998 Olympics. LOL.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@minavamp2811 Michelle beat Tara at 1998 US championships because Michelle's artistry and technique were better than Tara. Tara was overrated and Michelle was robbed.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@minavamp2811 Why Tara retired ?Why Tara didn't go to the 2002 Olympics ? Because Tara didn't good enough to.....(≧ω≦)/

[@ronbowman4437]

Irina looked way more nervous than Michelle. Both girls were not at their best.. Sarah skated clean.. the rankings were right, I think.

[@ronbowman4437]

@@hazeleyeesHomebody Irina got the silver, should've been bronze, Michelle got bronze, should've been silver. Sasha was good, but she fell.

[@aliciascott4299]

I agree, I think the judges got it right. Sasha was excellent but she had never competed on the world level before. The judges didn’t know her so they were reluctant to give her high marks.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@hazeleyees Sasha's artistry was beautiful and boring, it's not Carmen.

[@victorserrano8294]

If only she hadn't decided to leave her coach before the Olympics... I always tought that "take responsibility for my own skating" was not a very clever move

[@snopesshop1903]

Victor Serrano she’s not very smart

[@thesupremediva]

I don't mind that she left Frank, because she wasn't skating well with him... but get another coach! How could anyone think going it alone would work?!

[@larry-kp9sp]

​@@thesupremediva and she wasn't skating well without him.... Her father intended to soak up the glory and the endorsements. He thought she was a shoo in.

[@victoriagill3337]

I just didn’t get any authoritative ‘Olympic champion’ presence shining through in this programme.

[@3Axel1996]

No, she was, once again, nervous.

[@thesupremediva]

This program was not the vehicle for her. The cut was really boring, the choreo, while beautiful, lacked zip and pop. I often wonder why she went with something so one-note for the Olympics when "spark" was what cost her in 1998. Aranjuez or Tosca actually would have played much better here. She skated poorly and was muted all season, save for Nationals. She seemed really unhappy and uninspired - not a good look in an Olympic season.

[@RedNekLvr22]

@@3Axel1996 You know, I truly want to feel for Michelle, but when you rely on artistry so much it can backfire on you. When she was on, she could always get by with doing the minimum necessary on the technical side. The problem with her philosophy is that when she made a mistake, it ended up being magnified because she didn't have enough tougher elements to make up for it. It sounds simplistic, but I think it's true. "Live by the sword, die by the sword.". For what it's worth, I think what really killed her more than the flip was not doing the triple toe-triple toe combination (of course, she was doing the easy combination). If she had managed to complete that pass, I think it would have given the judges just enough justification to put Michelle ahead of Irina in the long program since no one else but Sarah completed that type of element, Sarah's possible underrotations aside. Not completing that pass caused her to put even more pressure on herself for the rest of her program. I think if Michelle had completed the triple-triple, she would gone into the flip much more at ease. Over the years, before these Olympic games occurred, I remember hearing commentators say once in a while "It's more then just the jumps.". Well, Figure skating is more than just the artistry, also.

[@soxnation1000]

@@RedNekLvr22 I agree. And I think Sarah, Sasha and Tara all had good artistry too. Even though they were young, they had good feel for the music and their movements were polished. Plus their spins were better than Michelle's as well.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@RedNekLvr22 Maybe just because you are Tara's fan. Actually, Michelle's technique and artistry were better than Tara, Tara got hurt by the incorrect triple triple combo. Tara was lucky, without a kid's body and weight, Tara was nothing.

[@jf2602]

Thinking about her early programs like Salome and Taj Mahal, this one is not even close.

[@Kreatures100]

Yup she fired Lori Nichols and used Sarah Kawahara whose not nearly as good. She also fired her coach. Not good to go to the Olympics coach less.

[@lflagr]

Agree. This program was so...generic..for an Olympic program.

[@aliciascott4299]

Even her programs after this one were better. I think 2003 and 2004 were my favorite programs of hers.

[@michaeljj43]

of all her programs i just don't think this one had the impact of say her EAST OF EDEN program...this just didn't have what she usually gives emotionally in a program. but to stay at the top of her game for as long as she did is a testament to her love of skating.

[@aliciascott4299]

I love her East of Eden program! I never understood why it didn’t score well whenever she skated it.

[@rv6914]

I still can't watch the whole clip! 😩

[@BorisDefacto]

Same.

[@ManuelPabloArnao]

What choreography? She totally phoned it in and I love Michelle.

[@Kreatures100]

Agree Kawahara wasn’t near the choreographer of Bezic or Lori Nichols. When she stopped mid program with those bizarre hand movements it lacked sophistication. It wasn’t inspired like her other long programs.

[@heatherramsey9190]

I agree that she did not deserve to win...and I am a big admirer of hers. It is so important that the judges show fairness when placing skaters. Michelle should not have won. No way, no how. She made a major mistake. If you are awarded something you did not TRULY win...that's a tainted win. Which basically translates to a loss. Now if we were judging who is overall the most solid skater....Michelle would have won that. BUT we're not scoring that. This was an event where Michelle flubbed and should have probably not even placed on the podium. I am not mad at Michelle..it's not her fault. I blame the judges. And I think deep down Michelle understands she was genuinely handed a laurel that she did not actually achieve. She is so smart in that way. You can see by her facial expressions she knew all along.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@aliciascott4299 Unfortunately, Michelle fell at 2002, and Sarah did a good job to win. But, Tara was overrated and Michelle was robbed at 1998.

[@elizabethhurley1129]

@@TT-ee4qp Don't you get tired of trolling Tara? What did she ever do to you? Spurn your advances? It's really creepy. Just stop.

[@elizabethhurley1129]

@@aliciascott4299 Even Michelle's coach said Tara deserved to win.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@elizabethhurley1129 Frank Carroll ? He's not my business. （∩▽∩）

[@TT-ee4qp]

Some people deserved the Olympics gold but never got it with bad lucky, like Michelle. Some people didn't deserve the Olympics gold and got it, like Tara and Sarah. It's a accident that Sarah won, Sarah deserved it and she was lucky because the other better skaters like Michelle and Irina made mistakes.

[@snopesshop1903]

She should never have fired her coach

[@annecohen8927]

@@lutzaby1997 Michelle’s father had a personal issue with Frank Carroll. Sasha on the other hand, went from one coach John Nicks, to Robin Wagner, Tatiana Tarasova and then back again to John Nicks. Clearly nobody was taking particular attention to why she was changing coaches. In fact, Sasha would have stayed with Tatiana Tarasova since Ms. Tarasova has shown huge admiration and adoration for her. Robin Wagner had shown similar approach toward Sasha like she did with Sarah Hughes. But John Nicks, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[@aliciascott4299]

@@lutzaby1997 I believe coaches receive something like 10% of all profits that skaters earn from their endorsements if they win a gold medal. (At least that’s the way it was in 2002, maybe that figure is different now.) There were a lot of rumors that Danny Kwan was getting very greedy and didn’t want to pay Frank Carroll any extra proceeds if Michelle won gold. I don’t know how much truth there is to that, but that’s been discussed very frequently in the skating world. I guess only Michelle and Frank will ever really know.

