1/4

Michelle posted on the MK Forum on December 23! She didn't start a new thread, instead she posted it in her profile. To read it, go to her profile, then scroll down and click on "last" page to see her message (hers is the 2nd to last message)! Here is what she wrote:

Hi Everybody!! It's been a long time.... I am home for the holidays. It's fun to have a chance to see all my friends and family. It seems like everybody is having Christmas parties, and I have enjoyed going to them: ) Last night I was at our family rink for our yearly Christmas show. The skaters were so adorable, they were are dressed up in Christmas costumes. It gave me a chance to turn the usual traditional roles around, as I gave a flower to each skater as they came off the ice. They sure earned it!! I am really proud to have so many talented skaters at the rink.
I am not sure what I am going to do for the New Year, but I imagine it will be pretty busy. I hope you all have a pleasant and safe holiday season!!!
See you all soon!!
xoxo MK

Many times over the years, Michelle has been mentioned on Jeopardy. On Dec 29, Michelle was again the question! WorldsGreatestMK posted on the MK Forum that the answer was "This 9 Time National Champion and Five Time World Champion Figure Skater began skating after watching her brother play hockey." We must all be smarter than the Jeopardy contestants, since none of them knew the correct response was "Who is Michelle Kwan?"! (Thanks WorldsGreatestMK!)
10/21

On October 14, Michelle attended the Women's Sports Foundation's 29th Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Last year, she received the Billie Jean King Contribution Award. She looked gorgeous in a Ralph Lauren purple gown. Check out this great article from the event, with lots of great quotes from Michelle. Also, check out the following pics of Michelle at the event:

nymag.com spoke with Michelle at the awards dinner, and found out some fun info!

Olympians from the Beijing Summer Games are riding high on endorsement deals, but let's not forget about our wintry athletic friends. Last night we ran into figure skater Michelle Kwan, clad in a dress by Olympic uniform designer Ralph Lauren, at the 29th Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria. We asked if she has her own clothing line in the works, like gymnast Nastia Liukin. And what do you know? She does. Kwan disclosed she's been approached to do her own line but wouldn't reveal by whom. Perhaps the ink's not dry yet? "I've been talking about a line for younger women — athleticwear, inspired by yoga and exercise and fitness," she said. We hope her stuff has the same glittery flair as those skating leotards. Yoga classes are just so muted these days.
8/29

I'm sorry I didn't post this right after Michelle's Today show appearance. I've been having computer problems lately.

Hope you caught Michelle on the Today show on Aug 20, as it was a great interview! Michelle said that she was "inspired" by watching the athletes at these games, and that she still hasn't decided about 2010!! She said, "You have to have your heart and soul and mind to be at the Olympics. You know, I've left all doors open and I haven't closed any doors yet. So I've got to make that decision soon.”

She looked fantastic! Check out skatefan20's screencap from the interview. Also, check out Angie's screencap gallery of the interview.

The Today show's site has an article with even more quotes from Michelle about 2010! She says she will decide about Vancouver after she's finished her studies at the University of Denver in November (mark your calendar!) More quotes from the interview:

“Dara Torres is amazing,” Kwan told TODAYshow.com on Wednesday. “She’s a mother, she’s in the best shape of her life and she’s in the Olympic Games. She’s shown age doesn’t matter.”

“They say 30 is the new 40. If that’s true and I’m 29 in Vancouver, then I’ll really be 19, which is the perfect skating age.”

“I have a silver and a bronze, and you how everyone says there’s something missing?” Kwan said. “I don’t know what that is, but I feel like something is missing, as well.”

Check out the article, Kwan mulls an Olympic encore in Vancouver, which also includes a video of the Today show interview. You can also watch the interview on YouTube. (Thanks skatefan20 & Angie!)

Check out some pictures of Michelle attending the Beijing Olympics:

Also, check out cute interview on YouTube of Michelle at the Olympics. Finally, to read some more random sightings of Michelle throughout the game from blogs, check out this thread at the MK Forum. (Thanks kwak & Grace!)
8/19

Michelle will be on the Today show on Wednesday, August 20, sometime between 9-10 am on NBC. The live interview will take place in Beijing.

