It has been several years since Michelle Kwan left the big sport. Passions subsided, she is engaged in public work, got married, but her artistic and technical achievements gave a new impetus to the development of women's single skating.
Childhood and study
In the family of Chinese emigrants from Hong Kong in the city of Torrance, a suburb of Los Angeles in California, a third child was born, a girl - Michelle Kwan. It was July 1980. At home, they spoke a mixture of English and one of the dialects of Chinese. With her brother and sister at the age of five, she first came to the rink, and little by little the training began. But already when Michelle was at school, and she was eight, training became simply terrible. We had to get up at three in the morning, skate the necessary elements, go to school, and after class - again the skating rink. Only Chinese perseverance and a sense of duty, absorbed in mother's milk, apparently helped to withstand such a young fragile organism. Two years later, ice fees increased.
The family did not have enough money for classes. But then material assistance came from the club of skaters in Los Angeles. Michelle Kwan continued to ride. But she was growing up, and she did not have enough time to study at school. Therefore, she left her and began to study on her own. Then she entered the university, then transferred to another, studying international relations and political science. By this time, she was finishing her sports career, and therefore became a graduate student, continuing to deepen her knowledge in the field of international relations. After graduating from graduate school, she received a doctorate.
First achievements in sports
At 13, she receives gold at the World Junior Championships. At the 1995 World Cup, after a tense struggle, Michelle won 4th place. This served as a lesson to the girl, who began to pay even more attention to technique and artistic performance. Her signature element was a spiral, during which she changed sliding ribs on her skate.
This famous Michelle Kwan spiral. The photo shows the 2002 US Championship. A lot of technical work affected the results in a year. At the championship in 1996, she won first place.
1998 competitions
US Championship - it was a triumph for Michelle Kwan. A short program was performed to the music of S. Rachmaninov ("Concert for Piano No. 3" and "Elegance Trio No. 2"), and an arbitrary one - by V. Olvin. All judges unanimously put the highest score. One of the judges was crying. But relatively recently, the skater began to heal a broken leg. All in the same year, the Winter Olympics in Nagano took place. Michelle climbed to the second degree of the podium, receiving silver. From 1998 to 2005 inclusive, she did not lose a single US championship. In the same 1998, the World Cup was won.
World Championships
Having missed a year and since 2000, Michelle Kwan has won the world champion title three times.
The year 2002 was missed due to a severe injury in the right thigh. Only in 2006, it was treated, and for the first time in four years, Michelle skated without pain. In the 2006-2007 season, she did not take part in competitions. She doubted whether she should take part in the 2009 Vancouver Olympics. And she decided that she would continue her education.
Other activity
By this time, she had a large number of sponsorship contracts. She participated in television commercials for large American companies. And even became a representative of the Walt Disney Company. In 2005, she opened a skating rink for children in Artesia and by that time had written an autobiographical book, “The Heart of a Champion” and another, intended for children, entitled “What You Need to Become a Champion”. She took part in television shows dedicated to figure skating. Voiced cartoons. Finally, she starred in the film, which is dedicated to herself. And even became the heroine of a computer game.
In the US administration
She was first invited to an official event at the White House in 2006 on the occasion of the arrival of the DPRK President in the United States. She attended the dinner of President Bush and the distinguished guest. In the same year, Michelle was invited to become the ambassador of public diplomacy. So life is changing Michelle Kwan, whose biography is now associated with social activities. Traveling a lot around the world, Michelle promotes American values. Replacing Bush Obama continues to support Michelle's work in this area. She has a lot of work contacts with both the Vice President and the Secretary of State.
