Michelle Kwan headed to Turin

[SoCalDem]

I hope she does not disappoint herself.


Kwan headed to Turin



http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/international/cs-060127hershkwan,1,3387476.story?coll=cs-home-headlines



By Philip Hersh
Tribune olympic sports reporter

January 27, 2006, 6:08 PM CST


Michelle Kwan will get another chance to fill the gap in a remarkable career record missing only an Olympic gold medal.

The five-time world champion, injured most of this season, convinced five U.S. Figure Skating Association officials Friday she is in good enough competitive shape to keep the 2006 Olympic team spot provisionally awarded her two weeks ago.


Kwan, who has not skated in an Olympic-style competition since finishing fourth at the world championships in March, performed her entire short and long programs and then assorted segments of them for a monitoring panel at the EastWest Ice Palace, the rink her father built and owns in the Los Angeles suburb of Artesia.

"Just like practice," Kwan said as she entered the rink.

Under USFSA rules, Kwan was able to petition for one of the three women's singles spots on the Olympic team even though her most recent ailment, a groin injury, kept her from trying for a 10th title at the U.S. championships in St. Louis. Only the new national champion, Sasha Cohen, was guaranteed a trip to the Winter Games in Turin, Italy, where the women's skating event is Feb. 21 and Feb. 23.