8/17

Michelle has arrived in Beijing! Marianne Kushi, a TV journalist in San Diego, posted on her blog about a surprise sighting...Michelle! Check out this picture of Michelle with Marianne at the Bird's Nest! (Thanks Grace!)

If you've been watching the Olympics as much as I have, you've probably seen the Coca-Cola commercial with many Olympic medalists, including Michelle! There was a small column in the August 11 edition of USA Today about the commercial:

A more special Olympics.

We think Coca-Cola's Opening Ceremonies ad should get a gold medal for its heart-warming footage of 30 athletes — four of them Special Olympics athletes — receiving medals. The "Ceremony" commercial will be the most visible Coke ad throughout the Games. It will run 12 times in prime time and 60 more times throughout the broadcasts. It's the first time that Coke features Special Olympics athletes in its global Coke advertising.

You can watch the video on the USA Today's site with the article or on YouTube.

Speaking of commercials, there's also 2 local LA commercials with Michelle for Channel 4. They show local LA newscasters, celebrities, and athletes saying "I'm 4 LA." One version has Michelle in the rink, the other has her in front of the NBC background. Watch the version of Michelle at the rink (on divshare, capped by skatefan20), and version #2 on YouTube. Also, check out two screencaps that skatefan20 made from first version: Michelle waving and Michelle skating. (Thanks skatefan20!)

7/30

Michelle has already said that will be attending the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. She won't just be any normal spectator, though! Michelle will be among seven members of the presidential delegation to the closing ceremony of the Olympics. The delegation is led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and the other five in the delegation are Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao; Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt; Clark T. Randt, Jr, the U.S. ambassador to China; U.S. Olympic committee president Peter Ueberroth; and Karen Hughes, global vice chair of Burson-Marsteller.

In the AP article about the honor, Michelle said, "I'm enrolled in summer classes right now: three classes, 15 units. I spoke to my professors and told them I'd have to miss the last two days because I'm part of the delegation to the Olympics closing ceremony. Luckily, they said I can make it up and turn in my papers later on. It's such an honor and so thrilling. And to be with three members of the Cabinet and Karen Hughes and Peter Ueberroth ..."

The article also states that she will be there for "nearly two weeks," so she should be there through most of the games. She said, "There are so many things I want to do. Watch basketball, of course - there are a few people I know on the team. Gymnastics, swimming - I've never seen swimming or diving in person. Volleyball and beach volleyball. I'll get to as many events I can."

This isn't the first time Michelle was named to a presidential delegation. She was also on the U.S. Presidential Delegation for the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China.

pookybear19 posted on the MK Forum that Michelle is in the August 4 issue of In Touch weekly! It's the "Who wore it better" feature on page 8, and it includes this picture of Michelle from the ESPY Awards. The others who wore the same dress elsewhere were Lauren Conrad and Khloe Kardashian. The magazine picked Lauren, but that's just their opinion. ;) (Thanks pookybear19!)

Michelle attended the 2008 WTA East West Bank Classic finals at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California on July 27. She sat with the CEO of EastWest bank, Dominic Ng, and was interviewed during the match on ESPN by Pam Shriver. She also presented the trophy to the winner, Dinara Safina, after the match. Check out a picture of Michelle watching Dinara Safina hoist her trophy!

skatefan20 posted the following on the MK Forum:

MK was asked what she thought of the difference between a sport like tennis and a judged sport like skating. Pam proceeded to talk about the variety of tennis court surfaces, and that segued into a discussion of the differences in ice surfaces: MK prefers skating in the US/North America - "ice is a few degrees warmer, softer" and "she gets more into the ice" whereas in Europe/Russia, "the ice is harder...doesn't respond well"

skatefan20 also made the following screencaps (Thanks skatefan20!)

Michelle also attended this event last year.
7/20

Michelle attended the ESPY Awards at the NOKIA Theatre L.A. Live on July 16, as well as "The 2008 ESPYs Giant Event," a pre-event party the day before, July 15, at the J Bar and Lounge in Los Angeles. The ESPYs air on Sunday, July 20 on ESPN from 9-11 (though, there is a baseball game on before the awards, so they may start late.) The ESPYs are repeated many times, including Monday, July 21 at midnight, 3am and 1pm on ESPN and at 8pm & 11:30pm on ESPN2.