[@aliciascott4299]

@Novak D I totally agree. It would have been an extremely small price to pay if she had won gold. Whether it’s true or not, I’m sure there were other factors that went into her decision to fire Frank aside from the money issue. I’m still hoping Michelle will write an autobiography or memoir someday, I bet it would be a fascinating read! (I know she released a book when she was much younger, I would love to read one about her adult life and her perspective looking back on everything.)

[@MichaelDruck]

Better than Irina that night but not as good as Sarah. Politics kept Michelle from not getting 2nd. Which would have won her the gold.

[@unknown-lf6zx]

Irina is super manly…no offense. Just surprised

[@scriptedbeauty1]

100 agree with you! The judges - esp the US judge - “engineered” the final outcome and totally threw Kwan under the bus.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Her 2002 National LP performance was better than here. ❤ She deserved to win the Olympics gold but never got it with bad lucky. 😢 However, when she came back to win the 2003 World champion again, she became a great legend in the figure skating history. ❤❤❤

[@rickram1961]

This certainly wasn't Michelle's skate of a lifetime!

[@RachelDavisMatthews]

Lack of speed, no 3/3 and triple flip error , Bronze is correct here.

[@mikeg8375]

The problem is, There is a credible argument that this was better than Slutskaya's free skate. And if the judge's had put her in second in the free skate behind Hughes, she would have won the gold medal under the rules at the time.

[@TT-ee4qp]

And lucky Sarah Hughes was a Olympics Cinderella 😅, if Michelle and Irina didn't make mistakes, Sarah had no chance. 😅

[@Lisa-xr9yh]

​@@TT-ee4qp I loved Sarah's routine, but the music needed a beat; it's in the rules. Hers was ethereal; she could glide and twirl to her heart's content, and land jumps to no beat whatsoever. In other words, the music should have cost her a half point, IMO. Heartbreaking for MK, SC, IS, but that's the Olympics.

[@rajs7876]

Your new am ambassador to Belize!

[@gutsfinky]

Congrats to her! A great place to be--warm, sunny and peaceful. Nice appointment for her.

[@marycrosby8317]

Anyone wonder if the skating judge stuff that was going on had anything to do with the singles skating?

[@scottw6704]

There was a bit of Eastern vs Western going on, but I didn't see any scores that were really out of the norm here. The top four all had comparable, fairly consistent scores...Kwan and Cohen had falls and got bumped back a bit; the two cleanest programs were 1st and 2nd in the long...I think they got it right. I would have placed Cohen over Kwan in the long though.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Sasha Cohen had to skate on crutches or she would fall everywhere on ice, that's why Michelle got 3rd and Sasha got 4th here. It's a accident that Michelle fell, it's usual that Sasha fell. And Michelle's artistry impacted Sasha. Sasha finally told people that she learned a lot from Michelle's performance....

[@TT-ee4qp]

Michelle kwan beat herself, she shouldn't be alone without Frank Carroll to join the 2002 Olympics. Michelle challenged herself more than challenged the Olympics. If people held the Olympics each year, she would win the most golds in the history.

[@bannockmuncher]

all those yrs to be Olympic champion.. but nope

[@PhilAlumb]

She dumped her long-term coach Before this Competiton. Guess she thought she could Win without him.

[@onetwocue]

I watched Clark lose. I came here to re watch how certain females have changed the game. You forget the winners but remember the ones who lost.

[@9395gb]

Michelle is also not a loser. Isn't she the most decorated us female figure skater of all time?

[@TT-ee4qp]

When Michelle moved on and won the 2003 World champion again , she became a legend and wrote herself in the book. ( Sarah Hughes placed 6th at the 2003 World championship...she never won any World champion or the National titles....)

[@vistaprime]

Yes, we all know Sarah was injured. We're not saying she was a lock to win the worlds but she would have placed a lot higher than 6th if she were not injured.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@vistaprime No way. Sarah was another Tara Lipinski.....just overrated and lucky. 🤭

[@CarloChapelle]

@@TT-ee4qp Hey don’t be bitter! Sarah won the Olympic Gold which is the hardest to win. Sarah came all the way back from 4th to win the Gold which is even more impressive considering this was her first Olympics. Michelle couldn’t even do it in 2 tries!

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@CarloChapelle Michelle Kwan had triple triple combo since 1995 ~ 2004 ( not every time ) , which means her technique was stable and better than the other skaters like Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes had triple triple combo just for 2~3 years. 😎😎😎

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@CarloChapelle Sarah Hughes and Tara Lipinski wouldn't get marks in technique under the new system. 😜 Their flip and lutz would be called out for under rotation today. 😳

[@JLFAN2009]

Can anybody explain the rules, according to which Michelle could still have won the gold, even after a fall?

[@scriptedbeauty1]

Michelle didn't technically fall; she saved herself from a fall by touching the ice with her hand. A fall would be like what happened to Sasha -- her butt fell on the ice. Michelle could have won the gold had she placed 2nd in the long. Michelle was in 1st place in the short. So, in the old 6.0 system, what mattered was the ordinal placements in both the long and the short. If any of the top 3 in the short placed first in the long, they would have won the gold. For Sarah, who was fourth in the long, she had to win the long AND someone else had to beat Michelle in the long. The controversy is not whether Sarah won the long; rather, did Irina really skate better than Michelle? And that's where politics come into play.

[@mht4908]

@@scriptedbeauty1 The judges made the mistake of putting Michelle in front of Sasha, so they were forced to put Irina in 2nd

[@elizabethhurley1129]

​@tresslercreed the real controversy is that Sasha definitely beat Michelle, but Michelle was placed above her.

[@Purpledawg-d9s]

@@elizabethhurley1129 Michelle Kwan didn’t produce at the moment she needed to produce

[@junj.20]

Beautiful performance, but sadly not Olympic enough.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Unfortunately, Michelle made mistakes, it's a accident.

[@TT-ee4qp]

If people held the Olympics each year, Michelle would win the most golds in the history.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Under the new system, Sarah's technique wouldn't get marks. Irina should be the winner. If Michelle didn't make mistakes, Michelle should be the winner.

[@killjoyxvi]

What's hilarious is that, while MK has most probably completely moved on, finished her grad school, has gotten married and divorced, has become an ambassador, has given birth, etc., her die-hard fans are still extra SALTY!! For chrissakes, Sarah and Tara beat her fair and square and deserved their respective Olympic golds. Be happy with her (MK's) national and world golds, and is it that hard to be happy with Sarah and Tara's Olympic golds as well? MK has moved on. It's all right; you can move on too. No need to hold on to bitterness and saltiness 🙄

[@MichaelDruck]

I think Sandra Besik is a biased commentator. She freaking was the chroegraphed Tara Lipinski. Scott too also seemed to favor Tara as he never asked Michelle to spearhead Stars on Ice. Both seem bitter and nit picky.

[@valerieteti1755]

@@lutzaby1997 You’re stupid Scott always admired and supported Kristi Yamaguchi

[@maryloureiff6489]

Michelle would never have left Tom Collins.

