Michelle Kwan

WHO IS SHE?      funfacts  CHILDHOOD AND FAMILY     Teen and young adult  facing challenges  

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the only one   skating timeline               awards            READ MORE

Californian girl?   Chinese girl?   Figure Skater?   American?   A legend?   An icon?  A role model? A fun-loving girl?

Michelle Kwan is all these....and more!

WHO IS SHE?

Born on July 7, 1980 at Torrance, California , Michelle Kwan is a role model for millions of children and teens.

She is famous as an American figure skater. But she is a legend because she has led a life of hard work and dedication towards becoming a better person.

In 2002, kids voted her as their Favorite Female Athlete at Time for Kids.

This is what Michelle Kwan wants kids to know about success:

o       Sometimes you need to sacrifice to achieve goals and dreams,

o       The importance of loving and respecting family and elders

o       And not to forget: doing something because it’s fun!

She is praised by many observers as a metaphor for sanity in her sport, the multi-dimensional, well-rounded young adult emerging from a sport that demands an almost-mindless devotion from its tiny teen stars.

Kwan serves as a national spokesperson for the Children's Miracle Network "Champions Across America" program.

About her future, the popular skater said she aspires to be "the Michael Jordan of my sport."

"You always keep on going at it and hope for the best," she said. "What you give is what you give back."

funfacts

Her Chinese name is Kwan Wing Shan       Nickname: Shelly

Michelle Kwan wears a gold dragon necklace which her Grandma gave her many years ago.

When she was younger, she had a pet squirrel with a big bushy tail and evil eyes.

Her favorite actors are Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Pastimes: Biking, bowling, swimming

 Earnings: $1 million a year from tours and promotions

CHILDHOOD AND FAMILY

Michelle was the third child of Danny and Estella Kwan, born on July 7th, 1980 in Torrance, California. Kwan has two older siblings: a brother Ron and sister, Karen. Her parents emigrated from Hong Kong in the late 1970's. The Kwan children were the very first native-born American children in the family. Michelle was born into an active family, as Ron enjoyed ice hockey and Karen took figure-skating lessons.

At age five, Michelle's parents took her to one of Ron's ice hockey games. It was here, that Michelle decided she too would like to lace up the skates. Little did she know that this was a decision that would forever change her life.

"I was wearing rental skates and eating Nerds candy," she remembered.

To pay for her childhood skating lessons, Kwan's parents mortgaged their home. "I learned from my parents that if you work hard enough, your dream just might come true," said the popular Kwan.

By 1990, the Kwan's hired esteemed coach Frank Carroll to lead and train Michelle towards championship level skating. Such a decision did not come without sacrifice, as the parents lived between two cities so Michelle could train in Lake Arrowhead with her coach and her father could stay at home and work as the breadwinner of the family.

From: Michelle Kwan, An American Icon  http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/j/r/jrp227/assignment6.html

TEEN AND YOUNG ADULT

At age seventeen, Kwan was a "normal" teen -- a serious bargain shopper who loved roller coasters and music (but not head-banger music); a teen who kept a diary and swooned over Brad Pitt!

Michelle decided to go to university, to have a normal life. From an article Michelle  Kwan By Amy Klein:

“In class, Michelle, a Chinese-American, looks like any other university student. Wearing a baseball cap and no makeup, she's yawning after a sleepless night of studying.

　　But outside of class, Michelle Kwan leads a very different life. Just 21 years old. She has already won four World Figure Skating Championships and the 1998 Olympic sliver medal . She stars in skating shows , commercials, TV specials and even a new video game. But Michelle doesn't skate for the money and fame. Since childhood, skating has given her joy-and plenty of challenges.

 "It gets harder every year." She says. But she still finds joy in skating.”

Sometimes, she escapes to her childhood as the time she was spotted skating at a pond:

Kwan wanted to be a child again, to be the 12-year-old who delighted herself with every new jump. When she talked at the beginning of the season about going back and finding the motivation again, that was what she meant. Back to a place where there was only a girl with a ponytail and an open sheet of ice.

Source:http://www.boston.com/sports/packages/usfigureskating/stories/012001_kid_finds_that_sweet_spot_and_everything_melts_away.htm

    Kid finds that sweet spot, and everything melts away By John Powers, Boston Globe Staff, 1/20/2001

facing challenges

At age 15, Kwan was the U.S. and National figure skating champion and was expected to defend both titles in the year leading up to the 1998 Olympics at Nagano, Japan. However, she struggled with boots--she couldn't find ones that fit properly.

