Kwan's Olympic ends on a sad note
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-13 10:20

Fans felt the same way. They watched her morph from a shy 13-year-old on the fringe of the Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding soap opera, to a world champion two years later, to the poised young woman known all over the world.

"She was an ugly little duckling _ she wasn't ugly but she was a little duckling with terrible costumes, dirty skates, awkward and no spirals," Carroll said, smiling at the recollection. "To see her turn into a rock star in skating ... and make a transformation from a duckling into a swan, that was probably the most exciting thing about her."

Figure skater Michelle Kwan of the U.S. wipes a tear from her eye during a media conference after pulling out of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, February 12, 2006. Kwan, a five-times world champion, sustained a groin strain during practice on Saturday. [Reuters]

"I would love to compete in my third Olympics, but I love and respect the sport, and I think it's all about the United States bringing the best team to the Olympic Games," Kwan said. "I wouldn't want to be in the way of that."

So much so that she planned to leave Turin before the women's event began, not wanting to be a distraction.

For all the talk about Bode Miller, Apolo Anton Ohno, Chad Hedrick and Jeremy Bloom, no one owned the spotlight at these games like Kwan _ even if she was here only four days. She was heavily promoted on television previews by NBC and in ads for several major sponsors.

"Michelle Kwan means more to the United States Olympic Committee than maybe any athlete that's ever performed," USOC chairman Peter Ueberroth said. "She's been a leader, she's been gracious, she's somebody that cares for so many youngsters that are training in our country.

"She's a real loss to all of the United States Olympic Committee and to the United States of America, and I think to the world. She's made a courageous decision."

It was one many could see coming, even if most were loath to admit it.

Kwan has skated sparingly since the Salt Lake City Olympics, and seemed to struggle to keep up her old standards. Though she won her fifth world title in 2003, she dropped off the podium last March for the first time since 1995.

This year, she missed the entire Grand Prix series with a hip injury, then withdrew from nationals with a groin injury. She applied for a medical bye onto the U.S. team, saying she'd be ready by the time the Olympics started.

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. She also was examined several times by doctors, who said the injury had healed.

"Coming over here, I was trying to stay positive," Kwan said. "I knew I didn't have a lot of practice under me, but I felt good and I was ready to go."

But the long plane ride to Italy, followed by marching in the opening ceremony, took a toll. By the time she returned to the athletes' village Friday night, she was starting to hurt.

She used heating pads, but still felt stiff when she woke up for practice Saturday morning.

"It's an honor to represent your country. I didn't think twice about not going to the opening ceremony, or not going to practice. I have to get my legs under me," she said. "It's the Olympics. You've got to push."

She took the ice with a smile, but didn't look quite like herself. She didn't do her first jump, a smooth triple toe loop, until almost 14 minutes into the workout. When she tried a triple flip, she landed on two feet and felt a pull in her right groin muscle.

She tried the jump again and crashed hard, sprawling on the ice. Tears filled her eyes as she skated to the side, and U.S. team leader Roger Glenn held her hand several times to comfort her.

She tried the jump one last time but could only do a double, and left practice 15 minutes before it ended.

She underwent treatment in the afternoon, but by evening Kwan knew something was badly wrong. She was examined early Sunday by Dr. Jim Moeller, a U.S. team physician, who recommended she not skate.

Shortly after, she called her parents to tell them the news.

"It's always been a dream to win the Olympics and it's always an honor to represent your country," Kwan said. "My parents are here, and they always want me to be happy, for their baby to win the gold and make my dreams come true.

"But I've learned it's not about the gold, it's about the spirit of it and about the sport itself."

That's what she'll have to hold onto, in place of that elusive gold.