Chance of Kwan skating at 2006 Olympics very high

<p>As amazing as it sounds, Michelle Kwan is thinking about competing in the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, when shell be 25.</p><p>The possibility for me being at the Olympics in Italy is very high, Kwan said Tuesday. Im starting to believe I can be in Italy. I find myself saying, This is crazy.</p><p>Perhaps not. Now 23, at an age when most skaters have long since turned professional, Kwan hasnt slowed down.</p><p>Shes a marvelous competitor, said Chuck Foster, president of U.S. Figure Skating. Shes been a wonderful symbol for people, young skaters, to look up to. Shes everything a family could want in somebody.</p><p>Kwan has won a record-tying six straight U.S. titles, and she goes for her eighth overall beginning Thursday night with the short program. Shes tied with Maribel Vinson and Gretchen Merrill with six consecutive championships.</p><p>She also won her fifth world championship in 2003, and she has won her past three major events.</p><p>As long as it keeps my interest, I still have the passion for skating, Kwan said. This is the way I am. I just like it.</p><p>About the only thing left for her to accomplish is winning an Olympic gold medal. She took the bronze in Salt Lake City in 2002, four years after she won silver in Nagano, Japan.</p><p>While some might see her appearance in Italy as a final attempt at the ultimate prize, Kwan insists shes not driven to win the gold medal.</p><p>When you look at it, it seems like the only thing an athlete would strive for, she said. For me, I cant justify every day in practice just for the gold medal. I came close to it, and I wouldnt be any happier.</p><p>I feel like Ive been lucky in skating.</p><p>Kwan skipped the Grand Prix series this season, just as she did a year ago, and comes back to the U.S. Championships with a new coach, Rafael Arutunian. She first met Arutunian in 2002, then went to him earlier this year when she had trouble with her skates.</p><p>Arutunian is her third coach since 1992.</p><p>Shes a genius of skating, he said. Ive worked with many skaters before, and Ive never met anyone like her.</p><p>I think she skates good enough that she has a lot of possibilities.</p><p>When she heard Arutunians comments, Kwan laughed and said, Thats a lot to live up to.</p><p>In the past decade, since Kwan burst on the scene by finishing second in the 1994 U.S. Championships, she has faced many challengers to her reign. First came Tara Lipinski, who won the title in 1997, followed by Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen.</p><p>Hughes and Cohen each finished second twice behind Kwan in the past four years.</p><p>No one has surpassed her for any length of time.</p><p>I feel like Ive come full circle in the past 12 years, Kwan said. Ive been the underdog, the favorite, then over the hill and back up.</p><p>And these kids are here. Im like, Oh my God, Im tall.</p><p>The 5-2 Kwan quickly added, I guess for once in my life.</p><p>As for how long shell keep competing, Kwan wont look past the 2006 Olympics.</p><p>Ive always been pretty competitive, not toward anyone else, just myself, she said. Im just a little nervous about after skating. Then what?</p><p>How else can I be competitive and be driven, something that gives me that attention, that focus? I love being nervous, sometimes it drives me crazy, but this is what its all about.</p>

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