http://web.icenetwork.com/video/topic/207337050/v1216161683
Michelle Kwan interviewed by Scott Hamilton 12/15/2016
I read that Ashley, in her recent instagram live stream, said, when asked, that Michelle was the skater that most inspired her. I think the exact quote was, "The queen (Kween) herself. Michelle is absolutely everything!"
Thank you for the link, I had completly missed this interview! ...
Michelle has moved on from figure skating
Michelle Kwan to receive her 3rd Honorary Doctorate Degree from Smith College and Oprah Winfrey will deliver the commencement address on Sunday, May 21st at 10 a.m. ET.
Watch Live @ Smith College Live Webcast page @ https://www.smith.edu/about-smith/smith-glance/live-webcast
Link to watch "Who was your skating inspiration?" (filmed on May 2, 2017): http://web.icenetwork.com/video/v1379560483I see that on ice network, there is a video of a few skaters from a recent Figure Skating in Harlem event being interviewed by Nick McCarvel. The question was which skater(s) inspired them, and Nathan Chen, Ashley Wagner, Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani, Meryl Davis, and Adam Rippon all said Michelle Kwan and had a lot to say when describing why. Alex Shib said Maia not only would watch Kwan but bought every book about her, played her video game, etc.
Re-posting this positive news from the Kwan thread in GSD:
If only she had married Emery, we wouldn't be talking about divorce
^ That makes me think about why I latched on to Michelle Kwan. She came at the right time for me as I was growing up and becoming more aware about lack of Asian-American representation. Almost every Asian American I know my age who came into their adolescence in the 1990s have all told me how much seeing Michelle Kwan meant to them. Not only was she a public figure at a time when Asians-Americans were rarely shown on television or made news but she was in a sport and a sport that embraced performance art, two spheres where at the time (and even now though strides have been made to improve that) one rarely saw Asians. People I've spoken to say even their parents spoke about her numerous times and it sort of allowed them to think about allowing their kids to pursue interests in avenues that they didn't think about before.
We know Kwan's impact on American skating (I remember Nationals 2016 where a skater was skating to TFB and in the KnC she said she saw Michelle Kwan in the audience and was freakin' out; skaters competing now like Karen Chen; Madison Chock; Maia Shibutani; etc. have all said or alluded to her as an inspiration to keep skating), so it's nice to see how far her reach is outside of that realm.
ETA:
I see that on ice network, there is a video of a few skaters from a recent Figure Skating in Harlem event being interviewed by Nick McCarvel. The question was which skater(s) inspired them, and Nathan Chen, Ashley Wagner, Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani, Meryl Davis, and Adam Rippon all said Michelle Kwan and had a lot to say when describing why. Alex Shib said Maia not only would watch Kwan but bought every book about her, played her video game, etc.
After much consideration, that is my "desert island" performance.Ariane competitive performance from 1998 World Pro event are Michelle at her peak and her absolute best
I wonder if we will ever see Michelle on Dancing With the Stars?