 She even struggled against her own body: Like most teenagers' bodies, Kwan's was changing. The natural development of her figure, and the 10 pounds of weight that came with it, made many of her spins and jumps more difficult.

 These obstacles caused her to stumble several times at the Nationals at Nashville in 1997, and she lost her title. Her failure was well-publicized; Sports Illustrated used four pages of color photos showing her falls in Nashville just days after the event.

"After my performance, I said, 'Hit me, Dad. Wake me up.' It was like someone else took over my body. My evil twin skated for me. But I threw her away. She doesn't live here anymore."

Michelle Kwan's Olympic dreams were nearly shattered when it was discovered between November and December that she had a stress fracture in her left toe. Her doctors were optimistic that if she stayed off the foot, she could have the chance to be recovered in time to skate at the U.S. Nationals and the Olympic Games. Michelle complied and as such healed in time for the 1998 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Philadelphia. Even with severely limited training, Michelle's performances during those championships were described as two of the greatest performances in U.S. history. She earned fifteen perfect scores in her two programs. Peggy Fleming, 1968 Olympic Champion and analyst for ABC sports said about her performance, "it was a blend of power and grace that left me in a state of wonderment.”

Her magnificent performance caused observers to begin comparing her to the greatest skaters in history.

"I love competing .I love the challenge. "Michelle's love of challenges shows today as she juggles skating with university studies. "I want more than just to be a skater," she says.

Source: 2 WHO MADE DEFEAT WORK FOR THEM by Bob Herzog   and  http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/j/r/jrp227/assignment6.html  - Michelle Kwan, An American Icon

the only one

--She is the only skater in history with her own video game: Michelle Kwan Figure Skating, by EA Sports.

The winner of more perfect 6.0 marks than any other female skater in history

awards

She began skating at age 5 and won her first competition at 7.

Michelle won her first World Junior Championship at 13.

After winning four of the past five World Figure Skating Championships, she  won the bronze medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

She is a five-time recipient of SKATING magazine's Readers' Choice Award for figure skater of the year.

skating TIMELINE

Source: Michelle Kwan, An American Icon http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/j/r/jrp227/assignment6.html  -

Kwan, Michelle. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 01 Feb, 2003 http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=368597

Kwan, Michelle. Heart of a Champion: An autobiography. New York: Scholastic Trade, 1997.

Kwan, Michelle. My Special Moments. New York: Hyperion Press, 2001.

Klein,Amy.Michelle Kwan Graphics by rita liu Talent+hard work +love of skating=world champion http://e365.cc163.net/topic/topic16.htm

Winfield, Heather. The Michelle Kwan Fanpage. [Updated 03 Feb 2003; cited 25 January 2003] http://heatherw.com/mk/index.htm

READ MORE

2 WHO MADE DEFEAT WORK FOR THEM by Bob Herzog July 15, 1998 Staff Writer Newsday, Inc

AN INTERVIEW WITH WORLD CHAMPION MICHELLE KWAN - by Michael Boo, American Skating World.

Kids Voice Their Choices! by Dina El Nabli TIME FOR KIDS -April 18, 2002-

Kwan, Michelle. Encyclopedia Britannica 2003 Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 01 Feb, 2003 http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=368597

Kwan, Michelle. Heart of a Champion: An autobiography. New York: Scholastic Trade, 1997.

Kwan, Michelle. My Special Moments. New York: Hyperion Press, 2001.

Winfield, Heather. The Michelle Kwan Fanpage. [Updated 03 Feb 2003; cited 25 January 2003] http://heatherw.com/mk/index.htm

Michelle Kwan, Heart of a Champion: an autobiography, by Michelle Kwan as told to Laura James. New York: Scholastic, c1997.

Michelle Kwan, by Sam Wellman. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, c1999.

Michelle Kwan By Amy klein/Graphics by rita liu Talent+hard work +love of skating=world champion http://e365.cc163.net/topic/topic16.htm

Michelle Kwan, An American Icon http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/j/r/jrp227/assignment6.html

MICHELLE KWAN FRONT AND CENTER THIS WEEKEND by Christine Brennan , USA TODAY  March 30, 2000,

http://www.education-world.com/a_books/books031.shtml

http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p318.htm

http://www.geocities.com/iceworld_ca/biomichelle.html

http://michellekwan.fateback.com/info/bio.htm

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/j/r/jrp227/assignment6.html