Michelle Kwan's announcement Tuesday that she had split with her longtime coach has cast an even deeper shadow of uncertainty about who will wear the figure skating gold medal at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
Though Kwan is still a top contender for Olympic gold, the effect of her decision to go it alone — just four months before the Games — will be revealed over time. It could be that Kwan has taken an important step toward regaining passion for the sport. Or it could be an ill-timed error fueled by panic and added pressure from national and international competition.
Kwan said in a news conference Tuesday she thought about it for months before making the decision to leave Frank Carroll, who has coached Kwan since 1992. Since then, Kwan has won an Olympic silver medal, four World championships and five national titles.
Carroll said during a teleconference he was shocked and anxious for Kwan.
"I would say I'm in complete shock," he said. "I'm very upset, and I'm very nervous. I didn't expect it.
"I don't take this personally at all. I feel like there are things and issues going on in her head that only she understands. . . . I feel like she's having a lot of trouble with her own head. I feel like she doesn't understand herself or what's going on. I don't know what's happening to her. I really don't."
But Kwan, now 21, said the time simply had come to step out on her own. She left longtime choreographer Lori Nichol earlier this year and with the split from Carroll has proclaimed her independence.
"When I was younger, it used to be that the coach was the skater," she said. "You just pretty much did what he said. As I've gotten older, I've gotten to be more independent. I've gotten stronger in myself."
Kwan said she needed to get herself together again, after a roller-coaster season last year and early disappointments this season. She said she has no immediate plans to get another coach.
This week, Kwan will try to fend off a charge from eager American challengers Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen at Skate America in Colorado Springs. The competition is the first major event of this Olympic season.
E-MAIL: jnii@desnews.com