When you watch this and then watch the Russian robots, you understand how hollow skating has become. This was perfection with emotion, artistry, and choreography.
Love what the British commentator said after Michelle finished. " For heaven sake she's 15 years old." Michelle was indeed a special talent to be that good at such a young age. Combine that talent with a fierce competitive spirit and you have one of the greatest skaters of all time.
Probably the best female skater of all time when you look at her LP here. Maybe she continued in the sport just a little too long, as did some of her contemporaries.
We didn't know it at the time (or at least I didn't) but Michelle spoiled us in the US. She was such a complete and beautiful skater. You don't see anyone now stringing championships together the way she did. Fantastic.
You don't see that primarily because of the scoring system and the constant rotation of female skaters from Russia. Russia is dominant now (as nearly always) and they push their women like no other country. Those girls are skating more like men now with all the quads. The scoring system also makes it a lot harder to prop up a "champion" over multiple competitions. You have to be extremely exceptional to accomplish that with this scoring system, like Nathan Chen is. Otherwise the leader board changes too much from competition to competition and year to year. Especially internationally.
@@Karamarika Russian -women- *little girls* were never dominant until they corrupted figure skating in there fraudulent home Olympic “win” in 2014. The only notable skater before current batch of Russian girls was Irina Slutskya.
Michelle Kwan should have a star on the Hollywood wall of fame. She is a true entertainer, she acts out every program that she skates with her heart and is emotionally vested in each and every program taking us along with her on her journey. Her joy is contagious allowing us to forget our troubles for a time.
I was compelled to go see this magical program again from M.K. to remind me that there really used to be beauty and magic in skating after the ugliness that is transpiring in the current winter Olympics ladies skating. The most beautiful and ethereally stunning program for all time from the G O.A.T. She really is a lightning in a bottle.
Not to be overly dramatic, but that was the best damn Short Program I have ever seen. The choreography and placement of elements is absolutely perfect with the music… each element begins or ends with the phrase of music. Every new section of music has a corresponding move ! Phrasing at its best in figure skating!
And this unbelievable out of this world skating from a 15 year old kid. We will never see this kinda beauty and magic on ice ever again. Truly The G.O.A.T..
I love looking back at her programs. Such an amazing talent and deserved to have gold the first try but got silver then bronze the 2nd chance. Ive loved her since she came on the scene and shes is an amazing person and artist!
They don't make them like this anymore. So many of the skaters today have such difficult and impressive technical requirements but, we haven't had a 15 year old ladies skater that's had this kind of maturity and artistry since Kwan.
@@wendylindh4612 True dat, Sasha was equally as beautiful, just a bit inconsistent. I for one is happy to witness 2 insanely beautiful and unique skaters in one lifetime.
Kwan had a major transformation from her first season out and this one. She was overshadowed by the 1994 Olympics debacle, but she came out with a huge makeover the next year. She was insanely more mature, polished, with beautiful choreography, and very solid technically. It was amazing to see that difference. She really was a great champion.
The last "American Sweetheart". Today's skaters can only think about doing the next triple-triple. They lose so much in their presentation...they need both technical and presentation marks. Miss you Michelle....
Every time I watch worlds 1996, I get so upset they changed the olympic time frame. If the Olympics were held in 1996 like they should have been, Michelle would have had gold. This was her year.
Simon Reed- what a legend of figure skating commentary :) Together with Chris and Nicky the best FS commentators of the world in the last 15 yrs or more :D
Thanks so much for posting this! The quality of the video is superb and I've never heard it with Chris and Simon's commentary - I only have the BBC version. What a wonderful program from Kwan - amazing!
This (along with the Salome free program) was the breakout of Michelle as a mature artist on the ice. Ive never seen a skater's complete metamorphosis like this in one year's time. She was 4th the year before in Birmingham after skating flawlessly with 7 triples but dinged on artistry. So, she went home, matured, and decided to become the most beautiful interpretive skater in the field. Her running edge was oh so good in '96 (the edge control and flow in her crossovers, spirals, the 2axel landings really showing it off in both programs). She just oozes finesse and sophistication here. There were so many subtle nuances here (versus later in her career where all the crossovers and jump setups were the same regardless of the music). The British commentary was stellar here as well, recognizing her quality and discipline.
