2004-05 Season Notes
SP Music: "Adagio" from Spartacus; FS Music: "Bolero"
by Ravel. 
Kwan chose not to compete in this year's Grand Prix Series.
2003-04 Season Notes
Skating to music from "Tosca" by Giacomo Puccini, Kwan
finished second at the Campbell's Classic in New York City to
open the season ... She switched coaches in December and now trains
with Rafael Arutunian ... She won the International Figure Skating
Challenge Dec. 5 ... She won her seventh consecutive and eighth
overall U.S. title at the 2004 State Farm U.S. Championships,
earning seven 6.0 marks in the free skate for presentation ...
She is using last year's "The Feeling Begins" by Peter
Gabriel for the short program ... At the World Championships won
her ninth medal in nine consecutive years ... In her free skate
earned six perfect 6.0 marks, the most of any woman in the competition,
giving her a career total of 12 at the World Championships.
2002-03 Season Notes
Kwan won her fifth World title in Washington, D.C., in March ...
She won her qualifying group, then swept through the short program
and free skate... Overall, she earned three perfect 6.0s for presentation
in the event... She is now tied with Carol Heiss for most World
titles by a U.S. skater and trails only Sonja Henie overall, who
collected 10 World titles in her career... Kwan won her seventh
U.S. title and sixth straight in Dallas in January... Her seven
U.S. titles are second only to Maribel Vinson Owen (9)... Her
six consecutive U.S. titles tie Vinson (1928-33) and Gretchen
merrill (1943-48) for the longest winning streak in U.S. ladies
history... Her 10 consecutive U.S. medals is a record shared only
by Theresa Weld Blanchard (1914-24)... Kwan, a last minute addition
to Smart Ones Skate America, claimed her seventh career and fourth
straight title in Spokane ... Kwan debuted her new short program
to the music "The Feeling Begins" by Peter Gabriel ...
It was the second straight title for Kwan this season after winning
the Campbell's International Figure Skating Classic in Daytona
Beach, Fla., Oct. 5 ... Earned three 6.0s at the 2003 World Championships
and one 6.0 in the free skate at the U.S. Championships, giving
her 37 perfect 6.0s in major competitions (28 at the U.S. Championships),
the most of any skater in history ... She did not compete at the
ISU Grand Prix Final (although she did qualify in the sixth spot
with 12 points) ... Kwan began training with Scott Williams in
the summer of 2002.
2001-02 Season Notes
With her seventh World medal in nine appearances, Kwan moved ahead
of Dick Button, Carol Heiss, Hayes Jenkins and Todd Eldredge for
the most World medals by a U.S. skater .., Kwan won the bronze
medal at the Olympic Winter Games in February ... Kwan claimed
her sixth career and fifth straight U.S. ladies title at the 2002
State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles, Calif.,
Jan. 12 ... Kwan is now tied with Theresa Weld Blanchard (1914
and 1920-24) and Gretchen Merrill (1943-48) with six titles each...
Kwan now trails only Maribel Vinson Owen who claimed nine titles
(1928-33 and 1935-37) ... Kwan received two perfect 6.0 marks
for her free skate, adding to her U.S. Championships record for
most 6.0s, which now stands at 27 ... Kwan claimed her third straight
silver medal and fifth career medal at the 2002 ISU Grand Prix
Final in Kitchener, Canada, Dec. 15 ... Kwan won her third straight
and sixth career Skate America title in Colorado Springs in October
— the most titles by anybody in the history of the event
... On Oct. 23, 2001 Kwan split with longtime coach Frank Carroll.
Kwan and Carroll had been together since 1992.
Notes
The most decorated figure skater in U.S. history, Michelle Kwan
has won an unprecedented 42 championships, including five World
Championships (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003), seven consecutive
and eight overall U.S. Championship titles, (1996, 1998-2004)
and two Olympic medals (silver-1998, bronze-2002) ... In the nearly
100-year history of ladies figure skating, Michelle's five World
titles and nine overall world medals (five gold, three silver,
1 bronze) in nine consecutive years (1996-2004) are all marks
that have been bettered only by the immortal Sonja Henie of Norway
(10 titles/11 medals/11 consecutive years) ... She is the only
woman in figure skating history to reclaim the World title three
times (1998, 2000, 2003) ... Kwan's seven consecutive U.S. Championship
titles (1998-2004) and 11 consecutive U.S. Championship medals
(1994-2004) are both U.S. records ... her eight career U.S. titles
are second only to the legendary Maribel Vinson, who won 9 titles
in the 1920's-30's; and her mark of 11 U.S. medals (8 gold, 3
silver) ties her with Vinson for the most in U.S. skating history
... In her career she has received 50 perfect 6.0 marks in major
competitions, the most of any U.S. skater in history, and any
singles skater ever ... She has been awarded at least one 6.0
in each of the last four U.S. Championships, a U.S. record ...
Her winning long and short performances at the 1998 U.S. Championships,
where she received 15 perfect 6.0 marks (out of a possible 18)
for artistry over the course of the event, is the most by any
skater in the history of U.S. Figure Skating ... Prior to the
2001-02 season, Kwan split from longtime coach Frank Carroll ...
Kwan and Carroll had been together since 1992 ... In December
2003 she began working with Rafael Arutunian.
The youngest of three children, Kwan began skating at the age
of 5 after watching her older brother play hockey ... She won
her first figure skating competition at age 7 ... She always wears
a Chinese good luck charm around her neck that was given to her
by her grandmother ... Kwan's autobiography, "Michelle Kwan:
Heart of a Champion," was published in October 1997 and is
now in its sixth printing ... Kwan serves as a national spokesperson
for the Children's Miracle Network "Champions Across America"
program ... She is a seven-time recipient of SKATING magazine's
Readers' Choice Award for figure skater of the year ... In 2003,
the trophy that is given out for the Readers' Choice Award was
renamed the "Michelle Kwan Trophy" ... Kwan signed an
exclusive deal with Electronic Arts (EA Sports) to create the
first interactive figure skating video game (Michelle Kwan Figure
Skating) for the personal computer that debuted in the fall of
1999 ... Has claimed a record 12 USOC Sportswoman of the Month
honors ... In May 2000, Kwan was named one of the "50 Most
Beautiful People in the World" by People magazine ... Her
older sister Karen finished fifth at the 1996 U.S. Figure Skating
Championships ... Kwan is now an aunt to Olivia Oppegard, her
sister Karen's first child with husband Peter Oppegard, a three-time
U.S. champion in pairs.
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