Few people on Earth have had quite the same career path as Michelle Kwan. From a world-class
figure skater to a government ambassador, she's a world-class talent whether on or off the ice.
The women's figure skating competition at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games was fierce.
Both 15-year-old Tara Lipinski and 18-year-old Michelle Kwan were favored for the gold medal,
with many assuming the older and more mature Kwan would edge out her energetic rival.
While both women performed their routines nearly flawlessly,
Lipinski ended up winning the gold medal with a technically more difficult routine.
The news surprised many, especially as Kwan had just enjoyed an incredibly successful
run at that year's National Championships, where she took home the top honor and earned
multiple perfect 6.0 scores. But according to many spectators, Lipinski just came out on top.
As Washington Post reporter and longtime figure skating fan Robert Samuels told Deadspin,
Lipinski just had a different energy to her that night. As he put it,
"We could see that actually she kind of did deserve to win. She was freer and better."
Kwan's coach, Frank Carroll, reportedly agreed. According to sports journalist
Christine Brennan, Carroll reportedly told Kwan backstage after the event,
"You skated very well but Tara Lipinski skated better. Tara
deserved to win this Olympic gold medal."
Michelle Kwan enjoyed a truly prolific and successful career as a figure skater,
but Olympic gold would elude her for the rest of her career. But
Kwan doesn't look back on the experience with negativity.
As she pointed out to Forbes in 2017, she was able to enjoy a long skating
career that even her once-rival Tara Lipinski didn't get to have,
as Lipinski retired from Olympic-level competition shortly after the 1998 Games.
Kwan admitted to Forbes that, as a child, she kept a Nagano Olympics sticker on her
bed in the years leading up to the Games to motivate herself.
"My biggest dream was to represent the country and go to the Olympics."
Even though she didn't earn the top win that night, she learned a lot — and a silver medal
is still an incredible achievement. In her interview with Forbes, she said,
"You dream of winning, right? You don't dream of winning the silver medal. But it
is still a dream come true where you work so hard, you train, you train, you train,
because you went out there in the Olympics and skated your heart out!"
In 2006, Michelle Kwan was gearing up to compete in her third Winter Olympics when an injury forced
her to make the excruciating decision to drop out of the Games. The news was particularly painful
for Kwan to announce, as she had only been added to the 2006 Olympic team mere weeks before.
"First day of practice, you want to take the time, get used to the facility,
get used to the environment, and hopefully there is no lingering effects of her injury."
As People magazine reported at the time, an older groin injury almost kept her out of the Games,
and a second, newer injury forced Kwan to sideline herself completely.
In a tearful press conference, Kwan explained her decision to leave. She admitted,
"Taking myself off the team is the most difficult
decision I've ever had to make. But it's the right decision."
After being pressed for more, Kwan added that her pain wasn't limited to just physical injury.
"It's physical pain that's keeping me from performing and skating.
But it's also emotional as well."
And, just like that, the stunning career of a powerful figure skater came to an end.
As Kwan pointed out, her own feelings about
the Games were part of the reason she knew competing in 2006 wasn't for her.
"I respect the Olympics too much to compete and I don't feel I can be at my best."
After withdrawing from the 2006 Olympic Games, Michelle Kwan found herself at a crossroads,
and decided to do something about it. She enrolled in classes at the
University of Denver that year, majoring in international studies
at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies and minoring in political science.
The decision revealed a different, political side of Kwan that many might not have suspected
was there. Personally, enrolling at the university provided Kwan with her first
in-person school experience since middle school. As she told the University of Denver Magazine,
joining students in person was revelatory. She explained,
"From seventh grade on I had tutors while I was training and competing,
and it was a big transition to go from full-time skating to full-time student."
Earning her degree in international studies changed the trajectory
of Kwan's life completely. While still in school, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made
Kwan the first-ever U.S. Public Diplomacy Envoy, which allowed the former skater to travel around
the world and promote multiculturalism with the youth she met along the way.
As Kwan revealed, she soon found a new life path, saying,
"I discovered that diplomacy — finding common ground,
helping people and countries come together — was a real interest for me."