Check out two videos of Michelle at the pre-party:

Also, check out the following pictures of Michelle at the pre-party & walking the red carpet for the ESPY Awards!

  • 2008 ESPYs Giant Event
  • ESPY Awards Arrival

    Usually it's hard to find even one picture of Michelle from the SAMMY Awards, but AKA Media Inc. has posted lots of pics from the 2008 SAMMY Awards! They have pics of Michelle & Avery Johnson with every award winner, such as this picture. They also have a group picture of all the award winners with the 2 presenters. Be sure to check out the 24 pics of Michelle on AKA Media Inc.'s flickr site! (Thanks Grace!)

    Check out this cute You Tube video of Ross (the intern on Jay Leno's show), who you may remember is a huge Michelle fan. He's writing an email to Michelle wishing her happy birthday, and in the middle, they watch Fields of Gold.

    • 7/7

    Happy birthday Michelle! Michelle is 28 years old today, July 7, 2008. Check out my birthday page for Michelle

    Once again, Michelle was at the SAMMY awards. The SAMMY (Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year) awards recognize the nation's 25 top student athletes. The awards took place at The Milk House at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida. While there, Michelle was interviewed on ESPNews on Saturday, June 28. You can watch part of the interview on ESPN's site. It's a great interview where she says she will attend the Summer Olympics in August, especially the gymnastics & basketball. Check it out! (Thanks TwinnerA!)

    Another cute interview with Michelle that Grace posted on the MK Forum (Thanks Grace!):

    Michelle shout out to 'Kewl Magazine' readers. There is this cute video of Michelle saying hello to Kewl Magazine's readers. Date and location unknown. Looks to be very recent possibly at the A Time for Heroes event? Here's a link to a larger size of the video.
    6/12

    Michelle attended the "A Time for Heroes Celebrity Carnival", a family picninc & carnival for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, on June 8 at the Wadsworth Theater Grounds in Brentwood, CA. Check out the press release about the event (Thanks Dawn!) Also, check out the following pictures of Michelle at the event:

    5/17

    On April 19, Michelle was one of the speakers at the 17th Annual Conference of the Committee of 100 in Los Angeles. The Annual Conference showcased the achievements of Chinese Americans in a variety of fields. The Chairman of the Committee of 100 said, "This year's conference reflects the Committee of 100's mission to support and promote the contribution of Chinese Americans to all aspects of society. With our unique Mentoring Program, we would like to contribute further to our society by ensuring a healthy pipeline of future leaders." Michelle was interviewed by Lisa Ling during the luncheon prior to the start of the Mentoring Program. She talked about her role as a U.S. Department of State Public Diplomacy envoy. She said, "One of my missions is to encourage young people. I'm not there to talk to them but to talk with them."

    Grace from the MK Forum was lucky enough to attend this luncheon! She wrote a fantastic & detailed report, check it out! It's a must read! Then, check out her pictures from the luncheon.

    There are also a few pictures of Michelle at the conference from the Committee of 100's site:

    clroger has posted 3 video clips of Michelle's interview on youtube. It adds up to almost 20 minutes!

    Clip 1 / Clip 2 / Clip 3

    There is also a news clip of Michelle at the conference, though only Michelle's comments at a news conference are in English: LA18 video

    For more information, check out the press release. (Thanks Grace!)

    Michelle was the keynote speaker for the 2008 USFSA Governing Council meeting in Denver, Colorado on May 2. Her appearance at the meeting was a secret, and revealed to those in attendance by U.S. Figure Skating President Ron Hershberger. In Michelle's opening address speech, she gave words of encouragement and advice to the skaters in the audience.

    Be sure to watch a video of Michelle's speech (about 14MB, wmv file), courtesy of the USFSA. Check out a transcript of Michelle's speech, typed up by mkwanrocks at the MK Forum. You can also check out this picture of Michelle giving her speech. For more information, check out the 2008 Governing Council Wrap Up. (Thanks Sylvia & mkwanrocks!)