[@kimleung2901]

It’s interesting that they made no comment on her triple lutz, double loop which was really nicely done.

[@USA-qm2bk]

@@lutzaby1997 he hates tonya Harding she’s white

[@elizabethhurley1129]

@@lutzaby1997 yet Kristi Yamaguchi is one of his closest friends and a SOI headliner.

[@lflagr]

This gold medal was basically hers to win and the hometown judges already had the gold medal in the bag for her...but she couldn't handle the pressure. :( Ironically, if she had skated first in the final group (like she did in Nagano), she would have probably won the gold, as she would have skated with no pressure on her.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Michelle always deserved the Olympics gold, she had bad lucky.

[@TT-ee4qp]

No one supports Tara would be the 1998 Olympics winner, so Tara had no pressure. Tara was too young to understand what's the pressure because she was just a kid.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Sasha couldn't handle the pressure so she fell everywhere on ice everytime.....

[@ilovesnoopy7018]

“Michelle’s goal is to be free.” No...her goal is the win Olympic gold. But Hughes was better on that night.

[@mikeg8375]

I think Sandra was eluding to the fact that in 1998, Kwan skated clean but tight. She was slower and did not attack like Lipinski did. Michelle wanted to go for everything at this Olympics. "Be Free" meant to attack, not hold back. Michelle knew she needed to do this to win. Unfortunately it was not meant to be.

[@mikeg8375]

@@lutzaby1997I see what you are saying, I think in the long she looked a little bit slow. Still a great performance. I do think she would have needed more content to win, absolutely.

[@JustMe-px9qy]

@@mikeg8375 - what do you mean she skated “tight”? I’ve never understood that.

[@mikeg8375]

Tense...Nervous... not looking relaxed.

[@JustMe-px9qy]

@@mikeg8375 - got it. Thanks

[@rickrockzyootoob]

She should never have had her Dad down there with her. I think he distracted her and made her nervous. I immediately knew she wasn't going to land that jump -- her timing seemed off. As much as I wish Michelle had won, Sarah totally earned her gold medal -- she was amazing.

[@vistaprime]

Would that be considered a fall under the current system?

[@sombrelumiere]

Definitely

[@mlc2005]

Wow, she looked so nervous at the start of this. She always looks joyous when she starts, but not this time. I think that might have been the problem.

[@entertainer1987]

I think so too. Sarah Hughes really put the pressure on after her amazing performance.

[@susannicolari7335]

If she had been placed 2 nd which I think she deserved .Slutskya was slow weird choreography not a lot of presentation ,but when you fire Frank Carroll and have your skating Dad as a coach I think this was part of the problem

[@Jacobeeez]

I don’t understand? Sasha Cohen has a better technical and artistic performance. Sasha should’ve beat Michelle

[@aliciascott4299]

Sasha had never competed on the world level before. The judges didn’t know her and didn’t know what she was capable of.

[@rosemarykelty8142]

I loved Michelle Kwan, and I think that she deserved silver at the ‘02 Olympics as she fell on one jump, but she recovered beautifully and always had gorgeous athleticism and choreography. Irina Slutskaya deserved the bronze as her performance was not as good as Sarah Hughes’ or Michelle Kwan’s.

[@dbulc5171]

But if Michelle got 2nd in the free, she would've gotten the gold. That wouldn't have been fair. I think it should've been Sarah first, Sasha 2nd, Michelle 3rd, Irina 4th.

[@liveoakgap7489]

Fired her coach.

[@gutsfinky]

Probably a stupid move.

[@len5491]

Agreed.

[@lexiekrewitt1735]

I feel for her... She didn’t deserve to win in Nagano, she didn’t deserve to win in Salt Lake City, but she would have deserved it in Torino!!!! And this is the special thing about her, that she was shining through all these years, the teenagers around her came and left again and beat her, but she always stayed and fought!!! In Torino, the teenager (Kimmy Meissner) didn’t deliver, what Tara and Sarah did, Michelle should have won there... It’s a shame!!! But that’s life...

[@soxnation1000]

I doubt she could have won in Torino. Shizuka was capable of doing a 3-3-3 jump and watered down her program only bc Sasha and Irina messed up. Plus, at her last Olympics, Michelle probably would have suffered from nerves again.

[@lexiekrewitt1735]

@@soxnation1000 okay, I didn’t know that. I always thought that Shizuka couldn’t do any better & I felt that it was a shame that she won without 3-3, big step back after 1998 and 2002... But in that case, you are right... Still would have been interesting to see how it would have turned out...

[@TT-ee4qp]

Unfortunately, Michelle fell at 2002 ,and Sarah did a good job to win. But, Tara was overrated and Michelle was robbed at 1998 Olympics. Michelle's performance was classic, beautiful and womanly. Tara's performance just like a kid, she had a incorrect 3+3.

[@corawaller-jacobs8007]

Also, Shizuka won the 2004 Worlds. In the Canadian broadcast of that event, someone mentions that neither Sasha’s nor Michelle’s programs stood up to Shizuka’s technically…basically saying they were going to lose before they even stepped on the ice.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@corawaller-jacobs8007 Shizuka wasn't a good skater until the 2004 World championship. Shizuka raised her technique and lost weight to jump. However, Shizuka's technique was unstable, she had triple triple combo just 2~ 3 years, and she fell a lot. Michelle had triple triple combo since 1995 ~ 2005 ( not every time ) , which means her technique was stable and better than the other skaters had a short life on ice. Michelle got 5 World medals and 9 US titles, who is much greater than Shizuka in the history.

[@Kreatures100]

This was when Michelle was having a personal melt down. She fired her coach and choreographer prior to the games and brought her dad as her coach. Um. She hired Kawahara who wasn’t nearly as sophisticated as Lori Nichols. This choreography was beneath Michelle’s level. The short had Lori’s choreography and that was exquisite. She had trouble with her flip in the short and a coach would have helped correct that. She made the same mistake in the long, fell, two footed and didn’t execute a triple triple. You just don’t play around with coaching and downgrade your choreography just prior to the Olympics.

[@SamIAm1965]

Absolutely agree. Have said the same exact thing. Breaks my heart that she never won Oly gold, but firing coach and choreographer was biggest mistake of her career. Inexcusable, really. No idea what she was thinking, but it certainly had to be induced by pressure. And speaking of choreography, I think her loss to Tara had more to do with choreography than her skating "too safely." Lyra was an homage to classic skating, but it was boring. Any one of her other LP's from prior seasons would have beaten Tara. Having said that, the fact that Michelle had been injured and wasn't as prepared as she would have been otherwise doesn't get mentioned enough, along with the fact that Tara had the advantage of being the underdog with far less pressure.

[@aliciascott4299]

@@SamIAm1965 exactly. A lot of people don’t realize that Michelle was still recovering from a stress fracture in her toe at the 1998 olympics. She was off the ice for 2 months right before the olympics, and they had to re-do her entire long program just 5 weeks before the olympics, to keep her off of her injured left foot as much as possible.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@SamIAm1965 Tara was overrated and Michelle was robbed at 1998 Olympics. Michelle's program was classic, beautiful and womanly. Tara's program just like a kid.

