Michelle Kwan nominated for US Olympic Hall of Fame

Press release (May 2, 2022):
www.usfigureskating.org

Michelle Kwan Named a Finalist for USOPC Hall of Fame Class of 2022 | U.S. Figure Skating

www.usfigureskating.org www.usfigureskating.org

Team USA fans can cast their votes here until May 16.
...
Team USA fans can vote for the five Olympians, three Paralympians, one Olympic team and one Paralympic team to be nominated for induction into the Class of 2022. U.S. Olympians and Paralympians and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic family will vote on the legend, coach and special contributors categories.

The Class of 2022 will be announced on June 1 and inducted on June 24 during a ceremony at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum.
 
No surprise that she made it in - CONGRATS to the Kween! :cheer: :cheer2:


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee today announced the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame, Class of 2022, which will be honored and inducted in a ceremony held Friday, June 24, at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs. The class of 2022 is made up of eight individuals, two teams, two legends, one coach and one special contributor.

The inductees include Natalie Coughlin (swimming), Muffy Davis (Para alpine skiing and Para-cycling), Mia Hamm (soccer), David Kiley (Para alpine skiing, Para track and field, and wheelchair basketball), Michelle Kwan (figure skating), Michael Phelps (swimming), Lindsey Vonn (alpine skiing), Trischa Zorn-Hudson (Para swimming), the 1976 Women’s 4x100 Freestyle Relay Swimming Team, the 2002 Paralympic Sled Hockey Team, Gretchen Fraser (legend: alpine skiing), Roger Kingdom (legend: track and field), Pat Summitt (coach: basketball) and Billie Jean King (special contributor).
 
She’s the ninth figure skater to be inducted into the Hall of Fame after: Tenley Albright, Dick Button, Carol Heiss, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, Kristi Yamaguchi. Carlo Fassi is also inducted as a coach.

Despite never having won the Olympic gold, Kwan really has had a career as if she did win. Yamaguchi mentioned that before 2002 SLC in an article where she talked about how the Olympic gold is about to change someone’s life and then she added, except Michelle Kwan, who she felt was already experienced or was experiencing that sort of post-gold lifestyle.

They are all inducted as “Olympians” except for Carol Heiss, who is inducted as a “legend” and Carlo Fassi, who is inducted as a figure skating “coach”. I get Fassi’s distinction, but why is Heiss inducted as a legend but the others as “Olympians”?
 
VGThuy said:
They are all inducted as “Olympians” except for Carol Heiss, who is inducted as a “legend” and Carlo Fassi, who is inducted as a figure skating “coach”. I get Fassi’s distinction, but why is Heiss inducted as a legend but the others as “Olympians”?
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Because she also was a high-level coach? Just a guess.
 
Legend appears to be its own category.


In addition to the public vote, U.S. Olympians and Paralympians and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic family will also vote on the categories of legend, coach and special contributor. The Olympic and Paralympic family consists of the Athletes’ Advisory Council, National Governing Bodies, High Performance Management Organizations, USOPC board of directors, Paralympic Advisory Council members, and select members of the media.
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3. Legend (2)

An Olympian, Paralympian or team may not be considered for the legend category of the Hall of Fame until 6 quadrennials (24 years) after he, she or they last competed in an Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Olympic Winter Games or Paralympic Winter Games. The induction class may include up to two legends.
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Lynn Rutherford got some nice quotes from Jeremy Abbott, Polina Edmunds and Gracie Gold about Michelle (scrolll down to the the section Michelle Kwan: “She Was It.) for this TeamUSA.org article that was published today (June 16): https://www.teamusa.org/News/2022/J...orts-For-A-Generation-Are-Going-Into-The-Hall
“She was it — she made everyone from my generation fall in love with skating,” Jeremy Abbott, a four-time U.S. champion and 2014 Olympic team bronze medalist, said.
For Abbott, it is Kwan’s longevity — she competed as a senior for 12 seasons — that sets her apart.
“Today, with the emergence of the teen quad phenomenon, people win a title or two and move on,” he said. “We don’t get to know the skaters. We felt like we knew Michelle, because we saw her for so many years and we got to watch her change and grow. Now, people get really excited about a skater for a bit, and then it’s on to the next. We’re not creating a love of the sport, we’re creating a love of medals.”
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ETA that for those who live in the area or are passing through, the museum is hosting the Hall of Fame Festival taking place June 25-27 in downtown Colorado Springs "for Team USA fans of all ages!":
usopm.org

U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum Festival

Celebrate the legacies of America’s greatest athletes in Colorado Springs this June. The Hall of Fame Festival is for Team USA fans of all ages!
usopm.org usopm.org
(The induction ceremony is on June 24 and is likely by invitation only.)
 