    I wrote earlier about Michelle receiving an award at the "You Bring Charm to the World" awards ceremony in Beijing, China. Michelle did an interview the the host of the awards. KwanKat posted the following on the MK Forum: (Thanks KwanKat!)

    MK Interview on Phoenix Channel April 20th 2008

    I had been anticipating this ever since Michelle received her "You Charm the World" award last month in Beijing, and even though it's 10 days past its initial broadcast (because I kind of forgotten about it the past few days), I still like to share this video with everyone here.

    http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/EGFFTWS6ZsM/

    The video is an episode of "Celebrity Face to Face" where Michelle gives an interview to Ms. Xu Ge Hui, the emcee at the forementioned awards ceremony. Considering Ms. Xu's comments at the awards show, this interview was most likely conducted the day before/day of the awards show itself on 29th March 2008.

    The sound is a little fuzzy given that it's a flash video, but the interview is conducted entirely in English.

    I do have alternative links for those who find it difficult to watch from that site. The only reason I didn't provide this in the first place is because for some reason, the video from this one is lacking the last 3 minutes or so, well, at least it did, when I first viewed it. On second viewing, it's all fine. This link should be much faster. Just in case, to watch the missing last 3 minutes or so, try accessing it here (there of course will be a little overlap)

    Michelle has attended a few NBA playoff games. Check out this picture of Michelle attending the Lakers vs Denver Nuggets playoff game in Denver on April 28, 2008. That pic was for game 4 of the first round of the playoffs, but this article states that she was also at game 3. (Thanks Grace!)
    4/18

    Michelle attended the Billie Awards on April 15 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California. The Billies, hosted by the Women's Sports Foundation, are named for Billie Jean King, and recognize media excellence in women's sports and physical activity while simultaneously raising funds for the Foundation. Sir Elton John performed, and others in attendance included Sharon Osbourne, Aisha Tyler, Master P., Drew Lachey, Doug Savant, Julie Foudy, Tony Gonzalez and Tracy Austin. Check out the official site of the Billie Awards, which has a picture of Michelle, and the press release, for more information. Also, be sure to watch this you tube video of Elton John performing, taken by someone at Michelle's table at the awards. About 20 seconds in, you can see Michelle singing along.

    Check out the following pictures of Michelle at the event:

    You can also check out the MK Gallery for many pictures from the Billie Awards.

    On March 29, Michelle was one of the winners at the "You Bring Charm to the World", the 2007 World Influential Chinese Persons awards ceremony in Beijing, China. Held at the Beijing University Century Hall, it honors 12 outstanding Chinese from the fields of Science, Sports, Culture and the Arts. Other winners include actress Gong Li, actor Jackie Chan, and agricultural scientist Yuan Longping. Check out the Official Awards site. You can read the translated Michelle part of the transcript for the award ceremony. You can also watch a streaming video clip of Michelle receiving the award during the ceremony!

    There are several articles in Chinese about the awards. Check out the awards thread on the MK Forum to see translations of the interviews & articles.

    Finally, check out the following pictures of Michelle during the awards ceremony:

    There were lots of pictures and other media from Michelle's trip to Argentina as the US Public Diplomacy Envoy! Check out the following youtube video clips of Michelle during the trip:

    Pictures from the trip:

    Finally, some articles & blog entries about the trip:
    3/18
    		More information about Michelle's trip to Argentina as as the US Public Diplomacy Envoy. Here is a schedule that Grace has put together from several Argentina website articles: Monday March 17:

    9:15 Meeting with athletes and Paralympic SPECIAL NEW OLIMPIADAS, who made demonstrations of inline skating and tennis in wheelchairs. (CENARD)

    11:00 Meeting with the press.

    14:00 (ICE PLANET FLOWERS - Av. Rivadavia 7431) Clinical / Demonstration of Michelle Kwan with youths from the Argentine Federation of Ice Skating and youth from low-income guests, followed by a talk on "Youth and Leadership - Concreción Dreams Sports "for all.

    Tuesday March 18:

    HEADQUARTERS OF CLUB ATLÉTICO INDEPENDENT - Av.
    Mitre 470, Avellaneda.