I love this program. Interesting that the US judge actually had her second…the only judge to do so. Just proves that the old scoring method wasn’t always partisan!
Yes, I don’t watch figure skating anymore, but do support the sport. It is just hard to watch after growing up watching Janet Lynn, Dorothy Hamill and Michelle Kwan. ❤
What happened to the elegant skating? Michelle is one of the most elegant skaters ever. Now it has turned into how many jumps they can do. What a shame.
Wow, the American judge was the only judge who placed Kwan 2nd! Even though I felt Kwan was slightly better than Chen, it's nice to see a judge go against the grain and base his mark on his/her true feelings vs. national pride. Let's face it, have we ever seen a Russian or European judge EVER do that, even once?
Most figure skaters try to copy other figure skaters. But not Michelle Kwan! She tries to be the original, an individual with a unique program that sets herself completely apart from other figure skaters which should be her signature style and arrangement, not some copy cat or carbon copy of someone else.
This is when skating was beautiful....now it has been ruined by the Code of Points scoring system...with ugly spins.. flailing arms and so many jumps...who gives a damn!
Frankly I am tired of the arms over the head move. It was great for Boitano as he fit it to the choreography. Now the girls jump, throw their arms up with no style, no beauty, just sticking their arms up to get points. It looks ridiculous. I wish they would change the rules that you can get those points only once in a program.
The Italian judge placed Irina Slutskaya 4th in the long program at the 2002 olympics. That's just off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure it happens a lot.
I think the American judge just didn't want to put her in first so as not to show some form of bias but knew that her program was that good for the others to put her ahead of Chen Lu.
I just finished watching the 2021 US National women's short program which was TERRIBLE compared to this artistic masterpiece. When the ISU approved " vocal " music, it was another nail in the coffin for figure skating. Now most skaters choose pathetically vapid songs and any one of them could be interchanged with another skater's choreography...
It’s the fault of the scoring system. No more spirals, over-emphasis on technical elements, labored footwork sequences and ubiquitous Biellmanns. Artistry not valued, so not pursued.
I miss when the Olympics professional Olympics was competition for everybody of every different color race culture gender. Having the Olympics be only for white people is boring
I certainly will never forget the incredible Tara Lipinski. In particular, I shall always remember how she defeated Michelle Kwan in Nagano with two amazing triple-triple combinations--that's the stuff Olympic champions are made of! Kudos to Tara for winning her well-deserved Olympic gold medal.
Tara was overrated and Michelle was robbed. Tara didn't really make a correct 3+3 ,so she didn't 100% deserve the Olympics gold. Tara had a kid's body and weight so easier to jump, nothing more. Tara retired because she couldn't stop grow up and everything changed.
Such a beautiful program. But I get upset when I watch how good she was at 15 and how she just decided to coast until the end of her career thinking things would be handed to her. Her difficulty was never upgraded and I think she landed the easiest triple triple maybe twice in her entire career. Compare that to Yamaguchi who was trying to kill herself trying to land a triple axel and performing triple lutz, triple toe years before. Lipinski and Hughes both deserved those gold medals because they took huge risks. Even in 1998, in arguably her most beautiful long program she took the safe road. There is no reward for that in sport.
Michelle was working on the triple axel until she hit puberty. Then, Frank decided is was best for her not to. Anyone knowing Frank knows that he values consistency. FYI, less you forget the stress fracture in her foot in the 98' Olympic season, Michelle had to dial it back on combo jumps because of her foot. She had planned a triple/triple until then. After, 98' she had split focus deciding to go to school. Between 2000-2002 she was practicing harder triple/triples until injury rose again in late 00'. From then on she practiced more difficult triple/triples like the sal/loop and lutz/loop but didn't have the consistency. Anyway, you can bag on Michelle all you'd like but all Lipinski and Hughes showed is that triple/triples prior to hitting puberty and having Michelle to take off all the pressure on them gave them all the space they needed. Good on them for taking it. Still, takes nothing from Michelle. An artist more than a jumper. It is what it is. She is a legend and more so than both Lipinski and Hughes with their gold medals.