Michelle Kwan's academic journey didn't end with her 2009 graduation from the University
of Denver. In 2010, she was accepted to a graduate-level program at Tufts University,
where she began studying at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Condoleezza Rice asked if Kwan would continue her role with the
department while in graduate school, and Kwan was only too happy to accept.
After graduating in 2011, Kwan moved to Washington, D.C.,
and took a job as an adviser at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
She enjoyed the job tremendously, telling U.S. Figure Skating,
"It was exciting to be in a position to develop innovative policy for public
engagement to enhance public affairs on key priorities across the department."
The years that followed Michelle Kwan's graduation from Tufts University were jam
packed with both personal and professional life events. In 2013, she married Clay Pell,
a politician from Arizona who had worked at the U.S. Department of Education.
Pell proposed to Kwan in Rhode Island, and she was thrilled. She told People at the time,
"It was a simple decision and it made sense, that's what's so exciting to me.
We are working together as a team, like in [pair skating]."
The pair married the following year. Things between the two seemed perfect,
which made Pell's 2017 announcement that the two were divorcing very surprising — even to Kwan
herself, who reportedly found out about the divorce on Twitter, like everyone else did.
Pell filed for divorce in March 2017 without, apparently, consulting Kwan at all,
issuing this announcement:
"It is with deep regret that I share that Michelle and my marriage is coming to an
end. This is a sad and difficult turn of events for our family. I love Michelle,
and wish her the very best as her life takes her in a new direction."
In the years that followed, Pell married his high school girlfriend,
while Kwan kept her personal life out of the media entirely.
Despite that personal setback, Michelle Kwan kept herself focused. In 2016, she joined Hillary
Clinton's presidential campaign as a surrogate outreach coordinator. As reported by NBC,
her primary role was working with celebrity and politician endorsers, which meant Kwan
spent a lot of time coordinating with managers and agents to get support for Clinton's run.
"What have you done before you worked in the Clinton campaign? Anything of note?"
"I used to twirl, I used to do sowchows."
Kwan told U.S. Figure Skating that working on the campaign was an honor,
despite Clinton's eventual loss. As she explained,
"I had the opportunity to work with her firsthand and wanted to jump in
on the campaign trail to help get the first female president elected."
Kwan spent time on the campaign trail visiting college campuses,
speaking about Clinton's plans to make a college education easier to afford. While her candidate
ultimately didn't win, Kwan clearly gained invaluable experience as a political actor.
Following November 2016, she took time off to relax and reconnect with herself before
returning to work. Kwan ended up becoming involved with another presidential campaign,
working as a surrogate for Joe Biden in 2020.
Michelle Kwan's decision to work on Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign paid off for her in a
major way. Not only did her candidate of choice soundly win the election, he nominated her for
a major role. In December 2021, President Biden revealed he had nominated Kwan as the brand-new
U.S. Ambassador to Belize. Kwan tweeted her feelings about the nomination, writing,
"I am honored to be nominated by President Biden to serve as ambassador to Belize,
and if confirmed, I will be very proud to serve my country."
Speaking to The Washington Post,
Kwan said that she hoped to be confirmed for the role, telling the publication,
"Belize is full of incredible history and culture,
and has been a tremendous partner to the United States."
Kwan said she hoped to work closely with the government
in Belize to address issues related to migration, the economy, and the pandemic.
In January 2022, Michelle Kwan surprised many
by revealing she had become a mother for the first time at the age of 41.
Kwan had never told anyone publicly that she was expecting a baby or trying to become pregnant, but
she explained that her own private nature was part of the reason why. As Kwan wrote on Instagram,
"As people closest to me know, I'm always full of surprises and tend to
keep my personal life private. And, I've wanted to share this happy news for many
months but each milestone seemed to be exciting and daunting at the same time."
Kwan also admitted that, like many women, she struggled to become pregnant and to
deliver her child. While Kwan didn't share much about her own journey to parenthood,
she shared just enough to show her excitement while demonstrating great
empathy for other women who have struggled to conceive in any way.
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