Michelle Kwan is the most decorated figure skater in US history and a modern day figure skating legend. She is a five-time world champion, nine-time US National champion, and a two-time Olympic medalist, winning the silver at the 1998 Olympics and the bronze at the 2002 Olympics. She is the only woman in figure skating history to reclaim the World title three times (1998, 2000, 2003), and the only woman from the period of 1993 to 2010 to win back-to-back world titles (2000, 2001). From the beginning of the 1995-1996 season to the end of the 2003-2004 season, Michelle never finished off the podium at an international event. Under the 6.0 system, Kwan has received a combined total of 57 6.0s (perfect scores) from National and World competitions throughout the years. She is famous for her superior artistry and presentation, ability to connect with the audience, and overall consistency in jumping. Her signature move was the spiral sequence with a change of edge, one of the iconic moves in figure skating.

Though she never won an Olympic gold medal, Michelle won the hearts of many, and was nicknamed the “Kween” by her fans. She inspired a generation of skaters to skate like her. One of those skaters was Yu-Na Kim.

• 1998 Olympic Silver medalist and 2002 Olympic bronze medalist
• 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003 World Champion
• 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004 World medalist
• 9-time US National Champion
• 1995 Grand Prix Final Champion
• 1994 World Junior Champion

Yu-Na and Michelle were two skaters never destined to meet in competition. Michelle’s last competitive season in her senior career was 2004-2005, which was Yu-Na’s first season as a junior. They never competed on the same international ice. Michelle’s last intended competition was the 2006 Olympics, where she withdrew with an injury. For Michelle, it was the end of a glorious career, as her body would not allow her to compete at just one more event. For Yu-Na, her career had just begun, but rules put in place before that season prevented her from competing at the Olympics, even though as Korea’s national champion, she certainly would have been her country’s best representative. Ironically, Michelle, at the beginning of her career, had been prevented from competing at the Olympics in 1994 due to circumstances out of her control, just as Yu-Na had been prevented in 2006. Michelle left open the option of competing during the 2009-2010 Olympic season, but officially decided not to return in July of 2009 ( Source).

The first Olympics competition Yu-Na ever watched was the 1998 Olympics taking place in Nagano, Japan. She watched two ladies skaters from the USA battle it out for the gold. One won the short program, but a beautiful long program led to Olympic silver. The other skater won the long program–and the highly coveted Olympic gold medal.

Yu-Na watched both of their programs over and over again, so many times that she almost memorized their choreography, pretending that she herself was at the Olympics. Yu-Na had also been sad and a bit confused at first that Michelle hadn’t won the gold, but regardless of the result, Michelle became Yu-Na's idol. Yu-Na later said, “I fell in love with skating when I first saw this lady.” (Ice All Stars 2009).

Tara Lipinski, the Olympic champion, retired after the Olympics, never to compete again, while Michelle continued to compete, winning several more World titles and another Olympic medal, and continually inspiring Yu-Na before Yu-Na ever stepped onto international ice herself.

In a surprising case of everything coming full-circle, Michelle herself had been inspired to skate by Brian Boitano's Olympic gold-winning performance in 1988 over Brian Orser, and Michelle's Olympic silver medal winning performance in 1998 inspired a young Yu-Na, who would later be coached by Olympic silver medalist Brian Orser himself.

From an early age, Yu-Na's focus on developing her own artistry was due in part of an aspiration to be a skater like Michelle. Michelle was well-known for her artistry, arm movements, musicality, and for the way she finished all of her move, and she watched Michelle's programs over and over. Eventually, Yu-Na’s strengths as a skater and artistic style would evolve into something uniquely and distinctively hers.

In 2004, after Yu-Na had won her first event on the JGP as a fourteen-year-old, she was quoted in a Korean newspaper as saying, “My dream? To become a champion like Michelle Kwan.” ( Source, YNKF )

That wish never changed. Half a decade later, in a letter to the Korean public that she wrote after winning her first world championship in 2009, Yu-Na reflected on why she wanted to become a skater: “It was not to win an Olympic gold medal, but it was because skating was so much fun and because I thought Michelle Kwan was so beautiful and I wanted to be like her.” Throughout her career, Yu-Na said that her philosophy on skating was to become a skater who would be remembered and loved—much like she remembered Michelle Kwan.