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MacMadame said:
Because she also was a high-level coach? Just a guess.
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As impressive as coaching Tonia Kwiatkowski may be ;), I suspect it’s due to a combination of:
  • longest unbroken string of world titles (and I believe undefeated streak) of a woman since Sonja Henie; not even Witt could equal this
  • first woman to land a double axel
  • post-Olympic showbiz career / being one of the first real stars
Plus maybe a bit of coaching.

IMO Heiss has a better claim than Kwan to be the best US woman figure skating champion in history. She has the best record of any US skater, period, with the exception of Dick Button, and many people think she should be a two-time OGM as well.
 
I suspect it has to do with when Heiss was inducted into the HOF more than anything else. Per Wikipedia, the HOF was established in 1979 and the first class was inducted in 1983 (Dick Button & Peggy Fleming were members of the inaugural class). There was a period of dormancy, with no new members added between 1992-2003. Per the USOP HOF website, here is when each was inducted:

Albright - 1988
Hamilton - 1990
Hamill - 1991
Yamaguchi - 2006
Boitano - 2008
Heiss - 2008
Kwan - 2022

Now, why it is that Heiss was overlooked in that initial period of inductees is a bit puzzling, but note that neither Hayes Alan Jenkins nor David Jenkins, who both won Olympic gold in men's figure skating are members of the HOF, which seems more than a bit odd given they were part of the historic sweep by the US of the men's podium in 1956 - the only time a country has ever done that in any figure skating discipline at the Olympics.

It will be interesting to see who winds up being the next figure skater inducted into the HOF and how long it takes. My bets would be on either Tara Lipinski or Davis/White, but I'm not sure either is a lock anytime in the near future.
 
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Michelle's latest IG post shared the video of her speech & says: "I went over the 2 minute limit but there were so many ppl to thank #GRATEFUL" One of her Instagram story pics shows her at the parade with Peggy Fleming, Brian Boitano & Dorothy Hamill. :)
Sylvia said:
... for those who live in the area or are passing through, the museum is hosting the Hall of Fame Festival taking place June 25-27 in downtown Colorado Springs "for Team USA fans of all ages!":
usopm.org

U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum Festival

Celebrate the legacies of America’s greatest athletes in Colorado Springs this June. The Hall of Fame Festival is for Team USA fans of all ages!
usopm.org usopm.org
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Brian Boitano's photos ("It’s Hall of Fame Parade Day ?" - 2nd is of Dorothy Hamill with Michelle photobombing (sort of), 3rd shows Michelle riding in a car, 4th is Brian & Dorothy): https://www.instagram.com/p/CfPAGUelyZs/
 
Sylvia said:
There was a livestream earlier tonight!

Mike Tirico introduces "Ambassador Michelle Kwan" starting at this point of the livestreamed (unlisted) TeamUSA.org video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnqABUcK3Mo&t=6115s
She starts speaking at 1:43:52 (she gave a special shout out to Brian Boitano who was sitting in the audience next to proud sister Karen :)).

ETA:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1540544520642875392
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Wow, what a great and moving speech. I have tears in my eyes.
 
Michelle's photos with the other Hall of Famers and fellow figure skating legends :): https://www.instagram.com/p/CfRmn_ZrWqD/
When my daughter gets older, I’ll be telling her about the last couple days spent w/ the best Olympic & Paralympic @teamusa athletes ????
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ETA: Check out her IG stories too! There's a clip of Dorothy Hamill being lifted by Mark Ladwig at the bar! :lol:

All the festivities seem to have inspired Dorothy to create a new Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/dorothyhamill1976/
 
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Article by Scott Mammoser for FSO (June 26):
figureskatersonline.com

Michelle Kwan enshrined in U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame - Figure Skaters Online

Story and photos by Scott Mammoser, Team FSO writer Michelle Kwan's road to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame came to a conclusion on Friday in Colorado Springs, nearly three decades after she first caught America's attention. "It's a little surreal," she said on the red carpet. "I...
figureskatersonline.com

More fun photos shared by Brian Boitano from the Hall of Fame festivities: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfRqmIspYuG/

He also attended a (private?) "Olympic Museum Concert" on June 26 and showed the program sheet in an Instagram story that included Copeland's "Appalachian Spring" (his 1994 Olympics FS music), along with the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony no. 6 "Pathetique" (Peggy Fleming's 1968 Olympics FS music) and Korngold's The Seahawk (Dorothy Hamill's 1976 Olympics FS music).
 
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