Sports Briefs
January 28, 2005
Michelle Kwan Wins Ninth National Title
Figure skater Michelle Kwan won her ninth U.S. national title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Portland, Ore., on Jan 16.
Kwan, performing to “Bolero” with choreography by Christopher Dean, wore a glittery gold asymmetrical dress for her winning performance. Her footwork sequence had the crowd yelling and cheering so loudly that by the time Kwan leapt into a split falling leaf, if not earlier, she most likely could not hear the music and ended one or two seconds after her music ended. A torrent of stuffed animals pelted the ice in appreciation of her performance.
Kwan received technical merit marks of 5.7-5.9 and 5.9-6.0 for presentation, including four 6.0’s. These were the last 6.0’s ever to be given at a national championship, as the scoring system will be different starting next year. Kwan now has a total of 42 career 6.0’s.
Other Asian skaters in the senior ladies competitions included Yebin Mok, Shanell Noji and Beatrisa Liang.
Brian Kim Scores 20 in Vanguard Loss
Basketball guard Brian Kim scored 20 points for Vanguard against California Baptist in a Golden State Athletic Conference game on Jan. 20. Kim’s scoring was in vain as the Vanguard Lions lost the game, 84-76. After 17 games, Vanguard has a record of 8-9. Kim is currently leading the team in scoring at 17.1 points per game.
Rena Inoue and Skating Partner Win Silver Medal
Asian American Rena Inoue and pairs partner John Baldwin won the silver medal in the senior pairs competition on Jan. 14 at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Portland, Ore. Katie Orscher and Garrett Lucash took the gold.
Inoue and Baldwin, the 2004 U.S. champions and the only American pair who qualified for the Grand Prix finals last fall, skated to selections from the Trans Siberian Orchestra. The pair performed a perfect throw triple loop, had great unison on its side-by-side spin and footwork, and had the original ending of a dance lift to its final pose.
“We definitely made a couple mistakes,” Inoue said. “I’m proud of the way we continued. This isn’t as well as we did in the Grand Prix. We definitely fought through from beginning to end.”
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