All eyes on Kwan as she decides her own Olympic fate
BY MECHELLE VOEPEL
Kansas City Star
TURIN, Italy - Let the psychoanalysis begin. Never mind, it already has.
Michelle Kwan gave a news conference Saturday afternoon that left everyone - from veteran Kwan-watchers to novice observers - wondering just what they had heard.
Was it the groundwork for an eventual concession that she can't compete here in the Winter Olympics? Was it an athlete in denial? Was it an honest assessment in the aftermath of the effects of travel and several hours at the opening ceremonies and, thus, not such a big deal?
Will Kwan be going for that elusive Olympic gold next week? Or should alternate Emily Hughes be ready to catch a plane?
At different times, it sounded like all of the above.
Initially, Kwan attributed her difficulties in her first practice here Saturday to being stiff from the trip to Turin and being outside so long at Friday night's opening ceremonies. But when asked directly about the possibility of not competing, she said, "Physically, if I'm not able to skate, I will give up my spot."
As more questions about her health kept coming, Kwan eventually said, "I really have to pay attention to how I'm feeling these days. It's important that I'm in touch with it right now. And being serious about it. How I'm skating and how I'm feeling. Dropping out is not something I want to do, but I have to listen to what my feelings are."
The women's short program is Feb. 21, and the free skate two days later. For Kwan to be replaced on the U.S. team, she would have to withdraw by Feb. 18. Hughes, the younger sister of 2002 gold medalist Sarah Hughes, was the third-place finisher at the national championships last month and would get Kwan's spot.
But . . . it's too early to jump to the conclusion that will happen. Then again, it's hard not to at least speculate that it might.
Quick recap of how we got here:
Kwan, 25, didn't compete in the U.S. Nationals because of a groin injury. But she was granted a petition onto the team; on the condition she proved she would be physically ready. On Jan. 27, Kwan passed that test on her home rink in California, before a group of five from the U.S. Figure Skating Association's international committee.
At the time, committee chairman Bob Horen said, "It's truly the opinion of this monitoring team that Michelle could win the Olympics and is definitely qualified to win a medal."
Fast-forward to Saturday morning, when Kwan struggled to complete jumps in her practice session, then cut it short. She looked distressed at times during the workout.
Later, Kwan was smiling as she walked into an auditorium at the Main Media Center. The "interrogation" was slightly delayed when the first questions were softballs from Billy Bush of the television's Access Hollywood. He asked if Kwan got so nervous before competition that she threw up, why she wore Vera Wang designs and then - as other reporters began shouting derisively at him - if she had Valentine's Day plans. (For the record, she doesn't throw up, Wang is a friend and former skater who understands how costumes need to feel and, no, Kwan isn't booked for Feb. 14 - or at least wasn't going to say so.)
That farce ended, although the news conference was later interrupted by "Ross" from The Jay Leno Show, a self-described "Kwanatonian" who wondered if she had to deal with any "crazy fans."
The rest of the inquiries, though, were serious. Kwan was asked why she didn't do a run-through of either of her programs in practice.
"I was a little stiff . . . when I woke up this morning I didn't feel too good," Kwan said. "The first day of practice is kind of nerve-racking, my coach (Rafael Arutunian) isn't here today, he hasn't arrived yet. It was everything rolled into one.
"It is frustrating making mistakes in your first practice. You want to get out there and . . . get your legs under you and do your programs. But this morning, I chose not to do my programs . . . practice wasn't as easy-flowing as I wanted it to be."
To say the least. As for whether she considered not going to the opening ceremonies, in order to rest and avoid the cold, Kwan shrugged.
"It was a great experience, and I didn't want to miss it," she said.
Even without her injury, it's debatable whether Kwan still has enough in her arsenal to finish among the best three skaters in the world and earn an Olympic medal. Kwan did not pull off a triple-triple combination in the 2002 Winter Games, where she took a bronze medal.
The last time she successfully landed a triple-triple combo in competition was 2002; she said she tried one last week and didn't land it.
Her last major competition was the 2005 World Championships in March, where she finished fourth. She said she realized at that event that all elements of her skating – even those she had come to take for granted, such as spirals and footwork - had to be upgraded to keep pace under the new judging system.
Kwan laughed when asked about doing a Beilmann spin – named for skater Denise Bielmann - in which a skater reaches back and pulls her foot to her head.
"Beilmanns are difficult; I always say you're either a Beilmann skater or your not," Kwan said. "I was able to do it halfway. . . . When I was younger, I said, `Ah, I can't do it.' With the new judging system, I'm trying to yank my leg up.
"I'm not 13 anymore . . . trying to do new tricks is always difficult because your body is not used to it."
Kwan said she would be back at practice Sunday. She is the most internationally famous athlete at these Games. On the pragmatic side, she has to think of her image in terms of endorsements. If she can't skate well here, should she skate at all? Kwan has won five world championships, nine U.S. titles and two Olympic medals. Can anything that happens here tarnish that?
"I think that's something you guys have to write about," she said. "The way I think of it is that everything is always extra. I was 15 when I won my first world championship, and everything else is like a cherry on top. That's the way I see it."