[@Kreatures100]

@@TT-ee4qp Very factually incorrect. Your repeated references to Tara being just a kid with no pressure is highly inaccurate. She was the reigning world champion and two time Grand Prix winner. So it was debatable who was going to win the gold. While Michelle definitely has more refined artistry she didn’t have a triple triple and Tara had two in her program. So technically she won the day. Michelle also skated very slowly and defensively and cautiously. She did not have a perfect program. It was a little bit underwhelming given her nationals version of the same performance. Tara skated with freedom and speed and Michelles’s own coach even commented that Tara had won the Long program. Frank Carroll said Tara had out skated Michelle.

[@Kreatures100]

@@aliciascott4299 yea she was injured but skated a winning US Nationals with beauty grace and much better speed. Michelle arrived too nervous both Olympics. I agree Tara‘s program was better choreographed. Sandra Bezic knew how to win gold medals having designed gold programs for Boitano and Yamagichi. I’m not sure Nicole’s choreography for this long program was a winning program. It was a nuance driven program with one note musicality and wtf harp orchestration. That would’ve been a beautiful show skate unless she skated with The Verve of the US nationals which she unfortunately did not. But her long program in other competitions were generally exquisite and her short program was also exquisite.

[@pueraeternus111]

I cringe at Sandra Bezic's commentary. She was so eager to point out Michelle's mistakes, which were a few.

[@sassy9182]

Yes -right off the bat, she said, "landed, but tight," and the commentary got worse from there.

[@thesupremediva]

Bezic was / is a Lipinski apologist, so she never had any use for Michelle. I can recall just one instance in which she was complementary of Michelle, in 1999. Michelle skated in COI and Scott ran SOI, so they usually downplayed her greatness. Contrast that with Peggy, Dick and Terry who were often overflowing with praise for her.

[@pilarherrera5058]

Tan solo con utilizar música de Korsakov gano el 10 y mi corazón jajaja

[@GaryGarlic]

I loved Kwan 1995-2001. 2002 was when i noticed her programs became boring and less interesting. 2001 Worlds LP compared to this is day and night.

[@3Axel1996]

Her programs in 1995 were choreographed by Toller Cranston, 1996-2001 by Lori Nichols. Then you see the tremendous shift in choreography beginning with 2002.

[@USA-qm2bk]

3Axel1996 her jumps were best under frank and Raphael

[@hairbrush81]

@Karosanyo how many competitions did Kwan win when others didnt skate their best? Her dominance of the 95-96 season was with Chen and Bobek falling apart all year (except for Chen at Worlds). Cohen's falls let Kwan win many of her Nationals. Kwan's only wins over Irina in the 2000s decade where when Irina missed. Kwan's edge was she was more consistent than most of her main rivals. However problem was Tara was even more consistent and an even stronger competitor than Michelle.

[@judyi8671]

Go coachless they said, it'll be fine they said.

[@Aspen-yz1qh]

Michelle is so careful and slow . I of course think she is a fantastic skater; but never could see all the world drooling over her . There are so many other skaters who do triples and are just as good. .

[@TT-ee4qp]

She didn't do her best here. But she was the queen in her era , and she was one of the greatest artists on ice in the history. ( Maybe the best one, she got the most perfect 6.0 in the history )

[@TT-ee4qp]

Michelle kwan won 5 time World champion and 9 time US champion. She finished no lower than 3rd place between 1995 ~ 2004 ( longer than Yuna Kim ).

[@TT-ee4qp]

Michelle was the only skater without a coach to join the Olympics in the history. She challenged herself more than challenged the Olympics. She beat herself.... however, when Michelle came back to win the 2003 World championship again, she became a legend.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Sarah Hughes was a middle skater who never won any World champion or the National titles. Sarah was a Olympics Cinderella. Sarah was lucky because the other better skaters like Michelle and Irina made mistakes.

[@cristianasaras6898]

Her 1998 Free Skate was way more beautiful and artistic than this . She also seemed happier

[@msdeltaguy8017]

Sasha Cohen should have been third

[@TT-ee4qp]

Sasha ? The one who is famous for her fell forever in history ?

[@elizabethhurley1129]

Actually, she should have been second.

[@larainevanetten5311]

When she skated out she did not show joy and confidence. Her expression was that of fear and lack of confidence. Plus her music was heavy. The performance was not light and bouncy like Sarah's.

[@triffus]

True. The result however, would have been very different under todays rules. I think Irina would have won, Michelle 2nd, Sasha 3rd, and Sarah 4th. The under rotations would have cost her.

[@Франческадонна]

спасибо Мишель что выступила под римского Корсакова Шехерезаду!!!!!!!!!

[@VasilyevaEkaterina]

Мишель классная, я ее обожала. Но, к сожалению, музыка Римского-Корсакова сама по себе, Мишель сама по себе. Хореографы, грубо выражаясь, похерили всё, что было можно.

[@katiedempsey6404]

It wasn't flawless: 2 footed landing, and breaking a fall on a triple flip. Not gold medal worthy. Who in the EFF is the female, negative nilly announcer?

[@mht4908]

Also a tight landing on the triple loop (technically not a mistake but it showed that she was off from the beginning), and having to bail out of the triple toe-triple toe when she nailed it during the warm up. The female commentator is Peggy Fleming I think, she’s the 1968 Olympic champion

[@Moon-Marie]

The female commentator is actually Sandra Bezic.

[@jmonz2625]

This wasn’t a good program, the choreography left a lot to be desired, her 2003 and 2004 programs even with errors would have been better here.

[@williamverlaber3984]

Maybe she should have kept her coach a bit longer.

[@3Axel1996]

Most skaters have that demanding, know-it-all Skate Mom. She had the Skate Dad.

[@williamverlaber3984]

@@3Axel1996 I think it was mostly the skater.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Actually, I love this program, something happened we didn't know and impacted on Michelle, she became a little bit unstable.

[@gutsfinky]

​@@TT-ee4qp which is where a coach could have helped her. And perhaps a sports psychologist.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@gutsfinky Michelle challenged herself more than challenged the Olympics..... She beat herself. She shouldn't be alone without Frank Carroll to join the 2002 Olympics. However, when Michelle came back to win the 2003 World championship, she became a legend.

[@lorddalek]

This may be the biggest choke in modern Olympics history and its kind of a disservice to Sarah because she WAS better that night.

[@coreyadkins8775]

Even if Michelle didn't choke Sarah had the hardest book. If both were on that night it was still Sarah Hughes.

[@adrian123781]

Her jump combinations and spins are almost the same as all of her previous programmes, like you already know what is her next jumps going to be and spins. The only changes she made is her choreography and music throughout her figure skating career that is why she is very consistent. Tbh she is not a very successful figure skater. It’s just her consistency that made people love her, with that her presentation marks is obviously higher because she is the favourite because of her consistency.

[@Ronizetti]

Ezra aloyevielara - OMG, someone else who didnt drink the Koolaid! :) So right you are! My skating partner and I had said that all those years - both her AND Todd Eldridge - turn off the sound, put on the music from any previous season and there-you-go - SAME program! :) Truly, consistency was her only hallmark ... she didnt bring enough technial ability to fend off true competition.

