Kathie Lee: Yea.

R: Yea. Anyway, this past weekend in France, it happened. Here she is, the great figure skater, Michelle Kwan!

Michelle is wearing the same thing she wore on the Today show earlier...a black top with black pants, and black sandals with gems on them. Her hair looks nice, having more volume than how it looked at Worlds. The front of her hair is parted to one side, with the ends falling a little onto her face. Her ends are curled out a bit. You can see her lucky necklace through the neckline of her shirt.

She comes out waving. Then, she puts on sunglasses, and poses. This is because earlier in the show, Regis was talking about, and showed off, his new expensive sunglasses. Michelle has the same pair!

KL: You go girl!

Michelle puts her hands on her hips, posing again. Regis rushes to put his pair on, and they both pose together. It's really cute. She laughs and takes the sunglasses off.

R: Look at Michelle Kwan, huh!

Michelle shakes Regis's, then Kathie Lee's hands.

KL: Hello, sweetie. So nice to see you.

Michelle Kwan: Hi.

R: What a cute...

KL: Congratulations to you. What an accomplishment.

MK: Thank you.

They sit down

R: Yes, what a cute little package you are. (Michelle and the audience laugh)

KL: Those are the littlest toes except for a baby I've ever seen.

R: Oh, and I love those shoes. Did you get those on the sunset strip?

Closeup on Michelle's shoes

MK: (laughs) Oh, yeah.

R: Well, actually, you live in Los Angeles, don't you, Michelle?

MK: Yes.

R: And you attend UCLA in between your championships?

MK: Yea

KL: Your spare time.

MK: Do homework whenever I can. (Laughing)

R: Anyway, they tell me that she gets sick after a fierce competition.

MK: Yea

R: Always catch a cold.

KL: It's like your body knows when it can get down, right?

MK: After...

KL: It's always on vacation for me.

MK: Really?

KL: Yea.

MK: That's terrible.

KL: It is, because you're just ready to have a good time. Your body says don't have to work. (Makes a snorting noise, Michelle laughs.)

MK: After a competition, always, my body just goes down.

R: What about if you get it just before your competition?

MK: (frowning) Then...

R: Does it weaken you for the event?

KL: You probably don't, do you much?

MK: (with a sort of upset look on her face) Last year, before the World Championships, I got sick. And...it was not good.

R: Ohh..

MK: Yea.

KL: How many hours a day do you still train?

MK: I'd say, three on the ice, and then off-ice training, like on the treadmill and weights, and...

R: Three hours a day on the ice, every day?

MK: Yea

KL: It's all consuming, isn't it?

R: Wow

KL: It has to be.

MK: Yea.

KL: to compete at that level, it has to be.

MK: Well, it was hard because when I first started UCLA, I (sighing), took a full load of classes, and then I had to skate, and my skating went down because I could only skate, like, one hour a day.

R: Mmm...

MK: And, I was still competing at the time. And, it was just, I didn't feel good about my skating. So, I'm taking less classes, and I'm able to skate more, so...

KL: It's such a tricky thing, because, when you're at your peak physically as an athlete is when you want to...

MK: Sure.

KL: I don't mean cash in in a negative way, but that's when you need to be doing that. And, and, college is something you could do at anytime.

MK: I, I don't...the experience I want from college, I don't think you can wait.

KL: Really?

MK: Because I wanted to be 18 or 19, when you start. I don't want enter college when I'm 30.

KL: What, an old lady at 30? (Michelle laughs) Is that what you're trying to say?

MK: No!

R: That's exactly what she said!

Laughing

R: So, now you're at UCLA, and when championship time comes around, do you continue to go to school? Or do you take a semester off? How do you handle it?

MK: I continue school.

R: Uh huh

MK: Um, but I take less of a load.

R: You live with a roommate at the dormitory...

MK: I did live...

R: Who is obsessed with the millionaire show.

MK: Obsessed!

KL: That's why she doesn't want to live with her, right?

Michelle laughing, puts her hand to her head.

MK: Well, see, on my floor, there's only about 4 TVs, and I had a TV, I brought a TV into my dorm room. And so whenever it came on, it was like, "Party in Michelle's room!" (Audience laughs) Yea, and, uh, my roommate would call (makes signal of a phone with her hands). She would miss class to call!

R: To call in to try to be on the show.

MK: Yea, to try to be a contestant.

R: (To Kathie Lee, who is trying to back out of being on the celebrity edition of Who Wants to be a Millionaire that tapes on Friday.) People are dying to be a contestant, and you don't want to be on!

KL: Michelle, would you like to do celebrity Millionaire on Friday?

R: We'll be right back.

MK: (over audience applauding) Oh, I... (cut off because of the commercial break...would have liked to have heard her answer, but she couldn't do it anyway since she's on tour.)

Commercial break

R: Michelle Kwan, one of the great skaters in the world today. Uh, besides Peggy Fleming, I think you're the only female to win three world championships like that. It's quite a thrill.

MK: I'm still on cloud nine, I can't believe it.

R: Oh, good for you! (Audience applauds) Came in, uh, won the silver medal in the 1998 Olympics. Is it NAgano or NaGAno?

MK: NAgano.

R: Right. Now, what about the gold, about going for the gold in a couple of years for the 2002 Olympics?

MK: Geez, uh! I can't even think. (Puts hands to her head.)

KL: You have enough to do, Michelle.

MK: In four years...well, it's been '98, '99...it's 2000 already.

KL: It's only two...

MK: Two years away.

R: Yea, it's two years away.

MK: But, it will be incredible. It's going to be in Salt Lake City. And in the states...can see the American flags...(pretends to wave a flag)

R: Oh, sure! You've got to try for it, you've got to do it!

KL: I was just out there last week. It's a great, great place. Wonderful people. (Michelle nods her head.) You know, it's a goal.

MK: Yea.

KL: Not necessarily one you're going to have to reach, right? But you have to have something you work towards, I suppose, just to keep you going with that grind.

MK: You know, it's funny, because a lot of people have come up to me, and say, you know, "Go for the gold! Go for this, and you'll get it." I don't think about just the gold medal, because I can't justify all my hard work, all the four years I wait, for that 6 minutes that I'm on the ice.

R: Mmm..

MK: Four years...

R: Uh huh

MK: ...boiled down to (with her hands, makes a small measure) that 6 minutes.

R: Sure.

KL: Life is a lot bigger than that.

MK: Yea, it's not life or death.

KL: Well, good for you, you've got a good attitude.

R: You'll make up your mind about that later on, I guess.

MK: Yea.

R: Meanwhile, she starts a national tour, all around the country. (Michelle nods her head.) Champions on Ice. It starts this Thursday where?

MK: In Baltimore.

R: Oh, in Baltimore.

MK: But we'll be in New York next week.

KL: Great!

R: Back here, to New York next week.

KL: Terrific.

MK: You're invited!

KL: Thank you.

R: Thanks so much. Thanks so much for coming Michelle.

KL: Congratulations!

Michelle shakes both of their hands.

R: Here you are your glasses. (Regis hands her sunglasses back to her) Put those on.

They both put their pair of sunglasses on, and pose again.

R: Yea Baby! Huh!

KL: Nice!

MK: (To Kathie Lee) We need to get you a pair!

R: We'll be right back.