In figure skating Kwan is a two-time Olympic medalist, a five-time World champion and a nine-time US champion.
116 Facts About Michelle Kwan
2.
Michelle Kwan is tied with Maribel Vinson for the all-time National Championship record.
3.
Michelle Kwan competed at the senior level for over a decade and is the most decorated figure skater in US history.
4.
For well over a decade, Michelle Kwan maintained her status not only as America's most popular figure skater but as one of America's most popular female athletes.
5.
Michelle Kwan landed numerous major endorsement deals, starred in multiple TV specials and was the subject of extensive media coverage.
6.
Michelle Kwan was the highest-paid skater on the Champions on Ice tours.
7.
In January 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Michelle Kwan to be US Ambassador to Belize.
8.
Michelle Kwan was confirmed by the Senate on September 29,2022, took the oath of office on October 22, and presented her credentials on December 5.
9.
Michelle Kwan's father was a native of Canton and emigrated from Hong Kong to California in 1971.
10.
Michelle Kwan grew up speaking both Cantonese and English at home.
11.
Karen and Michelle Kwan began serious training when Michelle Kwan was about eight years old.
12.
When Michelle Kwan was ten years old, her family could no longer afford a coach, but they were offered financial assistance by a fellow member of the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club that allowed them to train at the Ice Castle International Training Center in Lake Arrowhead, California.
13.
Michelle Kwan attended Soleado Elementary School in Palos Verdes, California, but left public school to be homeschooled in 1994, when she was in the 8th grade.
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Michelle Kwan won five World Championships, tying her with Carol Heiss for the most world titles by an American.
15.
Michelle Kwan won nine US Championships, tying the record for most wins set by Maribel Vinson-Owen.
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Michelle Kwan holds the record for the most consecutive US titles and most consecutive US Championship medals.
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Michelle Kwan earned the silver medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and the bronze medal in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
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Michelle Kwan has received a combined total of 57 perfect marks at major competitions, the singles record under the former 6.0 judging system.
19.
At the age of 12 in 1992, Michelle Kwan passed the gold test to become a senior-level figure skater despite the disapproval of her coach.
20.
In 1993, Michelle Kwan finished sixth at her first senior US championships.
21.
In 1994, Michelle Kwan finished second to Tonya Harding at the US Championships, which ordinarily would have placed her on the US team to the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.
22.
The 13-year-old Michelle Kwan went to Norway as an alternate but did not compete.
23.
Michelle Kwan had an unusual mistake in the short program and placed eleventh in that portion of the competition, but skated a strong freestyle program and finished eighth overall.
24.
At the 1995 US Championships, Nicole Bobek won the gold medal, while Michelle Kwan again placed second after struggling with her lutz jump in both the short program and free skate.
25.
At the 1995 World Championships, Michelle Kwan was in fifh place after the short program.
26.
Michelle Kwan skated last in the free skate, giving the best performance of her career up to that point, completing all seven of her triple jumps, and "exuding joy and enthusiasm".
27.
Michelle Kwan finished in third place in the free skate, behind Chen Lu from China, who came in first place, and French skater Surya Bonaly, who came in second.
28.
Michelle Kwan came in fourth place overall, behind American Nicole Bobeck, who came in third place overall, even though she came in fourth place in the free skate and despite Michelle Kwan's successful execution of her jumps, which were second in difficulty behind Bonaly's.
29.
Michelle Kwan began to develop a more mature style during the 1995 season.
30.
Michelle Kwan improved her extension, speed and jump technique, and performed to more difficult choreography.
31.
Carroll defended their decision to make Michelle Kwan appear more mature by stating that they were giving the judges what they wanted, saying, "The judges were looking for the ladies' champion of the world, not the girls' champion of the world".
32.
In both her practices and during her performance at Skate America, Michelle Kwan wore her hair in a bun instead of a ponytail and wore heavy theatrical makeup, including rhinestones pasted near the corner of her eyes.
33.
Michelle Kwan's costume consisted of "a short-sleeved rich purple dress with rhinestone-studded flesh-colored fabric across the midriff and deep front and black necklines, ornamated with elaborate sequined floral patterns in gold and bright pastels".
34.
Kestnbaum insists that Michelle Kwan's increased speed, the strong debut of her triple-triple jump, and her improved poise, precision, and posture "say more than her hairstyle or makeup about her new maturity as a skater".
35.
Michelle Kwan won both the US Championships and the World Championships in 1996.
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Michelle Kwan was the third youngest figure skater to hold both titles.
37.
Michelle Kwan won the short program at the 1997 US Nationals, but fell early in her free skate and as she later stated, "panicked" and made several more errors.
38.
Michelle Kwan lost to Tara Lipinski, who came in first place in her free skate.
