Michelle Kwan's Swan-Like Exit
Jeff Bukantz
February 17, 2006
Let me just say this right from the start: As a former international athlete, I abhor subjective selection criteria.
There is something so beautiful and pure about a completely objective selection system, especially when choosing athletes for the Olympic Team.
Of course, there are pros and cons to each system. The question is: Which system is ultimately best for the team?
When a sport (National Governing Body; NGB) selects its Olympic Team, it undeniably wants to send the athletes who provide the best the chance for a medal. That's the bottom line here.
Unfortunately, when subjective systems are employed, they invariably lead to internal strife within that NGB. A committee, as opposed to an objective point system, makes the final choice. That automatically leads to a political situation, and the perception of impropriety that goes with it.
My father Dan competed on four US Olympic fencing teams, refereed in five more Olympic Games, and then was a member of the United States Fencing Association's Olympic Selection Committee. Although conceptually a believer in objectivity and fairness, Dan's motto has always been that: "Rules are to guide you, not to bind you."
In other words, while it is best to live in a world of rules, it is even better to be able to utilize sound and reasonable judgment at times.
Now, when an NGB uses subjectivity, the good news is that it is usually for the final spot on the team. That means that those who have objectively proven to be the best are not at risk. Instead, it is the lowest ranked of the 'qualified' athletes who may be replaced.
In order to be replaced with another athlete, the NGB selection committee must consider the replacement's past history. Ultimately, it must determine that the replacement has a better chance, based on past performance, to win a medal.
That's not completely fair, but it makes plenty of sense. My dad's "rules are to guide you, not to bind you," credo was made for cases like these.
There is no better illustration than the recent selection of lower-ranked Michelle Kwan over Emily Hughes.
As soon as US Skating announced its decision to replace Hughes with Kwan, the naysayers were out in force. In fact, Kwan was vilified by many within the sports community for "depriving Hughes of living her Olympic dream." That reaction was perfectly normal. We like neat and tidy objective selections. It is human nature to feel for the replaced athlete. However, US Skating made the correct choice.
For crying out loud, Kwan, despite to previous Olympic disappointments, had won five World Championships and nine US titles. So, if there was ever a time to use sound judgment, this was it. Can anyone really argue with the decision of US Skating?
So, despite the cloud of resentment over her head, Kwan, at the age of twenty-five, decided her third Olympics would be a charm. Maybe, if her body held up, she could finally come home with Olympic gold. Hey, it's not as if she was over the hill…she won her fifth world title in 2003!
But, there was a pervasive sentiment that the grizzled and past-her-prime veteran was somehow stealing the last spot from Miss Hughes. Kwan was unfairly being portrayed as some kind of ugly ducking.
Kwan arrived in Turin as one the most well-known athletes in the world. Her past success was well known, and her past Olympic failures were even better chronicled. Claims of ugly duckling aside, Kwan was still a darling of the media. Whereas she was the favorite in past Olympics, in Turin we had been relegated to somewhat of a novelty act. Could she find lightning in a bottle?
Sadly for Michelle, lightning struck, but it was in the form of an injury. Her balky groin simply could not allow this graceful champion to perform up to the level only a very few ever aspire to, let alone achieve.
She could have gutted it out, and skated her best. She could have had a grand farewell at the skating arena. She could have bid adieu to her adoring fans.
But Michelle Kwan decided that all of that would have meant nothing if she couldn't have skated up to her championship level. She would have been cheating herself, her fans, US Skating, and most of all, nineteen year-old Emily Hughes.
It was a no-brainer, right? Wrong! I can tell you there have been very similar situations where the injured athlete chose to keep that vaunted Olympic credential no matter badly they were injured.
Well, it was a no-brainer for Ms. Kwan. She resigned her spot due to injury. Ironically, some of these same who criticized her accepting of the subjective last spot were now questioning her intestinal fortitude.
Kwan did nothing wrong by accepting the wild card to Turin. She did everything right by stepping aside and allowing Hughes to compete in her first Olympics.
Kwan may have been labeled as an ugly duckling by coming to Turin, but her gracious and graceful exit was that of a swan.