Yu-Na first met Michelle Kwan (briefly) at a young age when she was training overseas during the summer, during a period after Nagano when Michelle had cut off her short hair.

Years later, their first official meeting was at the 2009 World Championships, after one of the practices. Michelle was there commentating for NBC. During the broadcast, Michelle commented on Yu-Na, “Kim Yu-Na has blown me away this week. She has three “wow” factors. Her speed across the ice. I've never seen a skater fly into a triple/triple combination. And she also jumps! I mean, when you see her triple/triple, she, her jumps are humongous. And also, her musical interpretation. She's a great singer, and I think it really shows. She's very lyrical and she listens to the music.”

Yu-Na invited Michelle to perform at her own ice skating show in 2009, Ice All Stars 2009. Michelle had not skated in public since August of 2005. She had since gone on to receive her undergraduate degree, and seemed to have left her show skating days behind her. But she agreed to skate in Korea and at Yu-Na’s show. Yu-Na later said in her book of essays, “She showed such a great performance, my heart fell down as we can't believe she retired and came back.” YNKF

Michelle Kwan was again in the audience in Vancouver as Yu-Na finished her long program. Much as Michelle had wept at the end of her program in Nagano, Yu-Na wept at the end of hers in Vancouver, as the burden of carrying a nation's hopes and expectations, as well as her own, had been lifted and the audience applauded in appreciation.

In Nagano, Michelle's clean performances and high scores had not deterred a determined Tara Lipinski, who skated after and gave the performance of her life on the way to gold. But in Vancouver, Mao Asada, taking the ice after Yu-Na's performance of her life, was unable to match it, and so won silver while Yu-Na won gold.

After the competition was over, Michelle stopped by Yu-Na's press conference to give Yu-Na her congratulations. For a moment, Yu-Na seemed surprised, as if she was a shy, awestruck young girl again, before she opened her arms to embrace her idol.

After the Olympics, when Yu-Na was nominated as one of Time magazine's most 100 influential people, Michelle Kwan wrote the tribute. Everything came full circle as Michelle recognized that it was now Yu-Na's Olympic performances which would inspire young girls around the world.

I couldn't have been more surprised or honored last summer when Korean figure skater Kim Yu-Na told me that as a 7-year-old, she was so inspired by my skating at the 1998 Winter Games that she memorized my skating routines, pretending to be at the Olympics. Twelve years later, she no longer had to pretend. I have never seen a skater with such a combination of artistry and athleticism. From the first notes of her sassy James Bond medley to the closing Gershwin strains, Kim's inspiring performances in Vancouver changed the face of figure skating forever. Those 6½ minutes on the ice left not only a mark in the record book but also an indelible impression on millions of young girls around the world. For Kim, the dream that began as a 7-year-old has been realized. For these girls, thanks to her, a dream and journey are just beginning.

Time

In 2010, Michelle Kwan appeared in two shows with Yu-Na: All That Skate Summer 2010 in Korea, and All That Skate LA in her hometown in California. In an interview with Icenetwork about All that Skate LA, Michelle said, “I love skating. I love being out there in front of thousands of people and performing, and to have the chance to skate with three Olympic champions – the pair champions [Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao], dance champions [Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir] and of course the ladies' champion, Yu-Na - is incredible.”

( Article )

On a visit to Singapore in January 2011, when asked if Singapore could produce a Winter Olympian in their current state, Michelle answered, “It does take a facility, but if there’s enthusiasm and motivation, it’s an important start.”

Citing South Korean figure skater Kim Yu Na, the 2010 Winter Olympics Ladies’ Singles champion, as an example, Michelle said, “In South Korea (a seasonal country), figure skating was not very popular five years ago. But look at it now. There are so many little girls and little boys that want to take up ice hockey and figure skating because of her [Yu-Na's] success. Sometimes, it takes that one person to break through for a sport to progress in the nation, and I feel that Singapore is making great effort in moving on towards that direction.”

( Source )

(Daum TV version With English sub)

(SBS TV Broadcast Version)

(SBS TV Broadcast Version)