Michelle Kwan - 1997 Worlds LP - Taj Mahal 

The most consistent and emotionally satisfying skater I have ever had the privilege of watching. I miss her terribly.

Well-deserved first place in the free skate. A stunning program with a beautiful 3-3.

I love this program. Michelle is the best. I can spend hours watching her videos and never fail to be inspired by her grace and artistry.

I had stopped watching figure skating since Michelle hasn't been on tv. I cant wait for her return! Even today's jumping and axels, no one skates as finesse as Michelle. She makes her audience focus, feel and cry. The only ones that cry in figure skating today are the skaters themselves, not the audience. These skaters suck! I so miss Michelle Kwan. Pls come back!

Sarah Hughes won the Gold Medal but faltered chasing the US title and World title. Michelle was more than just a great skater but a great champion with grace both on and off the ice. She conducted herself like a champion at all times. She is and always will be one of the best of all times period.

After this second place finish at Nationals, MIchelle ran off 8 National titles in a row. That is an amazing accomplishment.

even though she didnt win...this was her best performance of this program...she is a legend

She truly fought in this competion. I love the program and music.

Beautiful program! Michelle sets the gold standard for artistry.

No one beats Michelle kwan. She beat herself. Michelle kwan grew up during 97~ 98, her body changed and tried to find a new balance. She pushed herself too much. She never gave up. She worked hard, practiced hard. She enjoyed the journey whatever win or fail.

Kind of glad she didn't win the OG because Tara went away and we got more Michelle! Arianne, Song of the Black Swan, Red Violin, and Aranjuez were masterful! What would skating have done without these programs! I couldn't be without them! Thanks, MWK!!

The 3 loop there was lovely.

michelle is an amazing skater and i think that this is an amazing program in her skating career

One of the best music she’s skated to....perhaps even an Olympic worthy program!

She's the best ever...

I get goose bumps watching Michelle skates.

She's still the best ever!!!

skatefan9495: Very interesting observation! I had never noticed that... I guess one could argue that this program was overmarked (due to Tara still being relatively new on the international arena), or Kwan being undermarked (b/c she skated early) at the olympics. All I know is that Kwan is one of the greatest ever.

that 3 loop is GORGEOUS

yup, figure skating needs the kwandrama!!!during her time, that's when figure skating got excitement!!! look at now, a lot of people don't even watch skating. nobody's perfect, everyone who won olympics, worlds and nationals fell on their butts,plus a skaters greatness and being champion in the ice cannot be measured only by a 4 minute program and an olympic gold medal that is only given every 4 years!!!she's a legend. period.

beautifully musical and lovely triple flip jump

Underrated.

oh god i was 16 then.. where did time go!?

I love a program that does not end with a spin like all seem to do these days.

Her moves were crisp.

I cannot continue to see people bullying Michelle Kwan for no good reason. Its not the end of the world because most people don't like to bait one figure skater over another. Michelle Kwan is NOT about being a superior skater. It is about believing in herself, which counts. I've read countless bitterness about Mao Asada that it makes me so sick to be signing up on you tube. But I can't delete the account because of personal issues.

After 23+ years of wanting it, I'm getting my MK Taj Mahal tattoo!!! ❤⛸️

TRIPLE TOE + TRIPLE TOE!

Thank you posting this program. I'm a big fan of hers. I loved this program the first time I seen it and wasn't able to tape her performance at Worlds. Hope to see her skate again. I read the comments and really can't understand what's up with the hate. She skated in front of Judges that said that she was ready. She went and got hurt and decided to pull out early and let someone else take the spot. What is the problem?

I miss her a skater too. Knowone will ever be like her.

Gorgeous

Guys, ignore the troll and it will go away. Someone who logs on every few days just to post hate messages is obviously very obsessed and irrational. Anywho, Taj Mahal is one of my favorites. So many intracacies! Her movements are so sharp in this performance.

The fact the Michelle won 9 national championships and 5 world golds says it all!! No one, man or woman, had ever been a more complete skater.

Agree 100%, well said

Well said!

Great fight in that program!

