Posted on 02/12/2006 12:35:38 AM PST by blondee123
It was just announced (2:30 a.m. central time) on NBC TV that Michelle Kwan has officially withdrawn from olympic competition. Said that the U.S. team has filed a replacement form with the Olympic committee.
A shame-I LOVE Michelle.
She was our only hope for a medal.
What a classy move on her part.
It is sad that she had to drop out, but she should not have been there in the first place. She did not qualify in the Nationals but was placed on the team instead of Emily Hughes who had qualified. Karma.
Agreed. She was put there for name-value only when everyone knew that she wasn't at 100%.
I hope Hughes gets-up-to-speed quickly and brings home medals. Her sister kind of dropped out of sight after the last games - I can imagine she's still skating; being the 'gold medalist' from those games: why didn't she participate this year?
Didn't Hughes pull off the surprise Gold in 2002?
Michelle Kwan should have earned a spot on the 1994 Olympic team, but was replaced by Nancy Kerrigan who petitioned for a spot after her attack.
I commend Michelle for her years of hard work, her sportsmanship, her many successes and her dignity. She has nothing to be embarrassed about.....she gave her sport her all.
Leni
Correct - Sarah Hughes won gold in 2002; but Kwan won a silver in 1998, and bronze in 2002.
With that kind of trend, she would have won what this year? Lead? Tin?
Two wrongs make a right??
No. Simply that petitioning onto the team is not unprecedented.
I believe that Sarah Hughes cut back on competitive skating to attend Yale University.
Wrong Hughes. The replacement is Emily Hughes, Sarah's younger sister.
I think it was the correct decision for Kerrigan, she was the victim of a crime. I don't think Kwan should have been there this year, and now it has backfired on everyone. Kerrigan at least made the decision look wise by winning a medal.
Yes, I know that (see post 25).
I have to disagree. It's the Olympics, for goodness sakes. Man up, Michelle. Bit your lip and get out there and win.
You can always tell a real champion by how they compete under adverse conditions. Michelle just doesn't have it. She's wasted everyone's time by taking this spot in the first place.
She is also undeniably Americas best skater and only hope for the gold. Kwan's injury is a tough injury to guage. It was quite possible she could have been well enough to compete when the Olympics came around. She was not, and did the right thing.
Huh? She was tooth-and-nail-ing for a position on the team just a couple weeks ago. If she wasn't good-enough then, what is two weeks going to do when she'd need to perform 101% to win a gold medal?
It was a no-lose for her: go there when you know you're not at your best, try when you know you're not at your best, quit and announce you're not at your best, and thereby waste the time and resources of the team.
Now, USA either participates one-man-short or Emily Hughes has to play catch-up and get over there and practice and have a shorter time getting ready for competition.
Yes, indeed. Kwan is a class act.
Justice is served.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.