[@adrian123781]

Ronizetti WOW yes finally someone can see that ! Hahahah She is basically recycling where her jumps going to be at and in between she changes her choreography and transition. No improvement at all! The only well known ladies figure skater during her era that has improve throughout their career base on their technical components are Sasha Cohen, Irina Slutskaya, Tara Lapinski and Sarah Hughes.

[@adrian123781]

you are stupider !!

[@elfology]

"not a successful figure skater" ... So then why is she considered one of the most decorated of all time? You can't take away her Olympic silver, Bronze, her 5 World Championship Golds (plus 4 silver and a bronze), her 9 NINE National championship GOLDS (and 3 silvers) not to mention her Grand Prix medals, it adds up to something like 12 golds, 6 silver and 2 bronze. For NINE SEASONS she has never placed any lower than 3rd in any competition, and she holds the record for the most 6.0's (39 or something like that, to give you an idea the second most 6.0's is Brian Boitano who has 9). So yeah, I really don't know how YOU define success, but I'd say her award shelf is more full than any other American ice skater (male or female). I think what you meant to say was that you don't like her choreography as much as most people do. You CAN choose to not like her choreography, you CAN'T deny her success!

[@Zuranthium]

You're wrong about her spins being the same. Michelle Kwan was one of the only skaters at the time who did spins in both directions, starting in 1997. She also changed her layback multiple times over the years and showed other unique spins in professional competitions especially (which were a big deal at the time and she did MANY of those competitions). She was consistent because of her great basics and technique and work ethic. As others have said, pretty much every skater does similar jump combinations throughout their career, there are only a limited amount that are worth enough points to begin with, so that's a dumb comment.

[@ferdyspears]

The real tragedy here is the fact that Slutskaya was ranked higher in the free skate. Kwan clearly out skated Slutskaya. The Sarah Hughes story aside, they really missed the mark here.

[@Ronizetti]

Anne - how right you are, Anne

[@ferdyspears]

Judging is comparative. Again, the Sarah Hughes story aside, 6 of the 9 judges, and really the only 6 who were judging fairly( I am taking out the 5.9s that the three Russian countries awarded to Soutskaya.) We can all agree that they were playing favorites. When you compare Slutskaya to Kwan it's easy to see why Kwan got higher artistic scores when the benchmark that they were comparing Kwan to was 5.7 ( the average of Skutskayas 6 scores from the non iron curtain countries). The judges agreed that Kwan did artistically outskate Slutskaya by about 2 tenths which is exactly why the judges scored her higher. They were comparing the two skaters in question. The ordinals obviously were a different story. The judges weren't dumb, they knew exactly that Kwan had to get the third place vote to let Sarah win. Kwans program may seem uninspired to you but the judges clearly liked it and rewarded it with the artistic mark. How someone can question Kwans artistic Mark's is beyond me. She deserved the mark. She also deserved silver.

[@deeppurplejaguar]

no way! this was very boring and generic program and skating. could/t watch till the end (

[@ADEAL918]

ferdyspears so you're saying you think the judges recognized that Kwan should have beaten Slutskaya, but made it the other way around so that Sarah Hughes could win the gold for what was clearly the best long program of the night? I could see this happening and I can understand the desire to give the gold to the one who skated best, but doing this does effectively disregard the short program. There was a reason Sarah didn't control her own destiny in the long, and that was her standing after the short. And doing what you suggest was done basically throws that out the window. The thing is, because of those numbers, what should have been the long program results--Hughes 1st, Kwan 2nd, Slutskaya 3rd--still would have left Kwan with the gold factoring in the short program standings.

[@maryloureiff6489]

@@ferdyspears She couldn't win silver. If she was placed ahead of Irina she would have won the gold.

[@vistaprime]

is there a CBC version posted?

[@tyboogie1982]

GOOD QUESTION

[@hairbrush81]

@JNagarya Tara in 97-98 actually dominated Kwan in major events. At U.S Nationals, the Grand Prix final, Worlds, and Olympics Tara went 4-1 vs Michelle. And 4 of the 5 biggest events of 97-98 which were 97 GP final, 97 Worlds, late 97 GP final, 98 Olymipcs, and 98 Worlds, Tara won 4 of the 5 (5 of 7 if you count 97 and 98 Nationals). And Tara was only 14 and 15, still not at her likely peak had she continued, unlike Michelle who had already peaked in her skating in 98.

[@paulief.biggie5459]

You are a joke.

[@Zuranthium]

Michelle's skating didn't peak in 98, she continued to give many amazing performances for many years to come. Lipinski is the one who peaked in 1998, as her growing body and lesser technique was not able to sustain all of those Triple-Triple attempts that brought her success.

[@maryloureiff6489]

MK was not at the "late" 97 Champion Series Final because of her broken foot.

[@lflagr]

I don't know why she dumped an actual coach and went with her dad as the stand-in coach. What was she thinking lol

[@TT-ee4qp]

Michelle kwan challenged herself more than challenged the Olympics. And Sarah Hughes didn't good enough to challenge herself like Michelle. 😇😇😇

[@hairbrush81]

The only time Michelle and Tara both skated cleanly it was Tara who won.

[@Ronizetti]

Markus McManus - Yup, when true competition showed up, they won! Michelle never had the technical edge or arsenl of jumps needed to become Olympic champion

[@lflagr]

Even before her fall, this was a boring, lethargic program. So slow and methodical compared to the other top skaters. #justmyopinion I would have honestly put Sasha ahead of this.

[@nancy23737]

I agree with you..... although Michelle was my favorite, Sasha’s program was way beyond exquisite, except for the fall.

[@thesupremediva]

Many people forget that Sasha had never competed in a senior international competition before this Olympics. She had zero international reputation. There was no way she was beating Kwan with a fall. Even today, she'd have a hard time making that happen unless she was Russian.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Sasha's performance was beautiful and boring, she had no passion, it's not Carmen. Sasha deserved the 4th place.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@thesupremediva The judges can see how Michelle impacted Sasha. Sasha finally told people that she learned a lot from Michelle's performance.

[@lukelee3]

She didn't deserve this gold but did in 1998 to flutzer lipinski

[@michaeljj43]

she didn't win the gold here...she won the bronze.

[@soxnation1000]

Huh? kwan flutzes too

[@lukelee3]

@@michaeljj43 thats why i said she didn't deserve the gold...... learn to read

[@lukelee3]

@@soxnation1000 yea she flutzs too but her routine isn't sloppy and stiff like lipinskis.

[@michaeljj43]

@@lukelee3 dude...no need to be rude...i can read...wasn't trying to bait you...my gosh...calm down. i made a mistake. you need to learn some manners.

[@mozartandi]

This is one of her most choreographically empty programs. So many crossovers, so much two-footed skating, so little complex foot work. How did this get the bronze over Sasha Cohen??

[@TT-ee4qp]

Because Sasha was a copywriter. Sasha told people that she learned a lot from Michelle's performance. And Sasha had to skate on crutches or she would fall everywhere on ice everytime.