    10:00 Meeting with young athletes, coaches, sports leaders, students and municipal and provincial authorities. A talk on "Youth and Leadership - Concreción Dreams Sports."

    11:30 Meeting with the press. With the presence of Ambassador Wayne.

    ICE PLANET AVELLANEDA - Av.
    Hipólito Irigoyen (former Pavón) 1475, Avellaneda.

    13:30 Clinic / demonstration with youths from the Argentine Federation of Curling. A talk on "Youth and Leadership." Then there will be another meeting with the press.

    Thursday March 20:

    She will be in Parana. 9:30 and 11 hours: will provide a talk this Thursday and then a press conference, organized by Grow Productions, which will be held in the conference room Maran Suites Hotel and Towers.

    Translations of articles from Argentina:

    Check out the following pictures of Michelle holding a skating clinic at 'Ice Planet Flowers' rink in Buenos Aires on March 17:

    Be sure to check out the MK Gallery's Argentina trip album for up to the minute pictures from Michelle's trip. Also, Grace posted this video from infobae.tv, an Argentina news site. It's a montage of clips throughout Michelle's life & career so far. It's a must see! Check it out! (Thanks Grace!)
    3/14

    Michelle's third trip as the US Public Diplomacy Envoy is to Argentina! She will travel to Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Parana, Argentina starting March 15. From the press release, Kwan headed to Argentina on envoy mission:

    As an American Public Diplomacy Envoy, Ms. Kwan promotes cross-cultural dialogue with international youth to increase understanding of America by sharing her story and life experiences. Kwan's activities in Argentina will include holding skating clinics for Argentine youth, meeting Special Olympic and Paralympic athletes, meeting and speaking with students, teachers, coaches and aspiring youth entrepreneurs working on Junior Achievement projects. Kwan will also share her experiences with women leaders as well as have an open dialogue with Argentine athletes. Hopefully we'll get lots of articles and pictures coming out from this trip, as we did with the China & Russia trips!
    1/27

    Michelle was shown on Saturday during the NBC coverage of the ladies short program at Nationals. It was a piece about Michelle being a mentor for Caroline Zhang. Michelle was interviewed next to Caroline, and they also showed her skating at her rink! You can watch the video on youtube. Also, check out some screencaps of the piece, made by Angie and another widescreen screencap by skatefan20. (Thanks Angie & skatefan20!)

    In the January 24 edition of USA Today, the color graph they had on the front page of the sports section was about number of US figure skating National titles. Of course, Michelle is #1. I actually didn't even look at the graph at first, but I saw the graphic of a skater doing a spiral, and I knew that was Michelle. That made me look to see what the graph was actually about! I scanned the graph in, check it out!

    1/16

    Phil Hersh wrote about the possibility of Michelle being a commentator at Nationals in the article Kwan could heat up figure skating coverage. Here is what Michelle had to say about it in the article:

    "I'm definitely interested," Kwan said in a telephone interview.

    That is a change from Kwan's attitude after she withdrew from the 2006 Olympics because of an injury.

    Then, she declined an opportunity to work for NBC because she would have felt uncomfortable commenting on skaters she had been preparing to compete against. Now Kwan feels she has enough distance to be an objective observer.

    "You have commentators that can be really critical and really mean, and I'm not that type of person," Kwan said. "You can say, 'Her leg was at an odd angle, and it doesn't look right,' or you can say, 'This looks ugly.' I will never be that kind of person that will criticize in a very negative way."     Later in the article: Unlike any of the commentators NBC will use, Kwan has experience trying to compete with and train for the sport's new scoring system.

    "I could give the insight about what the process is," Kwan said.    The article also says that Michelle plans to get her degree next December.

    Carrie Ann Inaba said the following in the article Dancing with the Stars' Olympic Dreams about who she would like to see on a future Dancing With the Stars season:

    So, who else would Inaba like to see? Olympic figure-skating champ Michelle Kwan. “A skater—that would be kind of awesome,” she said. However, Kwan said she’s not ready to put on her dancing shoes yet. She’s too busy with school and work to think about it right now, but she said, “I never say never. So, don’t be surprised to see me on the show one day.”
    1/15

    My 10 year anniversary posts for January 9, January 10 - the day of the long program: Lyra Angelica - January 11, and the recap are so long, I decided to put it on a separate page. You'll find 17 videos and 13 pictures there. Check it out! (I'll move the rest of the days' reports there later.)

