Michelle Kwan

Michelle Kwan with her gold medal

Michelle Kwan is a hero to many people, including me. She is most famous for her figure skating talent and she has won many awards for it. Some of these are the 2004 Citizenship Through Sports Alliance Award, 2003 USOC Sportswoman of the Year Award, The Kids Choice Award for Favorite Female Athlete, The 2002 Kids Choice Award for Favorite Female Sports Star, and the Sullivan Award, which only two skaters to date, including Michelle, have won. One of Michelle's greatest achievements has been getting a silver medal in the 1998 Winter Olympics, and receiving the bronze medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics. She has also competed and won many other competitions including, 2000, 2001, and 2003 gold medals in the World Figure Skating Championships.

Michelle Kwan

She has made a huge difference in my life, and probably many others as well. I started to watch her perform when I was about eight. I was very interested because I had just started to take figure skating lessons at the Auburn rink. As I watched Michelle, I thought to myself that I would be like that someday. And now, seven years later, I am still skating. Although I am not up to Michelle's level, she still inspires me to do my best.

What really amazes me is that Michelle was up to senior skating level, the highest you can go, at just age twelve. I only know one person who has made it to senior level, and she was about 16 or 17 when she did. Michelle started to compete in the huge competitions like the Nationals, which determines who goes to the Olympics or the World Championships, in 1993, when she was only 13. However, she didn't get into the the Olympics until 1998, when she was 18. She had made it into the World Championships in 1997, 1996, 1995, and 1994. The first time she was only 14, but she placed second in the Nationals, and eighth in the Worlds.

Michelle Kwan

Michelle's whole life has been devoted to skating. She was born in Torrance, California, on July 7, 1980. Her full name is Michelle Wing Kwan. Her parents' names are Danny and Estella Kwan. She has an older brother, Ron, and a sister named Karen. Michelle started skating at age five, after watching her brother play hockey. She and her sister both fell in love with it, and obviously, Michelle kept up with it. Here are some of her most important medals:
US Nationals Gold - 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004;
US Nationals Silver - 1994, 1995, 1997;
World Championships - Gold - 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003;
World Championships - Silver - 1997, 1999, 2002;
World Championships - Bronze - 2004;
Olympics 1998 Silver Medalist, and 2002 Bronze Medalist; and
Skate America - Gold - 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002.

Michelle Kwan

Michelle has done so many things in her life. She is only 24, yet she has had an amazing career as a famous figure skater. She has won so many awards and medals. She is the only multiple winner of the Reader's Choice Figure Skater of the Year Award and she has won the USOC Athlete of the Month Award 13 times. Michelle is also involved with a project at Disneyland for Michey Mouse's anniversary. She and other famous people have created larger than life, one-of-a-kind figures that Disney will unveil in early 2005. Then they will be auctioned off and the proceeds will got to a charity of the artist's choice. She is also involved with the Children's Miracle Network, in which she visits children and donates stuffed animals. In addition, she is also working with Chevrolet to have the Michelle Kwan R.E.W.A.R.D.S program which will give $5,000 to ten female athletes each year. She is truly an amazing person and an amazing skater. She is also my hero.