[@TT-ee4qp]

And Sasha never won any World championship or Olympics gold.....why ?（∩▽∩）

[@scriptedbeauty1]

The real question was how did Irina manage to place in the top 3?

[@stepitup25]

Can someone explain how this program beat Sasha? Sasha fell at the beginning, Michelle fell in the second half. Aren’t the jumps worth more in the second half? Did she do more jumps than Sasha? I genuinely don’t get it. I’m not a Michelle fan by the way; her skating bores me.

[@gregklein7640]

Sasha completed 6 triples. Michelle and Irina only completed 5 each. Sasha had a more difficult program as well with more intricate innovative moves. Sasha should have gotten bronze or even silver. Michelle didn't belong on the podium.

[@stepitup25]

Greg Klein I thought so. I was trying to find a rational reason Sasha was ranked lower, but I guess there isn’t one 😕 If Sasha was more consistent with her jumps, I know she would have been national/world/Olympic champion multiple times.

[@tyboogie1982]

This was during OLD scoring system. 🤦‍♂️

[@cvcfoundation8413]

It was the MK halo effect, judges couldn’t imagine her not walking home w/o a medal based on past performances. Sasha definitely robbed of the bronze.

[@juanax1987]

Obviously none of you understand the first thing about figure skating. The fact that people put Irina or Sasha in the same league as Michelle Kwan, enrages me. I am not a Kwan fan, but she CLEARLY was way and beyond everyone else. Irina, as much as I love her, had the same grace on the ice as a truck driver . Sasha, while flexible and pretty, she never grew out of her "juniorish" and tacky presentation. I never understood how Dick Button, Peggy, and Sandra were so obsessed with her.I agree that Kwan blew it this night, but to say that she did not deserved to be on the podium, clearly says something about the level of taste you people have, which is clearly none.

[@jjsmith4829]

she lost because she was not good enough technically. her jumps were weak: she barely gets off the ice and she was not dependable enough to do her jumps cleanly and to do triple triple jumps consistently.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Michelle finished no lower than 3rd place between 1994~2005, her artistry and technique were hard to close for the other skaters.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Some people deserved the Olympics gold but never got it with bad lucky, like Michelle. Some people didn't deserve the Olympics gold and got it, like.....Lol

[@TT-ee4qp]

Lucky Sarah. Sarah did a good job never happened before to win, the other better skaters all made mistakes . And what you said about Michelle ...pointless. Lol

[@guillaumedupont7565]

@@TT-ee4qp S U A H !!!....

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@guillaumedupont7565 Be nice, little girl. （∩▽∩）

[@Jackietreehorn39]

Under a lot of pressure, not having her best night but doesn't quit like Biles did. This is the true heart of a champion and one of the greatest no matter what place she finished.

[@elizabethhurley1129]

Ridiculous comparison. Simone did not "quit."

[@luluna6371]

this a very stupid comment

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@elizabethhurley1129 Why Michelle is a legend ? Because she impacted Sasha, Sarah, Yuna.

[@larry-kp9sp]

Splat.

[@LennonTheBunny]

how is she considered the best skater of all time??? I found this a bit stiff and boring

[@3Axel1996]

5 time World Champion (first at 15 in 1996, and last in 2003; with silvers in 97, 99, 02; and bronze in 04), 9 time US Champion (from 1996 through 2005, consecutively; plus silvers in 94 and 95). Success soared under Frank Carroll and choreographer Lori Nichols from 1996-2001. She opted to part with both Carroll and Nichols at the start of the 02 Olympic season, so her Long Program was not nearly as well choreographed for that season. And since this was her 2nd hurrah at the Olympics for a medal, she was more nervous as she did not want a repeat of 98 when she was favorite to win but lost to Lipinski in a 6-3 vote, when both skated clean. So, she was more nervous than expected, which was why this performance was stiff (similar complaint of her LP at the 98 Olympics as well). I'd recommend her 2000 Worlds LP, where she was 3rd going into the Long and didn't think she would win. She ended up skating a perfect program with abandonment in what I believe to be her best choreographed long program by Nichols.

[@sadiedeveau9318]

I know, I mean look at the way she has her arms out to the side setting up for her jumps, so exaggerated for a elite skater. I beleive during Michelle's reign there were not as many strong skaters. So at competitions Michelle was very consistent , but would win by skating a clean, safe program , never taking a chance while others tried the triple ..left it all on the ice and maybe stumbled or fell and Michelle wins. Once the triples became a part of women's skating and we see so many strong , elite skaters from all over things changed. At the Olympics the best of the best ( where they all didn't attend world's etc)., Michelle never won because her safe clean program just never stood up. Then the triples combos etc , she struggled with those jumps. Today we have women landing quads lol. Now I always was moved by Sasha Cohen and even though she choked under pressure and dosent have the big jumps either, but her artistry to me was best in the world at the time. This is my opinion and the Kwan fans will list all her titles to me , yet again, but I already am aware and Lol.

[@soxnation1000]

@@sadiedeveau9318 Actually, Kwan has landed many more clean 3-3s than Sasha. I don't think Sasha has ever landed a clean 3-3 in competition, whereas Kwan has landed them in multiple US and world championships. Sasha only had flexible spins going for her, that's it.

[@paulief.biggie5459]

Lennon The Bunny Her record speaks for itself.

[@paulief.biggie5459]

Sadie Deveau Her arms are called perfect technique.

[@benweikert6512]

I still think Sasha Cohen was underscored. I would have had Michelle 4th in the long

[@mht4908]

Same, Sasha fell on a triple lutz-triple toe attempt, whereas Michelle fell on a solo triple flip. Under today's scoring system Sasha would've had the 2nd highest technical content behind Sarah Hughes

[@scriptedbeauty1]

I think Irina deserved to be fourth in the long; I would have placed Sasha above the Sarah in the long, too.

[@mht4908]

@@scriptedbeauty1 Sasha above Michelle, yes. But no one was beating Sarah that night at least in terms of technical content. Sasha had a triple-triple that she fell on, Sarah had 2 which she landed. There was no reasonable justification to place Sasha ahead. That being said, there was also no justifying placing Michelle ahead of Sasha in the long, Michelle likely got it because she was the heavy favorite. Yes Irina should've been 4th, but since the judges already placed Michelle in front of Sasha, giving her the correct placement would've given Michelle the gold, which we all know she didn't deserve that night

[@auntiechercher4266]

Sorry, but I have to disagree about Sasha. Here is my reasoning. Sasha two-footed TWO of her triple jumps (the Lutz and the Flip). She also fell on the double toe loop on the back of the Lutz and her butt touched the ice. On the other hand, Michelle had a fall, but her butt didn't go on the ice and steady herself from a splat and broke the fall. She toe footed one jump - the triple toe loop in her combination. So there you have it: Sasha - Two double footed landings and One outright fall. Michelle - One double footed landing and One touch down to break a fall. Makes sense Michelle was ranked over Sasha.

