From Deseret News archives:
Kwan still lustrous without a gold medal
Sometimes, the Olympic script takes a twist.
Michelle Kwan, five-time world champion and nine-time U.S. champion, pulled out of the Torino Olympics early Sunday, citing a groin injury suffered Saturday in practice.
The 25-year-old Californian now must face the cold reality that after chasing a dream for two decades, scripting her life for that one spine-tingling moment atop the Olympic medal podium, she will probably never win the one prize she so craved.
Kwan will go down in history as the best figure skater never to have won an Olympic gold medal.
She is her sport's Dan Marino and Jim Kelly, Hall of Famers without Super Bowl championship rings.
Twice Kwan led going into the long program at the Olympics. Twice she lost to fearless American teeny-boppers, in 1998 to 15-year-old Tara Lipinski, and in 2002 to 16-year-old Sarah Hughes.
Emily Hughes, younger sister of 2002 Olympic champion Sarah Hughes, replaced Kwan on the U.S. team and will join national champion Sasha Cohen and Kimmie Meissner. The women's competition doesn't begin until Feb. 21, and Hughes plans to spend a few days at home in Great Neck, N.Y., and in school before leaving for Torino.
"It was fair that Michelle had all the opportunities to make the Olympic team," said Hughes, who finished third at the U.S. national championships last month but was bumped after Kwan got a medical bye onto the Olympic team. "It's unfortunate that she was injured."
Kwan knew something was wrong Saturday when she botched a triple flip. She felt a pull in her groin. She tried the jump again and fell. She cut her practice short.
As the day went on, the pain intensified.
By 2 a.m., she couldn't stand the agony any longer. She met with Dr. Jim Moeller in the Athletes Village. After examining her, he diagnosed an acute groin or adductor strain and recommended she withdraw.
"I don't believe I can be at 100 percent and I respect the Olympics too much," she said Sunday, her eyes brimming with tears. "It's always been a dream to win the Olympics. . . . My parents are here, they arrived last night and they always want me to be happy, for their baby to win the gold and make my dreams come true. But I have no regrets. I tried my hardest. And if I don't win the gold, it's OK. I've had a great career. I've been very lucky. This is a sport, and it's beautiful."
Kwan said she planned to leave Torino immediately.
"It's all about the U.S. bringing the best team and I don't want to be in the way of that," she said. "I don't want to be a distraction."