    And if you want to see all my reports & pictures in one place, check out my 1998 Nationals page. I hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane!!

    1/8

    My 10 year anniversary posts for January 7 & January 8 - the day of the short program: Rachmaninoff. (Hope you are enjoying this walk down memory lane!)

    I've moved the recaps to a separate "Looking back at 1998 Nationals, 10 years later" page. Check it out!

    1/6

    10 years ago this week, January 3-11, 1998, the 1998 Nationals took place at the Corestates Center in Philadelphia. 1998 Nationals was the first real competition I attended. There were so many things that made it special to me. Back then, I actually wrote detailed reports each day on my site (which was only 6 months old at that time.) I thought I would relive each day on my site when we hit the 10 day anniversary of each practice/short/long/etc of Michelle's. Hopefully you'll enjoy this trip back down memory road.

    I've moved the recaps to a separate "Looking back at 1998 Nationals, 10 years later" page. Check it out!

    skatefan20 posted the following sighting on the MK Forum: (Thanks skatefan20!)

    ESPN, Best of 'This is Sportscenter' Haven't seen a post regarding this....is this old news?

    Anyways, this special has been airing several times over the ESPN networks since the 11th. And MK's commercial from 2000 was featured, along with a brief clip of Michelle reflecting on the ad.

    Here are some screencaps from skatefan20:

    I was able to catch this on New Year's Eve, and made a clip of it for you to download. The clip is about 7MB wmv file, uploaded to sendspace. Check it out.

    If you forget about Michelle's SportsCenter ad, check out the ESPN Commercial page in the endorsement section of my site.

    Also related to ESPN, I watched ESPN's "Year in Review" special on ESPN2 on New Year's Eve, and they showed the full Michelle Make a Wish story with Dani. They only chose one of the Make a Wish stories to show, and it was this one. They also promoted it before the break with lots of Michelle clips. It was nice to get a good cry again from watching. After showing the piece as it originally aired, they said that the family got good news in October. Dani is cancer free for the 3rd straight year, and they said that the 3rd year is the most important with her cancer, so this is GREAT news for Dani.
    12/25

    Michelle posted on the MK Forum on December 24! Check it out! Here is what she wrote:

    Happy Holidays MKF!! xoxo

    Hi MKF!
    I hope that everybody is having a wonderful holiday. This month has been really fun. I have spent quality time with my adorable neices Olivia and Sophia. They are growing up so fast. Olivia has already fallen in love with figure skating!! Last year I bought her a pair of skates, and she has definitely made good use of them. My sister and brother-in-law are celebrating the holidays in Tennessee. And my brother is in Denmark. So...this Christmas it will be me, my parents...and three doggies!!!
    I head back to Denver for Winter Quarter soon. School has been a real good experience for me. Physically I am feeling 120%. I have been running, swimming, and yes...skating! I have been traveling a bit for the State Department. My next trip will be to Argentina!
    I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
    Miss you xoxo
    MK

    youngatheart posted on the MK Forum with a quote from Michelle in the the Jan/Feb 2008 American Girls magazine (Thanks youngatheart!):

    My young granddaughter received her Jan/Feb 2008 issue of American Girl magazine on Saturday. There is a feature story on a 10 year old skater named Sami P. (last names are never used in the mag.) There is a sidebar on the last page of the article entitled ProAdvice and it's Michelle giving 'her advice for staying positive and spirited, either on the ice or in life.'

    Michelle's advice: "You can't get anything done when you're frustrated. The emotion overwhelms you instead of being something that can help you. You have to channel that energy into something positive. If you stay positive, you're going to be able to fix that problem or that jump or the issue that you have. Instead of worrying about the negative, focus on the things that you can actually change. And if it's something that you can't change, then you know what? Realize it, and deal with it, and move on." This is accompanied by a gorgeous photo of Michelle doing her spiral. The dress (purple) looks like one from her last season - I can't be sure.
    12/19

    On ESPN the Weekend's site, they have a video with 2007 highlights of the weekend on the main page. About halfway through the video, there's Michelle in a race car! When watching the video, you'll see the ESPN Sports Zone section. After the MLB part, is Michelle's clip. It's really short, but still Michelle!