[@auntiechercher4266]

@@scriptedbeauty1 Sasha above Sarah Hughes. Give me a break? Sasha has no combination, a fall and two double footed landings. And you think that goes over Sarah - two triple triples? What planet do you live on?

[@TT-ee4qp]

It's a accident that Michelle fell, she shouldn't be alone to challenged herself without Frank Carroll. 😳 Michelle kwan had triple triple combo since 1995 ~ 2004 , which means her jumps were strong and better than the other skaters like Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes who had triple triple combo just for 2~3 years. 👍👍👍👍👍 5 time World champion.

[@3Axel1996]

Tara stopped because of her back problems that prevented her from doing the triple jumps. Sarah got her prize and found it difficult to be motivated to continue beyond 2003 and decided to go off to Harvard, or was it Yale? Michelle also had the easiest triple-triple of the 3.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@3Axel1996 Under the new system, Tara's technique wouldn't get marks. Under the new system, Sarah's terrible triples wouldn't get marks. 😆😆😆

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@3Axel1996 Michelle kwan had triple triple combo since 1995 ~ 2004 , which means her technique were better than Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes that had triple triple combo just for 2~3 years.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@3Axel1996 Tara couldn't make triple toe triple toe......so easy ? 😁😁😁

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@3Axel1996 Sarah was a middle skater who never won any World champion or the National titles......A Olympics Cinderella. 🤭🤭🤭

[@marecolgan4858]

She was the best ever!

[@larry-kp9sp]

She certainly one of the best bronze medalist

[@triffus]

Nah. She was the best for an era. Yuna Kim would have destroyed her and walked away. Michelle had her moment, but never went for it. She never even tried the triple triples that she COULD have done. Lets not give her a free pass. No one was asking for Quads and Triple Axle's back in her day.

[@ManuelPabloArnao]

I love Michelle but both the short program and this long program were lame, boring, and unoriginal programs. She completely phoned it in. And 2 mistakes Scott, not 1. Two footed triple toe and a ‘fall’ on the triple flip.

[@CalLove121]

She should have done her Tosca free skate that she won nationals with in 2004!

[@TT-ee4qp]

I don't agree what you said. Michelle's artistry made her two programs with dramatic, elegant and emotion. Compared to Sasha, Sasha's performance was beautiful and boring, it's not Carmen.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@CalLove121 Michelle's Tosca program was much better than Irina's Tosca program.

[@scriptedbeauty1]

Correction, Michelle didn't fall; she touched the ice with her hand, so it was a touch down. Sasha fell; her butt touched the ice.

[@richardbasa9264]

Those 3 jumps are so under rotated

[@carterwilson4605]

What 3? And not at all obviously true from this video footage.....

[@ytyt3922]

This should definitely not have beaten Sasha Cohen for the bronze. Must be nice to know you’ll be guaranteed a medal no matter how you skate.

[@skatefan9495]

I just watched both and Michelle was correctly placed above Sasha, though it is close. Michelle had more technical difficulty. She completed both of her combos. Sasha only completed one. And Michelle did a 3lz-2lo while Sasha only did a 3Lz-2T. Sasha also had an egregious flutz. She didn't even try to take off from the outside edge. Sasha had better spins but Michelle had better skating skills and her spiral had better edge quality. So Michelle wins on tech. I can see the case for tying them on the second mark but Sasha didn't have enough credibility with the judges to get marked above Irina (who was grossly overmarked on the second mark). So if Michelle was first in presentation, Irina had to be second. This competition was much closer than it appears with unbiased judging. I can see a case for an all-American podium, with Sarah first, Michelle second and Sasha third (like that was going to happen) or even a gold medal for Michelle. What I can't see is a gold medal for Irina. A lot of scenarios have her coming in 4th.

[@mariuslives8250]

@@skatefan9495 love your analysis. Under the old system, I still think Michelle should have edged out irina but not sarah. So that still would've meant that Michelle would've won Gold had she been only second to Sarah. Then it would've been michelle 1st, sarah 2nd, and Irina 3rd.

[@gregklein7640]

@Mountain Lover yep, she double footed the triple toe in the first combo. The commentator even said as much.

[@elizabethhurley1129]

Actually, Sasha just skating out on the ice beats Michelle here.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@elizabethhurley1129 Actually, people know the truth is that Sasha had to skate on crutches or she would fall everywhere on ice everytime....since the 2002 Olympics.

[@Колокольчик-я8т]

Прыжки слабенькие, разбегаелась и прыгала пол программы

[@TT-ee4qp]

Did you win 5 time World champion ? 😆😆😆😆😆

[@TT-ee4qp]

So many years , you changed your name again and again to slander Michelle Kwan. Shame on you. 😎😎😎😎😎

[@ЕкатеринаПчелина-щ6з]

Разбег-прыжок - это к Слуцкой!

[@arlenfillmore9492]

How can she think she will win if she felt....just because of her other tittles??? Jajjajajjajajsj

[@crazyasianman07]

Arlen Fillmore who said anything about her thinking she will win? How could u possibly know what she’s thinking? As much as I wanted Michelle to win, she probably at this point was preparing for the worst since she knew she made a mistake falling on the triple flip and not being able to do her triple-triple combination in the beginning. & with Irina Slutskaya skating after her.

[@patricktriveno1466]

WTFFFF Kristi Yamaguchi won 1992 with one fall and a double salchow

[@jjsmith4829]

never understood the appeal of kwan; her jumps are very average barely gets off the ground and the distance travelled is not far; her speed into and out of jjmps not fast; her artistry is far over rated she is not particularly graceful or elegant she lacks refinement she needed ballet and dance training; she moves her arms and head but the movements are not fully extenedd and refined; in fact alll the leading ladies here were lacking; sarah was too young and unrefined and irina was just dreadful maybe sasha cohen was the best but need to watch her program cloesly

[@stevebbuk9557]

A shame about Sasha: she was probably overwhelmed by the occasion and that one slip cost her. I think Sarah won fair and square, unlike the girl who won at Sochi twelve years later.

[@triffus]

I agree and disagree. Her artistry was excellent. If you can't see that, you are blind. Her jumps were basic AF. She fell into a pattern of leaning into her spirals, and her same old spins. Footwork was great as well. She was held up, absolutely.... but so was Sasha ( the tightest jumps ever) and Sarah ( under rotated and boring choreo ).....

[@elenajako6733]

Так и теряют золото

[@arlenfillmore9492]

Boring. Her routines all look the same.

[@MeganWoodard1984]

This just showed how overrated Michelle was, greatest skater of all time? Not even close.

[@skategurl1102]

You know nothing about skating. She had accomplished so much in this sport!

[@mozartandi]

Sana Ansari Michelle accomplished much in this sport, but it’s hard to deny that she was overrated. Her artistic abilities were amazing no doubt, but technically, she didn’t contribute any innovative moves or push the sport further. If she were judged under the current IJS, she definitely wouldn’t have medaled as much as she did under the 6.0 system. I have to agree with the OP here. Michelle was good for her time, but her technical scores were often inflated, and she is definitely not the GOAT.