ZigZaggy To you. Not to me. To me she never achieved her potential and she skated against unworthy opponents. Slutskaya, please. Whenever someone gave her a fight, she lost. Not the stuff of legends.
maseratic boychik have you ever seen either of them skate live? I thought not. FYI, Kwan had probably the worst layback spin in the history of figure skating. Hideous and pathetic with no arch in the back whatsoever. She tried to cover it with her ridiculous variations but bottom line, it wasn’t even a layback. So let’s not talk about Lipinski’s spins.
maseratic boychik Yeah no. I actually can skate. And I was the President of the Figure Skating Club at the Ice House in Hackensack. I was a part of the skating world at the time. Lipinski’s win was a very popular one for us. Kwan was an entitled bitch. Her family was universally despised. Your words are like poop on toilet paper. Kwan was a great skater for about 3 years then she phoned it in. The programs of skaters ten years before her were more daring and difficult. The sport went backwards because of her.
![[4K60P] Michelle Kwan 2002 SLC SP - Piano Concerto No. 3 by Rachmaninoff](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/K11MHq5ak78/mqdefault.jpg)
When you watch this and then watch the Russian robots, you understand how hollow skating has become. This was perfection with emotion, artistry, and choreography.
You can not say Russian robots. Quite rude & stupid
Love what the British commentator said after Michelle finished. " For heaven sake she's 15 years old." Michelle was indeed a special talent to be that good at such a young age. Combine that talent with a fierce competitive spirit and you have one of the greatest skaters of all time.
Probably the best female skater of all time when you look at her LP here. Maybe she continued in the sport just a little too long, as did some of her contemporaries.
I was watching 2019 figure skating and then had to come back and watch Michelle Kwan. Now that's how you skate!
Nobody can compare with Michelle. She is legend.
I would have scored this program 5.8 technical 6.0 presentation!!! Michelle’s movements on the ice matched the music 100%
We didn't know it at the time (or at least I didn't) but Michelle spoiled us in the US. She was such a complete and beautiful skater. You don't see anyone now stringing championships together the way she did. Fantastic.
You don't see that primarily because of the scoring system and the constant rotation of female skaters from Russia. Russia is dominant now (as nearly always) and they push their women like no other country. Those girls are skating more like men now with all the quads. The scoring system also makes it a lot harder to prop up a "champion" over multiple competitions. You have to be extremely exceptional to accomplish that with this scoring system, like Nathan Chen is. Otherwise the leader board changes too much from competition to competition and year to year. Especially internationally.
@@Karamarika Russian -women- *little girls* were never dominant until they corrupted figure skating in there fraudulent home Olympic “win” in 2014. The only notable skater before current batch of Russian girls was Irina Slutskya.
A true artist she was
Michelle Kwan should have a star on the Hollywood wall of fame. She is a true entertainer, she acts out every program that she skates with her heart and is emotionally vested in each and every program taking us along with her on her journey. Her joy is contagious allowing us to forget our troubles for a time.
The hand clap in the choreography, the head move at, "Ole!", and the look over the shoulder at the completion of this program are EVERYTHING!!
Time mark??
I was compelled to go see this magical program again from M.K. to remind me that there really used to be beauty and magic in skating after the ugliness that is transpiring in the current winter Olympics ladies skating. The most beautiful and ethereally stunning program for all time from the G O.A.T. She really is a lightning in a bottle.
I love how she opens this program with great elegance and artistry, rather than skating right into the lutz combination.
The speed in the spiral sequence and the footwork....my gosh. Just breathtaking.
