It was meant to be a coronation.

Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Kristi Yamaguchi... and now, Michelle Kwan. The seventeen-year-old from Torrance, California was the heavy favourite to win Olympic gold in Nagano, and join the ranks of the Americans who�d claimed the illustrious title before her.

Michelle was perfect. Michelle had trounced all competition at the U.S. Nationals, wracking up so many scores of 6.0 that she was seen as virtually untouchable. Heading into her first Olympics, she was already a skater for the ages. No one would touch her. The gold was hers.

Or so everyone thought.

�The Olympics are just a wacky competition,� Scott Hamilton has been oft-heard to say. Oh, how right he was. How right he is. If the Olympics were just another competition, Michelle Kwan would�ve been untouchable. But things did not play out as many thought they were meant to be.

Nagano. The White Ring. The freeskate. She was the first competitor in the final flight, and heading into the freeskate, her name was on top of the standings. Beside the number one: Michelle Kwan, U.S.A. Just as it was supposed to be. And she skated magnificently. Just as it was supposed to be...

But not. There was something missing in this Michelle, in this skate. It was different from the magnificent triumph at Nationals. She was slower, more tentative, cautious. Her jumps were all landed, her movements gorgeous and yet... something was missing. It. The extra bit of something that made the magic real.

Any other day, Michelle would�ve won without it. But not this time. She had to settle for silver, and the coronation everyone thought would happen that day in Nagano was put on hold.

On hold for another four years. On hold until another Olympics. Salt Lake City, 2002.

She will be there. And next time, no one will take her magic for granted.