Yeah I agree... and based on those LP standings, Michelle would have won the title, with Tara 2nd and Irina 3rd.

The music is from Azerbaijan, where the overwhelming majority of people are Muslim, and the Taj Mahal is in fact a work of Muslim art. Saying she should have gone to Little India is somewhat faulty, because the current demographic of India shows a Hindu majority, not Muslim. The Mughal empire that built the Taj Mahal did not include Azerbaijan, but cultures move and travel over time, and in the end the Taj Mahal is more Muslim than it is Indian.

well said,eClo, a lot of michelle kwan's haters keep on watching and watching her skating videos ha ha!! why? coz they can't stand to even watch whoever they idolized,skaters with no consistency at all. 9 time u.s. champ, 5 time world champ and 2 olympic medals, isn't that consistency? now, without michelle, u.s. female skaters can't even get to the podium. and abc 7 threw the skating coverage to ch.2 coz when michelle disappered,ratings went down the drain...!!!

The second section music (drums, etc. at about 6:45) is from Maurice Jarre's Lion of the Desert not from Laurence of Arabia

@grafgirl27 I don't think skating at a senior level for 2 (honestly, 1 3/4) seasons determines real "consistency." And she fell at the 98 Nationals. Her 3 loop 3 loop was amazing, but I don't think that should have earned her a gold medal. I think the skate order at the Olys helped her more than anything. And yes, I totally agree that her departure made way for Irina. I think Tara could have developed some artistry had she stuck around. Irina never did, because the judges never made her.

all those negative speeches... damn i hate that.. ur all just jealous that u cnt skate like that she came from a 4th place how amazing is that to become 2nd..! go michelle

Sorry, I messed up, it is Sunny Came Home by Shawn Colvin

Fairplaywanted you do have the right to your opinion. But you have to realize that when you post you comment, other people have the same right to comment on what you are saying. As a Michelle Kwan fan I have to say that in my opinion this program was great. She did a great job at World. Who is your favorite skater?

Thank you Txtullati. It seems like everyone want to find someway to hate Kwan. Kwan placed 4th at World's in 2005 using the new system. Oh what year did Eldredge do that. I havent been watching skating as long as some fans.

Since when is there an age cut off at the Olympics? I have never heard of that. Michelle can absolutely skate in 2010 if she decides to try.

@allenglandlawns No one attempts the 3loop/3loop (which is difficult, sure) because it's likely at least one of the jumps will be under-rotated - the technology in 2010/2011 is far superior to 1997/98. Tara's jumps always looked perilously close to under-rotation. I really don't think Tara "had it all" but I will question whether Michelle Kwan would've continued in amateur ranks if she'd won OG in 1998.

I agree the judges would have given the spot to her but they need to say no if she wasn't ready. My thing is, they said no to Bobek then they could've said no to Michelle if she wasn't ready. The judges are putting together the best chance for medal on the team. They allow her to go because they believe it. Thanks for telling me that Nicole was denied. I thought she was but couldn't remember. Try to watch some of the skaters now. Some of them are good. Really enjoy these chats.

I like what you wrote.

this routine was nice but I like the 1996 routine better.

I love the dumbfounded look on Taras face until she noticed the camera on her.

@Karosanyo Don't be fooled. Allenglandlawns is the same person as getrealandsee, Ithinkformyself, kwansansog, cleareyed1 and probably other names. He/she/it has tried to take a more reasonable tone but still bombards Kwan videos with snarky comments about "simple" programs and "spoiling Emily's dream." She/he/it even responds to her own comments posted under the getrealandsee name, saying "I agree!" Good thing, because no one else does!

Did Irina, Tara and Michelle each have three 1st place ordinals? How closely fought was that!

@allenglandlawns Lu Chen doubled a lutz and only landed 5 triples and she won the world title two seasons prior...your point? It's an overall performance...not a jump fest...