39.
At the 1997 World Championships, Michelle Kwan came in second place, behind Lipinski, who won the gold medal.
40.
Michelle Kwan came in fourth place in her short program due to an unsuccessful jump combination while Lipinski came in first place and Irina Slutskaya, who missed her combination jump, came in sixth place.
41.
Michelle Kwan won the free skate, with Lipinski coming in second place and Slutskaya coming in third place.
42.
Michelle Kwan came in first place at Skate America, winning both the short program and free skate, while Lipinski came in second place.
43.
Michelle Kwan won Skate Canada, but suffered a stress fracture on her foot and was forced to withdraw from her third Champions Series Final.
44.
Michelle Kwan regained her US title from Lipinski at the 1998 National Championships, despite her fractured toe.
45.
Michelle Kwan's injury prevented her from attempting her triple toe-triple toe combination, but she completed all seven jumps in her short program earned 6.0s from eight of the nine judges.
46.
Michelle Kwan placed first in the short program, winning eight first place votes out of nine judges, while Lipinski came in second place.
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Michelle Kwan's performance was "graceful and well-measured, filled with complex edging and unusual moves such as a sequence of spins in both directions".
48.
Michelle Kwan's jumps were more difficult and bigger than Lipinski's, but Kwan's were not as high and did not cover as much ice as her competitors' jumps.
49.
Michelle Kwan ended up winning the silver medal, with the gold medal going to Lipinski and the bronze medal to Chen Lu.
50.
Lipinski and Chen both retired from competitive skating shortly after the Olympics, while Michelle Kwan went on to win the 1998 World Championships in Minneapolis.
51.
Michelle Kwan won her third national title at the 1999 US Championships, competing against a weak field.
52.
At the 1999 World Championships, Michelle Kwan did not skate her best, and placed second behind Russian competitor Maria Butyrskaya.
53.
Michelle Kwan was criticized for planning an easier solo jump in her short program than some of her competitors, and fell on this element in the competition.
54.
At the 2000 World Championships, Michelle Kwan was again in third place after the short program, behind Maria Butyrskaya and Irina Slutskaya.
55.
Michelle Kwan was only the second figure skater Wang designed for, following Nancy Kerrigan.
56.
At that year's national championships, Michelle Kwan again won the title, receiving first-place ordinals from all 9 judges in both the short program and free skate.
57.
At the 2001 World Championships, Michelle Kwan was second behind Slutskaya in the short program.
58.
In interviews, Michelle Kwan said she needed to "take responsibility" for her skating.
59.
Coachless, Michelle Kwan arrived at the 2002 US Championships in Los Angeles amid the media's scrutiny over her separation with Carroll and her season's inconsistencies.
60.
Michelle Kwan won the competition with a revived "Rachmaninoff" short program and a new "Scheherazade" program for her free skate, securing a place on the 2002 Olympic team.
61.
Michelle Kwan led after the short program, followed by Slutskaya, Cohen, and Hughes.
62.
Michelle Kwan began working with coach Scott Williams in the summer of 2002.
63.
Michelle Kwan continued to compete on the Olympic-eligible circuit, although in a more limited way.
64.
Michelle Kwan won the event and qualified for the Grand Prix Final but chose not to compete in it.
65.
Michelle Kwan chose to not compete in Grand Prix events in the 2003 and 2004 seasons where the new judging system was being used.
66.
Michelle Kwan won the US Championships again and regained her World title.
67.
Again, Michelle Kwan won the US Championships, earning seven more 6.0s for presentation during the free skating.
68.
At the 2004 World Championships, after a difficult qualifying round, Michelle Kwan was penalized in her short program for going two seconds over the time limit.
69.
Michelle Kwan skated a clean performance with five triples and received the last 6.0 marks given at the World Championships.
70.
Michelle Kwan placed second in the free skating portion and placed third overall, behind Arakawa and Cohen.
71.
At the 2005 World Championship, Michelle Kwan competed for the first time under the new judging system.
72.
Michelle Kwan had a rough qualifying round and placed third in the short program.
73.
Michelle Kwan looked at the 2005 Worlds as a learning experience in the ISU Judging System.
74.
Michelle Kwan continued to train and stated that she would attempt to qualify for the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.
75.
Michelle Kwan skated her new short program at a made-for-TV event in December 2005, but her performance was well below her usual standard.
76.
On January 4,2006, Michelle Kwan withdrew from the US Figure Skating Championships with an abdominal injury incurred in December 2005.
77.
Michelle Kwan performed her long and short programs for the panel on the stipulated day, and her spot on the Olympic team was established, as the panel felt she was fit to compete.
78.
However, on February 12,2006, the United States Olympic Committee announced that Michelle Kwan had withdrawn from the Games after suffering a new groin injury in her first practice in Turin.
