I pit Michelle Kwan, who has had her healthy chance to win a gold at the Olympics twice, and failed, who despite her present injury and late non-competiveness is now attempting to deprive, frankly, the third place finisher (who also has worked her entire life for this opportunity) at the Nationals her opportunity for gold, cite.
Give someone else who is truely deserving a chance I say! Or is figure skating a popularity contest instead of a sport?
Up to this point I have always loved Kwan, but her petitioning for a spot on the team despite her year-long inability to compete just stinks IMHO, since she is taking away another athlete’s dream (who may or may not be able to compete for the next team, fate willing). Seems to be sort of bullying to me.
But Kerrigan had been competing and doing very well that season, hadn’t she? And the nature of the injury was very unusual, too - if she’d been sidelined due to a stress fracture or a sprained ankle rather than due to an assault, the Powers That Be might not have been so generous.
Kwan has had two shots at the Olympics now and brought home two medals. She should be proud of that. The problem is the attitude that If It Ain’t Gold, It Ain’t Good Enough. Well, that, and the whole figure skating world attitude that so-and-so “deserves” to win, not because she did the best routine on the night, but because of who she is. Well, that, and the whole issue that figure skating scarcely belongs in the Olympics to begin with…
Without skating, there is no Winter Olympics. The other sports combined don’t bring in enough advertising/sponser money to finance the thing.
The only reason we can send three people to the Olympics is because last year, Kwan & Sasha Cohen placed high enough that they won three spots. Kwan would be taking the spot she herself helped earned.
2a) The third woman at worlds last year, Jenny Kirk, placed absolutley nowhere.
2b) None of the other US women last year were in a position to do better than Kirk.
The rest of the US team, aside from Kwan & Cohen, is pretty dismal, looking at it from a medal standpoint. There’s lots of talent but it’s mostly young and untried. With the exception of Alyssa Czniy, none of them have won anything in senior competition this season.
Czniy was very unimpressive in her short program Thursday and also at the Grand Prix Final.
Kwan won Nationals last year and placed fourth in the world. The current crop (aside from Cohen) have no history of senior championship medals.
Overall, Kwan is a five time world champion (and I think an 8 time world medalist,) 9 time US Nationals Champion, two time Olympic medalist. No one in the world can come close to that record. No one in the US, aside from Sasha, has won anything to speak of (and even Sasha’s record is pretty light)
The petition process exists for a reason. Using it is entirely withing the rules.
It’s not a reality show. You don’t get a new cast each year. And it’s not little league where everyone gets a turn so nobody feels bad. Did people tell Cal Ripkin he should retire and give some young newcomer a chance to play. It’s
Heck, if that’s the case, let’s bring back Dorothy Hamill and Peggy Fleming to send with Cohen, they actually came through in the clutch the one chance they had.
Operation Ripper, this thread is nearly identical to the one you opened in Cafe Society. This discussion seems to be heading in the same direction as that one, i.e. a reasonable back and forth on whether or not Kwan should be on the team, so I’m going to close this.