Michelle Kwan 關穎珊 - 1998 United States Figure Skating Championships, Ladies' Free Skate 

just watched it for the billionth time and got chills all over again

That spiral is a work of art.

Miss her!

No we gained jumps and lost all the fake emotion. Michelle cries literally everything she takes the ice.

@@jamesyu5212it’s about what she makes us feel.. what I feel when I see skaters today is fear, that they might end up injuring themselves

@@jamesyu5212and now they cry all the time with a lack of artistry and jump jump jump. artistry has definitely been lost.

I agree! I no longer watch figure skating competitions since the crybaby Canadians & their skating federation got the ISU to change the scoring system. That and the elimination of Compulsory Dances did it for me!

100%

I truly miss his commentary!

I’m torn between this one and “Salomé”

Who doesn’t?

Matt, Olympic golds value has lessened by the simple pact her name in not on it.

Thanks Matt. I agree. That Bronze in Salt Lake City was it, and Silver in Nagano..again,as SCARA LIPSNIKI...stole it from her. Couldn't Tara just wait for 2002? No. She had to STEAL that moment from her

And Aghhhegh..Do you hear how Tara Scara Lysincki..COMMENTATES..lots of bullshit that's not even related to the ice skater...I love Johnny Weir though

@@larrypascua4587 well it’s very unfortunate that Michelle didn’t get the gold but Tara didn’t steal it, she won it with a more technical program and a lucky draw to get to skate next to last preventing Michelle from getting perfect 6.0 for presentation. But boy did Tara look sad here after Michelle skated.

Not sad. She made so much history . She inspired a whole generation

Triple loop/triple loop combination that’s how

@@lkfrostad Seriously ? Tara's flip and lutz would be called out for under rotation today. Tara's triples were cheap. Tiny, rushed jumps. Tara's artistry was far from Michelle's. Overall, Michelle Kwan was robbed. 😎

@@lkfrostad The ISU raised the age limit to 17 NOW, which means Tara Lipinski should go to the kid's Olympics with her Disney Cartoon program.

@@lkfrostad Michelle had triple triple combo since 1995 ~ 2004 ( not every time ) , which means her technique was stable and better than the other skaters like Tara had triple triple combo just for 2~ 3 years. 😎 And without a kid's body and weight, Tara couldn't make any triple triple combo. 🤣🤣🤣

@@lkfrostad Only kids enjoyed Tara's Disney Cartoon program. 🤭🤭🤭

I was about to type the same thing. She looked so elegant and confident here!

I love the grace in which she handled defeat in Nagano though, sad as it was. It was in stark contrast to the way Kerrigan handled defeat 4 years earlier.

@@rachelplows3001 Nancy showed her true colors. But no surprise after the way she acted on camera after her '93 Worlds LP disaster.

Michelle is an artist on ice.

Correct. I wish she had skated like this at the Olympics. Michelle is a legend and Tara is a champion 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

@@debsam77 Tara Lipinski didn't deserve to win because she had no artistry and she had a incorrect triple triple combo.....Tara should go to the kid's Olympics.

@@debsam77 Michelle skated like an angel at the 98 Olympics, Tara skated like Peter Pan.

Michelle did a great job at 1998 Olympics. Michelle's performance was classic, beautiful and womanly. Tara's performance just like a kid. Tara had a kid's body and weight so easier to jump, nothing more. Actually, Tara didn't really make a correct 3+3, she was overrated. Michelle was robbed.

@@TT-ee4qp Exactamundo. Nailed.

Michelle's artistry and technique were better than Tara. Michelle's performance was classic, beautiful and womanly. Tara's performance just like a kid. Tara had a kid's body and weight so easier to jump, nothing more. Tara retired because she got hurt and grew up, then everything changed. Actually, Tara didn't really make a correct 3+3, so she was overrated. Michelle was robbed.

As a competitive skater, Michelle finished no lower than 3rd place between 1995~2004 , her artistry and technique were hard to close for the other skaters like Tara.

Maybe Tara should go to the kid's Olympics with the Russian girls today.

I think you have this confused with the 1998 Olympic Games. Michelle got first place here and Tara came in second but at the Olympics it reversed and Tara was first and Michelle second.

She didn’t miss the combo. She changed the combo due to her foot injury.

She had a stress fracture in her foot so she couldn’t pull off that second triple at the end of the 3/3 combo.

She did. She created so many different style programs in her career. Tara Lipinski was a kid and never changed her style but a kid.

Seriously ? Tara should go to the kid's Olympics with her Disney Cartoon program. 🤣🤣🤣 Michelle's program became a classic piece in the figure skating history, nobody cares about Tara.

Michelle's artistry is the most difficult technique which Tara Lipinski never touched the level.

Tara's flip and lutz would be called out for under rotation today. Michelle was robbed. 😎

🤣🤣

agree

Oh, so many skaters have not only surpassed her 'artistry' but they have also challenged themselves on the technical and athletic side of figure skating. Sasha, Yuna and those young Russian skaters are the first to come to mind, and Kwan's 'sit' spin really was more of a crouch spin.

Oh dear, Tryone do stop guzzling the kool aid so fast lest you choke on :) I expressed an opinion and this is the best you can do to refute it? Sad to see yet another typical Kwanatic who resort to insults when the truth isn't to their liking but hits home.

Sandy Vale Based on your words you're expressing what is true or a fact not an opinion. There's a difference.