Not to be overly dramatic, but that was the best damn Short Program I have ever seen. The choreography and placement of elements is absolutely perfect with the music… each element begins or ends with the phrase of music. Every new section of music has a corresponding move ! Phrasing at its best in figure skating!
I love the eurosport commentators! At least they dont keep talking right through the whole program!
And this unbelievable out of this world skating from a 15 year old kid. We will never see this kinda beauty and magic on ice ever again. Truly The G.O.A.T..
One of my favorite short programs ever...She was simply superb!
I love looking back at her programs. Such an amazing talent and deserved to have gold the first try but got silver then bronze the 2nd chance. Ive loved her since she came on the scene and shes is an amazing person and artist!
The beginning spiral sequence was amazing. Who would have thought to put it at the beginning?! It was mesmerizing!!!
They don't make them like this anymore. So many of the skaters today have such difficult and impressive technical requirements but, we haven't had a 15 year old ladies skater that's had this kind of maturity and artistry since Kwan.
I agree, though Sasha Cohen did display this kind of artistry at that age, but that too was a long time ago.
Kwan way better than Sasha.
@@wendylindh4612 True dat, Sasha was equally as beautiful, just a bit inconsistent. I for one is happy to witness 2 insanely beautiful and unique skaters in one lifetime.
Kwan had a major transformation from her first season out and this one. She was overshadowed by the 1994 Olympics debacle, but she came out with a huge makeover the next year. She was insanely more mature, polished, with beautiful choreography, and very solid technically. It was amazing to see that difference. She really was a great champion.
still one of the best short programs ever .
Superb skater and one of my favorites of all time,simply the best ! She had everything and such a pleasure to watch !
This has always been my favorite Michelle Kwan short program. The quality of this video is amazing. Thank you for posting it.
The Great Michelle Kwan she made that Lay Back look like a glass of wine Beautiful
I love this SP! It is one of her best. The music and the choreography was awesome! If only they didn't change Olympics to 94. I miss MK skating.
The last "American Sweetheart". Today's skaters can only think about doing the next triple-triple. They lose so much in their presentation...they need both technical and presentation marks. Miss you Michelle....
Every time I watch worlds 1996, I get so upset they changed the olympic time frame. If the Olympics were held in 1996 like they should have been, Michelle would have had gold. This was her year.
Yeah but then by that logic, Harding/Kerrigan/Baiul might still have been around and been real threats.
We don't know that. Baiul, Sato, Kerrigan, Harding, and Chouinard may have all stayed until 1996.
I watch this so many times! So gooood!
The most beautiful program of all time.. Timeless Masterpiece.
Brilliant choreography.
Simon Reed- what a legend of figure skating commentary :) Together with Chris and Nicky the best FS commentators of the world in the last 15 yrs or more :D
A masterpiece! By far my favorite sp not only of Michelle, but of anyone! 🌹🌹🌹
love this program, and her expression on the end ^_^
This to me is one of my favorite short programs ever
THIS is artistry.
The most beautiful dance in FG. Courtesy of the GOAT.
The Very Best Skater Ever
As the British Commentator said: "It just doesn't come any better than that!"
breathtaking! she was the best that night, and the best in the long!
nothing even close to this... Her grace, skating and coreographies are unique...
One of the best short programs ever
How I wish I could have seen her live. Art on ice.
Amazing homage to Spain! Beautiful Ina Bauer at the beginning! MK rocks!
Gustavo Hernandez Minetti I love a man who appreciates a great Ina Bauer!
Beautiful perfection! 🥰🥰 How can one not love this sport?
I could watch Michelle for ages.....oh wait, I do!
FnA , it does not get any better than this, a truer words could not have been said.
Thanks so much for posting this! The quality of the video is superb and I've never heard it with Chris and Simon's commentary - I only have the BBC version. What a wonderful program from Kwan - amazing!
