Michelle Kwan Research Papers

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Asian Champion on Ice: Michelle Kwan

I was flipping through the channel one day, searching for something interesting to watch. Then I came across to a figure skating competition on TV, and I saw an Asian girl doing a triple loop. Her moves were mind-blowingly beautiful and she looked confident. It turned it was Michelle Kwan. After watching that competition, I couldn’t help doing some research on this amazing figure skater.

Michelle Kwan was born on July 7, 1980 in Torrance, California. She was the third child born to Danny and Estella Kwan. She has an older brother named Ron and an older sister named Karen. Michelle’s parents immigrated to the United States in the early 1970s from Hong Kong. Michelle and her older sister …show more content…

So they started taking skating lessons at the local rink. They loved the ice. As time went by, they became skilled and learned moves. Later, they took private lessons with coach Derek James to learn more advanced moves. Michelle fell many times on the cold and hard ice. But she didn’t give up; she’d get up and tried again. Once her skills improved, Michelle, along with her sister, entered the local competitions. There, Michelle won her first gold medal at the age of 7. That’s when she decided skating was going to be her career. She wanted to go to the Olympics.

At the age of 11, Michelle won a gold medal at the Southwest Pacific Regionals and a bronze at the Pacific Coast Sectionals. She qualified for the Junior Nationals. Her talents caught the attention of Frank Carroll, so he asked her to be his …show more content…

She inspires me to consider what it means to be an Asian American. Michelle Kwan didn’t give up on her dreams even after many failures. Every time she falls down on the freezing ice, she will just pick herself up and try again. And after each competition, she would improve on her mistakes. Being Asian American, many of us are always being discriminated against, many stereotypes placed upon us by people who believe that Asian Americans are passive and it’s hard for us to succeed in America. But Michelle Kwan broke that stereotype. Not only is she an Asian American, but she’s also female. Michelle Kwan took aim at her dreams with determination. Through her persistence, she finally got to where she wanted to be. And she will not give up on

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