    When they had clips of last year's event on the site earlier this year, they did not have Michelle in any of the videos, even though she was there. So at least they have her in the video this year!

    Even though it's a really short clip, I made a few screencaps of Michelle from the video. Check them out!

    Last month, Michelle attended an art unveiling at the Pasadena Branch of East West Bank, which will later move to the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. A few pictures of Michelle at the event on November 7:

    Also, check out this article, translated from Chinese, about Michelle at the event: Kwan attended the unveiling Chinese modern art.

    Michelle attended New Orleans Hornets vs Lakers game in LA on November 6. Check out this great picture of Michelle at the game.

    babyoscar posted the following sighting on the MK Forum: (Thanks babyoscar!)

    I was just watching National Geographic the other day. In this documentary thing called The Incredible Human Machine, they played a jumping pass of MK in her blue Lyra Angelica dress for few seconds. I thought people might be interested in this information.

    The Incredible Human Machine site

    michellesmom posted the following sighting on the MK Forum: (Thanks michellesmom!)

    Some of y'all know I coach youth cheerleaders. So I'm reading an article about strength training in my new Cheer Coach and Advisor magazine, and did a doubletake when I got to:

    These were ordinary school-girls, only marginally athletic, who had no interest in becoming “weightlifters,” any more than Olympic skater Michelle Kwan, shown curling a dumbbell on the cover of NEWSWEEK in 1998, wanted to become a bodybuilder.

    She's everywhere!

    The rest of the article is here

    Not necessarily related to Michelle this year, but since she has such a history with the tour, I thought I would post that the Champions on Ice tour has been cancelled. What a sad time for skating. Check out Champions on Ice tour cancelled and Figure skating's ice gets thinner for more information.

    11/3

    I wrote earlier that Epcot has added Michelle to it's American Adventure show final photo montage. Well, I just got back from from Disney, and went to see this show again just to see Michelle. The company that she's with in this film is phenominal. It's Rosa Parks, Jonas Salk, JFK...Michelle (and a bunch of others, but you get my drift!) We knew she was going to be in that final photo montage, but it was still a shock seeing her on that big screen like that, with such amazing people. And when they showed her, she glided across the whole screen, they didn't do that for anyone else. I don't really know who else was shown after her because my mom and I basically just kept saying "Michelle!!!" It was really amazing.

    When we were leaving, we heard several people mentioning Michelle. One example: Someone behind us said "oh, they updated the film! I know Michelle Kwan wasn't in it last time." They added a bunch of people & events, but she mentions Michelle.

    Check out my picture of Michelle on the big screen (not the best pic, sorry!) Also, I found a video of the montage on youtube, though the sides are sort of blacked out, you can still get the idea.

    10/17

    Michelle received another huge honor on Monday! She won the Billie Jean King Contribution Award at the Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports. The event took place on October 15 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, where Billie Jean King presented the award to Michelle. The Billie Jean King Contribution Award to given to the athlete who has made significant contributions to the development of women's sports and has demonstrated lasting commitment and dedication to the growth of women's physical activity. From the award's press release:

    Olympic gold medalist Michelle Kwan's history with the Women's Sports Foundation began in 1999 when she received a Travel & Training grant from the Foundation so that she may continue pursuing her passion. Almost a decade later, Kwan is now the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history and has continued to achieve off the ice. In 2006, she was named the U.S.'s first Public Diplomacy Envoy by U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. Her accomplishments have earned her the Billie Jean King Contribution Award, given to an athlete who has made significant contributions to the development of women's sports and has demonstrated lasting commitment and dedication to the growth of women's physical activity.