This (along with the Salome free program) was the breakout of Michelle as a mature artist on the ice. Ive never seen a skater's complete metamorphosis like this in one year's time. She was 4th the year before in Birmingham after skating flawlessly with 7 triples but dinged on artistry. So, she went home, matured, and decided to become the most beautiful interpretive skater in the field. Her running edge was oh so good in '96 (the edge control and flow in her crossovers, spirals, the 2axel landings really showing it off in both programs). She just oozes finesse and sophistication here. There were so many subtle nuances here (versus later in her career where all the crossovers and jump setups were the same regardless of the music). The British commentary was stellar here as well, recognizing her quality and discipline.
She was 15 here.
She changed herself to be an artist on ice here.
I love this program. Interesting that the US judge actually had her second…the only judge to do so. Just proves that the old scoring method wasn’t always partisan!
I love watching these videos...such grace. What I hate is all the nasty comments some troll was making. Thank goodness it got deleted...
My favorite MK SP.
Yes, I don’t watch figure skating anymore, but do support the sport. It is just hard to watch after growing up watching Janet Lynn, Dorothy Hamill and Michelle Kwan. ❤
What happened to the elegant skating? Michelle is one of the most elegant skaters ever. Now it has turned into how many jumps they can do. What a shame.
I would have preferred the 3flip as the solo jump, but that was flawless.
So elegant
Tara who?
Just imagine that 1996 should have been a Winter Olympic season and Michele would have been the favorite.
the best!
the Kween
Whats up with the American judge?
BEAUTIFUL
Wow, the American judge was the only judge who placed Kwan 2nd! Even though I felt Kwan was slightly better than Chen, it's nice to see a judge go against the grain and base his mark on his/her true feelings vs. national pride. Let's face it, have we ever seen a Russian or European judge EVER do that, even once?
It was also an American judge(Joe Inman) who denied her the gold in 98.😥
Well the American judge clearly got it wrong. He gave her a 5.6 for technical which is absurd.
I like mitchele's iceskateing outfit in this video
어린나이부터 천부적재능이 돋보이네요. 힘, 속도감, 흐름이 완전히 장난아니네요. 정말 대단해요...
Oh how I miss her!
Hard to believe she's the same age here as Lipinski was doing her vacuous "Anastasia" sp. just no comparison.
Unbelievable. 👍
Unreal. 👍
Most figure skaters try to copy other figure skaters. But not Michelle Kwan! She tries to be the original, an individual with a unique program that sets herself completely apart from other figure skaters which should be her signature style and arrangement, not some copy cat or carbon copy of someone else.
That is why MK will always be remembered, she was unique, special.
This is when skating was beautiful....now it has been ruined by the Code of Points scoring system...with ugly spins..
flailing arms and so many jumps...who gives a damn!
Frankly I am tired of the arms over the head move. It was great for Boitano as he fit it to the choreography. Now the girls jump, throw their arms up with no style, no beauty, just sticking their arms up to get points. It looks ridiculous. I wish they would change the rules that you can get those points only once in a program.
She was so beautiful to watch.
People remember Michelle. Tara who? LOL
Or Sarah...lol
Lmao true
Michelle I am a huge fan of yours
Love her
The Italian judge placed Irina Slutskaya 4th in the long program at the 2002 olympics. That's just off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure it happens a lot.
Respect great
this is like level 40 figure skating lol...crazy awesomeness!
I think the American judge just didn't want to put her in first so as not to show some form of bias but knew that her program was that good for the others to put her ahead of Chen Lu.
Legendary
Great skate❣️🥳
Wooonderful
Leave it t the US judge to try and screw her over
I like it
RIP Frank Carroll , I read that he lost his coach and two daughters in a plane crash. 😢
Boss.
What program was that American judge watching? That was a brilliant skate. Michelles breakout year.
The most softly scating of all history of scating.
5.7 and 5.9
The moment Michelle said I have arrived 3:10 😏
Careful examination would tell the lutz was flawed. At takeoff, her edge changed to inside edge and she used edge instead of toepick for the takeoff.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Who is the American judge? lol
I just finished watching the 2021 US National women's short program which was TERRIBLE compared to this artistic masterpiece. When the ISU approved " vocal " music, it was another nail in the coffin for figure skating. Now most skaters choose pathetically vapid songs and any one of them could be interchanged with another skater's choreography...