I always wonder how matchups of years past would do under the system of points now used in figure skating. Tara had far superior spins in terms of speed etc. Her jumps however had terrible edges and were very often underrotated. She would never get the credit for her triple triples as she did then. But Michele skates much slower and does not have flexibility in her spins etc but her footwork, artistry and almost perfect jump technique would have consistently had her athe top I think

I still love to watch figure skating. However, there is no skater out there today who can fill her shoes. As far as I'm concerned, she's the best and always will be the best skater of all time.

Can someone post the Canadian version of this, I believe it was CTV that year. thanks

@DeejKelley i find this entertaining : )

Well, almost every competition. Not quite.

I love Michelle...But it's interesting how she made the same mistake in Nagano and Salt Lake that she did at the nationals in 1997. She skated scared, she skated not to loose...When she just skated and let it go she was much better off.

It's called elegance and drama. If you want entertainment, watch NASCAR.

I think Michelle Kwan is a better skater than Lapinski

Fikret Amirov' He is a great composer of Azerbaijan In this I say Qarabagh Tabriz Ardabil Borchali İravan Darband Karkuk It is the ancient land of Azerbaijan

Michelle won the long program with this skate. In other words, Lipinski won because Michelle faltered in the short, not because Tara out-skated her.

Better to ignore the troll.

this was her best program. After this they started to get stale and repetitive, although still better than everyone else.

I never know what she is talking about

@Karosanyo Mediocre? You must be kidding, or must be blind. Or you must be american and wanted woody-Kerrigan to win? I would LOVE Kwan to win gold, but dude, c'mon, Oksana Baiul, seriously? Have you even watched her? She is pure ART.

So, when Kwan finished her program in Nagano and thought she had won the Gold she had turned in a subpar performance and it wasn't her best? So that's why SIX judges wouldn't follow the plan. Any thoughts on SLC? I love the posters who say...thank God that Kwan didn't win the Olympic Gold Medal..then she would have not continued skating.but, then there are those who SLAM Tara for retiring after making history.and those who insist that had Kwan been given Olympic Gold she would have defended it.

I have a lot of respect for her accomplishments but, IMO, her artistry was overrated. It was good, not great. Her technical virtues, however, were excellent. I think that Michelle was better than, both, Sarah Hughes and Tara Lipinski.

Notice she didn't have the Hindu red dot on her forehead at this competition , like she did at Nationals. Must of thought it was bad luck.

she made a joke of figure skating? ISU and figure skating should be kissing her behind for all the great things she's done. not to mention all the revnue of ticket sales. She didnt have to get press' attention. The media was all up in her face for over 10 years. Please. go and be bitter somewhere else.

im doing a report on this person &stars;

Oh as for Michelle being a wannabe Olympic Champion well there are a lot of skaters that are Wannabe Olympic Champion. That is the whole point of competing at the Olympic. For that chance at getting that Gold medal. I really would love to know who is your favorite skater. I'm not trying to attack you just want to know.

Oh my goodness...how silly of me. When Kwan put on the show in Nagano...OMG OMG...can't breathe....crying crying....OMG OMG....she was AFRAID that the judges were going to force that Gold medal on her and then she couldn't continue to skate...that must be it...OMG Frank...OMG Frank....and in SLC she fell just in case.because she was in a generous mind set and everybody knows that she is handed the gold medal at every competiton because she is the only skater there..the others are just for show:)

oh and, not a good athlete? i'm sorry, but no skater above the intermediate level is a bad athlete. 6 clean triples, including a triple triple. what a pathetic excuse for an athlete. oh yes.

Absoutely.totally generous and giving of Michelle to throw two Olympics just so she could continue to hang around and give her fans more. Oh wait...didn't she petition her way onto the 2006 Olympic Team? Do you think she changed her mind and decided that she wanted Olympic Gold after all? I mean really after all those mind numbing predictable years of gifts and titles and accolades she unselfishly accepted for her fans she decided to fly to Italy and pick up her Olympic Gold? Ooops...no, Shelly.

I hope she went back to school after her skating career ended. She has got to be the most poorly spoken elite skater. "Goods and glory", etc. Such a pretty girl, though.

I never know what Michels is babbling about

God she's inarticulate. Hard on the ears. Makes Nancy Kerrigan sound eloquent.