Well, Tyrone it **is a fact** that while this program was 'artistic' I think there was a huge bias that Kwan was ever so artistic but in later years she wasn't, she didn't evolve and other skaters truly were better artistically and for sure technically. And why call me a liar? That seems to indicate that you have the **facts** and express them as such, not as an opinion. It didn't do Kwan any favors to keep handing her high scores which were undeserved in the opinions of sports experts, and in fact there has been been more than one time that the audience flat out booed when her scores beat someone far better. I am aware that this program ranks very high in the annals of figure skating, however it was only worth the Silver at Nagano when all thing were taken into consideration. And the artistic marks at that time were the tie breaker. Same in 2002. And then there was 2006 which showed the total lack of integrity, character, and graciousness of Michelle Kwan. I say this despite all the scrambling to make it sound like she was awesome for giving up ''her' spot. It wasn't hers, and she didn't even skate. I don't think she intended to, I think she just wanted attention and praise. She took away time from Emily, time that Emily needed to acclimate and there was never once an apology for being so greedy. I was quite pleasantly surprised that your second comment was so civil, I expected to be attacked and called names:)

+Sandy Vale the “young Russian skaters” can’t hold a candle on technique and artistry.

that judge expressed her regret over not giving Michelle a 6 many times after that.

@@tally1604 Is that true?

Why didn’t she give her a 6 ?

@@rebarox85 because the competion wasn't over and there were still skaters left in the final group.

@@tally1604 There was one skater left in the final group, hence why a 5.9/6.0 was a deserving set of marks to award Kwan for this performance since technically there was still room to place that final skater (Kwiatkowski) ahead if warranted.

yes

Nadia Rodriguez add in the 2nd 3loop and that sequence in the program was exquisite.

3:31 That spin was also very beautiful and mesmerizing

If only. I hate she never won Olympic gold 🥺

I also think if she hadn’t skated first that night, she would have won. Skating first was usually a huge disadvantage to skaters in those days.

Loved her performances

She couldnt do a triple-triple combo since the only one she was technically capable of was a triple toe-triple toe and her toe hurt the most on the toe with the injury. It was hard enough to do a solo triple toe, let alone a triple-triple. She even replaced the triple toe she always did in the short back then with a triple flip due to the injury. If she were a strong enough jumper to do harder jump combinations or ones with a loop jump like Slutskaya and Lipinski it would probably be fine, but unfortunately she isnt.

She should have still beaten tara in my opinion those artistic marks for yara in nagano were too high..

My problem with Tara winning Olympic gold? She never did a true triple lutz in her LIFE. She'd skate backward on the outside edge but then just as she picked in with her other foot, her ankle would roll over to the inside edge so severely it looked painful. She should have been penalized for doing multiple triple flips, but that didn't happen in those days.

@@elizabethpaczolt5326 I agree with you. Tara had one of the worst flutzes I’ve ever seen. I always thought her technique was poor, that stupid roller skating kick takeoff and her tiny jumps that barely seemed to get off the ice. I was shocked when she won the gold and I still think to this day Michelle should have won. If Tara skated like that under the new scoring system with her poor techniques, she would lose so many points.

Is that true, where did you read that?

I agree

Nope. Never. They don’t skate like this anymore.

You are correct. Kwan was going to win Nationals this year but she didn’t need to be propped up like she was here.

Are you saying that if they had placed her second and Tara first it might have turned out different results at the Olympics?

Even if they did, I think Tara would've still won because of the technical side of the scoring; she did have a 3/3 and a 3/1 eus/3 combo, both in the second half of the program, and none of the other girls could match that closely at the time. Michelle was coming off a stress fracture and the little time she had between Nats and OG was not enough to up her technical difficulty; she would've reinjured her leg and wouldn't have gone to the OG at all if she tried. If she had skated like this at the OG AND skated after Tara did, I think she would've won due to the presentation marks. However, I don't think the judges would 've given her the gold if we take into account the Olympic performances they both put down, regardless of their skating order. Michelle was too uptight that night and did not exude the same fluidity and artistry she did in this competion. As much as I love Michelle, the presentation from her OG performance wouldn't have been enough to match Tara's technical content.

@@kjvill2013 Tara's technique wasn't better than Michelle, or Tara hadn't to make a incorrect 3+3 .Tara just tried to surprise the judges with good lucky.

Lori Nichol her choreographer even said the goal wasn't to add as many triples as possible it was to be able to keep Michelle on her feet for a 4 minute program as her stress fracture had just healed. I don't think lower marks at nationals would have made Michelle increase her technical difficulty so close to the Olympics. Michelle even was quoted as saying, "That was the program, we were not going to change it." Not taking anything away from the great job Tara did, but I wonder in an alternate universe how the judging would have went down if Tara drew first and Michelle got to close out the Olympics and get that extra point or two the judges save for the final skater.

I thought the same thing. lol she knew it was over and she lost.

Tara could only beat Michelle when Michelle messed up a little

E C she skated cleanly at the Olympics and Tara beat her so what’s the truth? LMFAO

Timestamp?

Venuz Modeling Michelle squeaked our the flip in Nagano.

Dan which is ironic because statistically it's her best jump.

Haha I saw that too. And a little under rotated to be honest. I love Michelle though!! This was perfect to me.

vansbert1930 Did she do footwork ? I mean she had to of as it is a major requirement, lol, it must just very subtle.

Right before the first Lutz after the opening movements she stops back to the one end of the rink and does steps into the setup.of the Lutz....subtle in deed but it did go into two separate directions and.change feet once. But that's just nitpicking lol.

@vansbert1930 back then the artistic or free program had no required elements.