[@yogivansloth1118]

Yes, let’s base someone’s entire career over a 4 mins performance. That sounds fair. Michelle Kwan made figure skating what it is today in the US. Nobody remembers Sarah Hughes or even Tara Lipinski, but everyone remembers Michelle. I don’t watch figure skating anymore b/c it’s all about how many jumps you do. This is an artistic/subjective sport and many forget that. To me, the only one that came nowhere near Michell is Kim Yu Na.

[@tyboogie1982]

@@mozartandi She pushed artistry

[@mozartandi]

Tyrone Branch sorry but I have to disagree. Unlike technique, artistry isn’t something that you can “push” in figure skating. You cannot force other skaters to become more artistic simply because you are also artistic. Either you have it or you don’t. There have been amazingly artistic skaters since the beginning of the sport, and I’m not denying that Michelle was one of them. However, figure skating is part sport and part art. Sport can be pushed, which Michelle didn’t, and art is innate.

[@arlenfillmore9492]

She wants every single medal like no one skates better... She thinks she deserves to win every single time. She should learn to lose.

[@entertainer1987]

At least Kwan admitted before the medal ceremony that it wasn't her night. Irina Slutskaya was a HUGE SORE LOSER that evening. She felt that she deserved the Gold after having a rough landing on the triple-flip jump and not performing the two triple-triple combinations she had planned for her program.

[@entertainer1987]

@Mountain Lover Irina did an interview last month and she said that felt that she lost the Gold only because she was competing in the United States. She said, "Of course, I knew beforehand that I wouldn’t be allowed to win there - it was all about politics. But, undoubtedly, it was extremely unfair, because, according to all the criteria, I definitely won at those Games." That sounds like a sore loser to me.

[@bannockmuncher]

she was talented.. just not olympic talented

[@TT-ee4qp]

You should respect Michelle Kwan. She was robbed at the 98 Olympics. Under the new system, Tara's flip and lutz would be called out for under rotation today. And of course, Tara's artistry was far from Michelle's.

[@bannockmuncher]

@@TT-ee4qp she does have my respect.. 2nd place respect

[@stevenvalencia2003]

Any skater can make a mistake she is an was talented don't be disrespectful

[@bannockmuncher]

@@stevenvalencia2003 yes.. that mistake got her 2nd place.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@bannockmuncher Michelle challenged herself more than challenged the Olympics. She beat herself. She shouldn't be alone without Frank Carroll to join the 2002 Olympics. However, when Michelle came back to win the 2003 World championship, Peggy Fleming said that Michelle wrote herself in the book.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Lol. Without Michelle and Irina, no one remember who is Lucky Sarah. Michelle gave people a truly great Olympics performance that never gave up and always graceful no matter what happened.

[@liveoakgap7489]

What did her coach say?

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@liveoakgap7489 Frank Carroll is a gentleman who impossible said Tara had no artistry more than Peter Pan and didn't deserve the Olympics gold. 😆😆😆

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@liveoakgap7489 Tara Lipinski said : Michelle Kwan is an idol of mine. One of the best skaters all time was making me work harder and harder. 👍👍👍

[@bannockmuncher]

what did.. what's her name again place.. mike... misty... oooh yeah ǝllǝɥɔıɯ

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@bannockmuncher Can you speak Humen Language ? 😆😆😆

[@cw6391]

@getrealandsee it wasn't a fall you dumbass. her body didn't hit the ice. and what do you mean "about time" how many times has michelle kwan been in a position like this?

[@cw6391]

i think it's really unfair they marked her for a "fall" when it was clearly a "hands down".

[@lflagr]

point is, it was a big mistake

[@ADEAL918]

it's not the first mark that was deducted unfairly, there was also the two-footing of the first triple toe loop. The problem was that they seemed to also deduct from the second mark for technical mistakes. That's not supposed to affect the second mark. Michelle would normally get almost straight 5.9's on the second mark, and she had only 2 here. An example is Kristi Yamaguchi in '92. She had a hand-down/fall on her triple loop similar to Michelle's mistake on the flip, and still got almost all 5.9's on the second mark.

[@plumeria66]

So mediocre. Her jumps, spins, and choreography. Stiff arms. Uninspiring. Glad she enjoyed a great career out of it though.

[@achnix3167]

I think her Presentation Scores were too low compared to Hughes'... Not that she should have won but still

[@plumeria66]

@Finessnu2 Triggered by an opinion? You must be so unhappy. Enjoy being triggered, snowflake! Yes, Kwan is mediocre. Repeat after me and don’t you ever forget it! Hahaha.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@achnix3167 Michelle's artistry was better than Sasha....Tosca with powerful and epic.

[@TT-ee4qp]

@Finessnu2 Some people had no point.

[@TT-ee4qp]

Sasha Cohen was a copywriter. Sasha told people that she learned a lot from Michelle's performance.

[@guillaumedupont7565]

Music down technic down transition down expression down artistic down flexibility down ... third place ? Overrated

[@TT-ee4qp]

Unfortunately, Michelle fell, it's unexpected. For Sasha, she always fell.

[@guillaumedupont7565]

@@TT-ee4qp MK Was so boooooooring....Not SC

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@guillaumedupont7565 Whatever you said, nobody cares. Michelle got into the World Figure skating Hall of Fame, enjoy it or not, and that's your problem. Lol

[@TT-ee4qp]

@@guillaumedupont7565 I give your face...0.0..under the 6.0 system. Enjoy it...or not...nobody cares...Lol

[@guillaumedupont7565]

@@TT-ee4qpLOL Famous only for looser like her and into hall of fame only in your imagination asshole Instead of spitting on the real stars, stop pissing us off with a loser Apart from a deranged fanatic like you, no one is able to quote a program of your idol or what she won or when and she took a slap in the face at 2 Olympiads end of story Now you can repeat until doomsday that your pseudo star is the only one that actually matters everyone doesn't care and everyone forgets MK and her poor programs Go see a psychiatrist you need one

[@sneakyrabbit3465]

Irina Slutskaya should have been first, Kwan second.

[@RachelDavisMatthews]

Slutskaya has less grace and fluidity than Bonaly..........lucky she was even 2nd. Cohen was better than both Irina and Michelle. Highes deserved 1st - easily

[@MK-dk8dg]

Hughs got first because she is american and only.

[@Zuranthium]

@@MK-dk8dg That's not true at all, Hughes clearly outskated everyone else in the Long Program by a big margin. It was the most flawless performance of the competition, beautifully graceful and flowing with the music, and had multiple Triple-Triple combinations when nobody else did one at all.

[@cassidytracey8722]

That massive nose !!

[@pourunhomme]

She'll always be more respected, successful and well-liked than you honey.

[@brandyatracey3003]

+Connie Maheswaren I can't get the profile picture on this phone and I had some gorgeous pictures to put up.

[@brandyatracey3003]

+Aime Babolate Hypocrites ! So it is perfectly fine e for you to call Tara a horse mouth gawky bitch on here because she did harder jumps and won. Yeah okay .

[@MJR8385]

Seriously disturbed for the OP. This situation should not evoke physical judgement

[@snopesshop1903]

cassidy tracey she’s beautiful