    And from the WSF's site:

    The Billie Jean King Contribution Award went to the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history, Michelle Kwan. Kwan was recognized for her significant contribution to the Women’s Sports Foundation and to the development and advancement of women’s sports by inspiring girls and women to become healthier through sports, fitness or physical activity. Always a forward thinker, Kwan proclaimed her continued commitment, “I look forward to working with the Foundation to provide more opportunities in sports.”

    Check out the following pictures of Michelle arriving to the awards & receiving her award:

    You can also check out all these pictures at the MK Gallery. Others in attendance at the award ceremony included Sheryl Crow, Holly Hunter, and Laila Ali. For more information, check out the following articles:

    This AP article has some positive news about Michelle's health and possible skating future:

    The two-time Olympic medalist and five-time world champion is studying political science at the University of Denver with an emphasis in international studies.The 27-year-old Kwan said she'll decide in 2009 if she'll compete in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. She's running, swimming and skating to stay in shape.Kwan had hip surgery about a year ago."It's the first time in four years I've skated pain free," she said. "I haven't made a decision about 2010 — I'm keeping my options open."

    Michelle was named to the U.S. Presidential Delegation for the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China. The members of the delegation attended the Opening Ceremonies on October 2.

    The U.S. Presidential Delegation was led by Margaret Spellings, Secretary of Education. Along with Michelle, the other members of the delegation were: Ernie Banks (Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame), Clark T. Randt, Jr. (US Ambassador to the People's Republic of China), John H. Hager (Former Assistant Secretary of Education, Special Education and Rehabilitative Services), Dr. Lynn Fuchs (Professor of Special Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University), Eunice Kennedy Shriver (Founder, Special Olympics), Dr. Timothy P. Shriver (Chairman of the Board, Special Olympics), Anne Sweeney (Co-Chairman, Disney Media Networks and President, Disney-ABC Television Group), and Jennifer Polk Wardlow (International Global Messenger and Special Olympics North Carolina athlete.)

    On October 1, the day before the opening ceremonies, Michelle was one of several celebrities to open the new Sports Experience Center. Other celebrities in attendance included WWE Stars Mick Foley and Torrie Wilson, Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver, Special Olympics Founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Coca Cola CEO Mutar Kent, Vanessa Williams, Bianca Jagger, and Brenda Song.

    Watch this cute video of Michelle, from ABC.com, in China on October 3. Also, here are a few pics of Michelle while in China:

    Check out some translations from Chinese articles about Michelle from KwanKat on the MK Forum, including the following quote from Michelle:

    I was in China early this year in my capacity as goodwill ambassador for the international Special Olympics committee, my goal was to engage in dialogue with youths, sharing with them some of my experiences from skating. I would like to tell all the Special Olympians that I believe that as long as you work hard towards your dreams, you can be successful.

    For more information, check out the following articles:

    Michelle is on the cover of the October 2007 issue of Blades Magazine. Check it out! Also, debbwin from the MK Forum scanned in the Michelle pictures from the magazine, check out her slideshow of the pics! There are 8 other pictures of Michelle in the magazine, including: Fields of Gold Spread Eagle, East of Eden Spiral, Aranjuez end pose, Salome pose, Romanza #1, Romanza #2, 98 profile pic, and 99 profile pic.

    There is a new book out about women athletes that includes Michelle, titled How to Be Like Women Athletes of Influence: 32 Women at the Top of Their Game and How You Can Get There Too. Michelle is one of 4 athletes featured on the cover, along with Serena Williams, Annika Sorenstam, and Mia Hamm. Michelle's chapter is subtitled "Flawlessness." You can find the book on Amazon.

    Check out Michelle's ultimate playlist, courtesy of SI.com

    Michelle attended a few sporting events this summer! On August 11, she attended an AVP volleyball tournament in Manhattan Beach. Check out a picture of Michelle at the 2007 Manhattan Beach Open Women's Final.

    The next day, she attended the East West Bank WTA Classic at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. She presented the trophy to the winner after the match. ESPN also showed her sitting with the CEO of EastWest Bank during the match between Ana Ivanovic & Nadia Petrova. Check out a picture of Michelle with the trophy, along with a few screen captures during the match, at the MK Gallery.

    s0nginmyheart posted on the MK Forum that there is a picture of Michelle in the Disn