Torino: Official WorldSims 2006 Winter Olympics Thread Alright! Winter Olympics 2006 is here and WOOT! Anyone see the opening ceremony yesterday? Better yet, any of our members currently in Torino right now?
This just in... Michelle Kwan drops out of Olympics :( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOO :no: :ducks: :weeping: :banghead: :banghead: TURIN, Italy - Michelle Kwan dropped out of the Turin Games on Sunday morning because of a groin injury, bringing her decade-long quest for Olympic gold to a humbling end. Kwan cut short her first practice at the games Saturday after straining the muscle, and the injury worsened as the day wore on. She said she didn't want to drop out, but after Dr. Jim Moeller evaluated her early Sunday morning, she withdrew. "Taking myself off the team is the most difficult decision I've ever had to make," Kwan said in a release, "but it's the right decision. This injury prevents me from skating my best, and I've said all along that if I couldn't skate to the level that I expected from myself I'd withdraw from the team. "The Olympics is the greatest sporting event in the world and what's most important is that the United States fields the strongest team possible. As much as I'd love to represent the United States in Torino, I would never stand in the way of that." The U.S. Olympic Committee asked to replace Kwan with Emily Hughes, the third-place finisher at last month's national championships and younger sister of 2002 Olympic champion Sarah Hughes. A response was expected later this week, and Hughes was to travel to Turin shortly. "The replacement provisions are injury, illness and exceptional circumstance," said USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel. "It's really in the hands of the organizing committee and international federation to determine whether or not they'll accept the replacement petition." If the petition is accepted, Hughes will be ready. "Just point me in the direction and I'm there," Hughes told WNBC-TV in New York in an interview Saturday. Kwan was expected to appear at a news conference later Sunday morning in Turin. "I'm a little bit shocked," said U.S. teammate Sasha Cohen. "I know how tough it is to come back from an injury and get yourself together. It's great she tried, but things don't always work out." Kwan missed last month's U.S. nationals with a groin injury, and needed a medical exemption to join the Turin team. She was evaluated several times by U.S. Figure Skating doctors before she arrived in Turin, and they declared her fit to skate. Moeller said Sunday he does not believe the current injury is related to the groin problem Kwan had during the national championships. "This injury limits her function, making it impossible for her to jump, land and skate effectively and without risk of serious injury," Moeller said. This was to be the last chance at the Olympic gold that never became a reality for Kwan. Though she's defined the sport for the past decade, winning five world and nine U.S. titles, she came up heartbreakingly short at the Olympics. The favorite in both Nagano and Salt Lake City, she had to settle for silver in 1998 and a bronze in 2002. Now 25, she hung around the past four years for one more shot at gold. But her hopes faded fast. She missed the Grand Prix season with a hip injury, then missed the nationals with the groin injury. She looked sharp during a Jan. 27 monitoring session that solidified her spot on the team, doing back-to-back run-throughs of her long and short programs. But she said the long plane ride to Italy, followed by marching in the opening ceremony, apparently took a toll. By the time she returned to the athletes' village, she was starting to hurt. When she woke up Saturday morning, it wasn't any better. "I just wanted to get out, get my legs under me and feel the ice," she said Saturday. "Sometimes you don't need to do run-throughs." But she couldn't do much of anything else, either. She didn't do her first jump, a smooth triple toe loop, until almost 14 minutes into the workout. She did a single flip, landed on two feet on her first triple flip, and fell hard on her next attempt at the jump. Kwan made one last try, but could only do a double, and the frustration was clear on her face. Most telling was her demeanor — at times, she looked downright despondent and teary. With coach Rafael Arutunian still in transit, U.S. team leader Roger Glenn was seen holding Kwan's hand or arm several times, as if to comfort her. She had to wipe her eyes several times, and she left the practice 15 minutes before it ended — an early exit for a woman who is meticulous about preparation. "It kind of humanizes the sport," Cohen said. "She's been an icon of the sport. To see that people can be at top of the sport and also have hard times, it humanizes the sport."