It’s the fault of the scoring system. No more spirals, over-emphasis on technical elements, labored footwork sequences and ubiquitous Biellmanns. Artistry not valued, so not pursued.
콴은 확실히 초기 작품들이 더 볼만하다.(로만짜,라흐마니노프,리라 안젤리카) 그런데 후반작품들은 갈수록, 스피드는 느려지고, 안무실종.
What was with the American judge??? 5.6!?!?
The American judge was trying too hard to hide bias.
Totally!!!
Soon to be ambassador kwan!!
I bet she's only 98 lbs
Did kwan's coach get into trouble for something?
I miss when the Olympics professional Olympics was competition for everybody of every different color race culture gender. Having the Olympics be only for white people is boring
I certainly will never forget the incredible Tara Lipinski. In particular, I shall always remember how she defeated Michelle Kwan in Nagano with two amazing triple-triple combinations--that's the stuff Olympic champions are made of! Kudos to Tara for winning her well-deserved Olympic gold medal.
Tara was overrated and Michelle was robbed. Tara didn't really make a correct 3+3 ,so she didn't 100% deserve the Olympics gold. Tara had a kid's body and weight so easier to jump, nothing more. Tara retired because she couldn't stop grow up and everything changed.
Michelle's artistry and technique were better than Tara, Tara should go to the kid's Olympics.
Such a beautiful program. But I get upset when I watch how good she was at 15 and how she just decided to coast until the end of her career thinking things would be handed to her. Her difficulty was never upgraded and I think she landed the easiest triple triple maybe twice in her entire career. Compare that to Yamaguchi who was trying to kill herself trying to land a triple axel and performing triple lutz, triple toe years before. Lipinski and Hughes both deserved those gold medals because they took huge risks. Even in 1998, in arguably her most beautiful long program she took the safe road. There is no reward for that in sport.
Michelle was working on the triple axel until she hit puberty. Then, Frank decided is was best for her not to. Anyone knowing Frank knows that he values consistency. FYI, less you forget the stress fracture in her foot in the 98' Olympic season, Michelle had to dial it back on combo jumps because of her foot. She had planned a triple/triple until then. After, 98' she had split focus deciding to go to school. Between 2000-2002 she was practicing harder triple/triples until injury rose again in late 00'. From then on she practiced more difficult triple/triples like the sal/loop and lutz/loop but didn't have the consistency. Anyway, you can bag on Michelle all you'd like but all Lipinski and Hughes showed is that triple/triples prior to hitting puberty and having Michelle to take off all the pressure on them gave them all the space they needed. Good on them for taking it. Still, takes nothing from Michelle. An artist more than a jumper. It is what it is. She is a legend and more so than both Lipinski and Hughes with their gold medals.
ZigZaggy To you. Not to me. To me she never achieved her potential and she skated against unworthy opponents. Slutskaya, please. Whenever someone gave her a fight, she lost. Not the stuff of legends.
Tray N yeah. List them. And never more than two triple toes. Baby combination.
maseratic boychik have you ever seen either of them skate live? I thought not. FYI, Kwan had probably the worst layback spin in the history of figure skating. Hideous and pathetic with no arch in the back whatsoever. She tried to cover it with her ridiculous variations but bottom line, it wasn’t even a layback. So let’s not talk about Lipinski’s spins.
maseratic boychik Yeah no. I actually can skate. And I was the President of the Figure Skating Club at the Ice House in Hackensack. I was a part of the skating world at the time. Lipinski’s win was a very popular one for us. Kwan was an entitled bitch. Her family was universally despised. Your words are like poop on toilet paper. Kwan was a great skater for about 3 years then she phoned it in. The programs of skaters ten years before her were more daring and difficult. The sport went backwards because of her.