79.
Michelle Kwan remarked that she "respected the Olympics too much to compete".
80.
Michelle Kwan underwent elective arthroscopic surgery in August 2006 to repair a torn labrum in her right hip, an old injury which she traces back to 2002.
81.
Michelle Kwan told the Associated Press in October 2007 that she would decide in 2009 if she planned to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics, but she ultimately decided not to do so, focusing instead on graduate school.
82.
On February 17,2010, Michelle Kwan told ABC News in an interview that she was continuing her studies as a graduate student at the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, as well as continuing her work as a Public Diplomacy Envoy.
83.
Michelle Kwan said she would be commentating for Good Morning America at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
84.
Michelle Kwan later appeared in Kim's All That Skate shows in South Korea and Los Angeles.
85.
Michelle Kwan was chosen as the guest of honor to help open a new synthetic skating rink at the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore in December 2010, where she performed a modified routine to "Winter Song", a program she self-choreographed with her sister.
86.
Michelle Kwan returned to Singapore a month later as a Public Diplomacy Envoy to meet local students and to promote ice skating in the tropical country.
87.
In 2014, Michelle Kwan joined Fox Sports 1 for its Winter Olympics broadcast.
88.
Michelle Kwan was known for her unrivaled consistency in delivering clean programs, as well as her strong skating skills and deep, quiet edges that have been described as "silent blades" that "barely whispered".
89.
Michelle Kwan was known for her musicality and ability to combine grace and artistry with athleticism.
90.
Michelle Kwan landed the triple toe-triple toe combination cleanly eleven times in competition, including at her 2000 and 2001 world championship victories.
91.
Michelle Kwan's spiral was famed by commentators not only for its great extension and line, but its speed, the strength and security of the edge, the deep lean and the easy smoothness of the change of edge.
92.
Michelle Kwan has done multiple split falling leaves in immediate succession while maintaining a split position on both.
93.
Michelle Kwan is one of the few skaters who can spin in both directions.
94.
Michelle Kwan has been named USOC "Athlete of the Month" fourteen times, which is more than any other athlete, male or female, as well as being named "Female Figure Skating Athlete of the Year" by the USOC multiple times.
95.
Michelle Kwan is the recipient of the USOC's "Citizenship Through Sports Alliance Award".
96.
Michelle Kwan is one of only two multiple winners of the "Readers' Choice Figure Skater of the Year" award given by Skating magazine, winning it an unprecedented seven times.
97.
In December 2012, Michelle Kwan was appointed as a State Department senior adviser for public diplomacy and public affairs.
98.
In June 2015, Michelle Kwan announced that she would support Hillary Clinton's campaign efforts by working on outreach efforts from Clinton's headquarters in Brooklyn.
99.
On December 15,2021, President Joe Biden announced that he intended to nominate Michelle Kwan to be United States ambassador to Belize.
100.
Michelle Kwan's nomination was reported favorably by the committee on June 9,2022.
101.
Michelle Kwan was confirmed by the Senate with a voice vote on September 29,2022.
102.
Michelle Kwan received her appointment on October 7 and was sworn in on October 10,2022.
103.
Michelle Kwan presented her credentials to Governor-General of Belize Dame Froyla Tzalam on December 5,2022.
104.
Michelle Kwan has guest-starred as herself in "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass", an episode of The Simpsons, and in the Family Guy episode "A Hero Sits Next Door".
105.
Michelle Kwan has made guest star appearances in Arthur, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and various other television series.
106.
Michelle Kwan appeared in various other televised skating specials throughout her career.
107.
In 2005, Michelle Kwan's family opened the EastWest Ice Palace in Artesia, California.
108.
In January 2009, Kwan was appointed a member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports by George W Bush, a role which she had continued into the Obama administration.
109.
Michelle Kwan has been a longtime supporter of the Special Olympics, taking part in "unified sports" events, which bring together athletes with intellectual disabilities and without.
110.
In 2002, Michelle Kwan was named a "celebrity representative" and spokeswoman for The Walt Disney Company in a three-year deal reported to be worth $1 million a year.
111.
In September 2012, Michelle Kwan announced her engagement to Clay Pell, an American lawyer, military officer and former director for strategic planning on the National Security staff at the White House.
112.
Michelle Kwan learned of Pell's filing without warning via a tweet that was followed by an online article in the New York Daily News.
113.
Michelle Kwan eventually had to post the documents on the front door.
114.
On January 5,2022, Michelle Kwan announced the birth of her first child.
115.
Michelle Kwan worked as a surrogate to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign as an outreach coordinator.
116.
Michelle Kwan added that, for her, supporting Clinton was a no-brainer, given her family's own immigrant history.