Michelle Kwan Michelle Kwan, born in 1980, American figure skater, one of the world's dominant skaters in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Michelle Kwan Michelle Kwan, born in 1980, American figure skater, one of the world's dominant skaters in the 1990s and early 2000s. Kwan has won a record-tying nine United States national championships and is a five-time world champion. Kwan was born in Torrance, California, to parents who immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong and China. She became interested in ice skating at a young age while watching her older brother play ice hockey. Soon she began skating at the highly regarded Ice Castle International Training Center in Lake Arrowhead, California. In 1993 at age 12, Kwan finished sixth at the U.S. national championships. In 1994 she came in second to Tonya Harding, a finish that normally would have qualified her for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. Just before the competition, however, acquaintances of Harding attacked and injured leading American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, who was then unable to compete. Because of this incident, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) awarded the other Olympic berth to Kerrigan instead of Kwan. In 1996 Kwan helped women's figure skating recover from the Harding scandal by winning her first national and world titles. In 1997 Kwan finished second to 15-yearold Tara Lipinski at both the U.S. and world championships. Late that year X rays revealed a stress fracture in Kwan's left foot, and many people doubted that she could skate in the 1998 U.S. nationals three months later. But Kwan performed nearly flawlessly, defeating Lipinski and receiving more perfect scores than any other skater in the history of the U.S. national championships. At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, Kwan finished second to Lipinski, whose dynamic performance proved too difficult to overcome. Later that year, however, Kwan won the 1998 world championships. After Lipinski turned professional, Kwan became the dominant American skater. She won every national championship from 1999 to 2005 and also captured additional world titles in 2000, 2001, and 2003. Kwan's only missing accolade is an Olympic gold medal--she finished third at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Kwan's ninth national title tied her with Maribel Vinson, who competed in the 1920s and 1930s, for most career U.S. championships. Her five world titles equaled the American record held by Carol Heiss, who won five straight from 1956 to 1960. Kwan suffered leg and groin injuries in late 2005 and decided not to compete at the U.S. national championships in January 2006. The top finishers in this event typically make up the U.S. Olympic team. Because of her injury, Kwan filed a petition asking to be considered for the 2006 Olympics despite her absence at the national competition. After watching her perform in a special tryout in late January, U.S. officials selected her for the Olympic team. Kwan aggravated the injury during her Olympic practice sessions, however, and she dropped out of the competition. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.