Michelle Kwan: When I was five years old, my sister, Karen, and I always went to watch my brother, Ron, play hockey. I was the youngest, and my parents said I was too young to skate. I begged and begged till finally my parents gave in. I loved being on the ice. But it was a couple years later, when I was seven, that something magical happened to me. My real moment of inspiration -- the one that changed my life forever -- came while I was watching the 1988 Winter Olympics on TV. When I saw Brian Boitano skating for the gold medal, I saw the life I wanted to have. I've never doubted my decision to go all the way with my sport, and every time I step onto the ice I get inspired all over again.

Q2: How do you deal with the pressure of having to practice and perform all the time?

Michelle Kwan: There can be pressure in a life like mine. I have lots of help dealing with it, though. My family is extremely supportive of me. They do more than cheer for me when I'm on the ice. They're always reminding me that, as important as skating is to me, it's only one part of my life. They're always encouraging me to do lots of other things: to study hard, read a lot, spend time with my friends, and keep my eyes open to the world around me. They've always said: "Work hard, be yourself, and have fun."

Q3: How does it feel to be figure skating in front of all those people?

Michelle Kwan: At a big competition, the arena is full of people, TV cameras, noise, and intense excitement. That can be nerve-wracking and scary, if you let it. So before I step onto the ice, it's important that I concentrate and try to focus on one thing only: skating. If I concentrate really hard, by the time my music starts I feel like I'm in a different world. I'm excited but calm. I can take everything in without getting nervous. The music gets inside of me. All the noises in the arena invigorate me. Then the crowd doesn't seem scary anymore. I can tell that they're on my side. They hold their breath before I do a big jump, and they relax and applaud when I land! Thousands of people seem to be feeling what I'm feeling. They give me courage. With all that energy lifting me up, I feel more like I'm flying than skating.

Q4: How do you keep up with your schoolwork when you are practicing and competing?

Michelle Kwan: The only way to be a full-time athlete and a full-time student is to be very disciplined. When I was younger, I had to go straight home and study. Starting from when I was in eighth grade, I had a tutor who came to our house every day, but even when she wasn't there, I usually had my nose in a book. Sometimes even now I feel tired and lazy and tempted to say, "I'll do my homework later." But I quickly learned that later’s have a way of piling up on each other. It is better just to get the work done ... and then have some free time!

Q5: How do you become an Olympic skater?

Michelle Kwan: It's a long road to the Olympics. The United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) has eight levels of competitions. When you start out, you're in the Pre-Preliminary level. Then you have to go through Preliminary, Pre-Juvenile, Juvenile, Intermediate, Novice, and Junior before you get to the highest level, Senior. Then you're finally a top skater and eligible for the Olympics. To make it through all these levels, you must have an overwhelming love for the sport. Then, to get to the Olympics, you need a burning desire -- a dream that won't die, no matter what happens along the way. Maybe you'll fall, or lose a competition, or get some criticism, but your dream for the Olympics has to be so strong that nothing could make you give up. And along the way, you have to practice, practice, practice!

Q6: How do you find the courage to do all those dangerous jumps? And have you gotten hurt?

Michelle Kwan: You're right that it takes courage to launch yourself into the air, spin around three times, and trust that you're going to land safely again. But I'm lucky because I started so young. I was a little jumping bean. I learned those jumps one step at a time and built up my confidence as I went. Besides, I loved skating so much I didn't care if I fell. Then as I grew up, there were times when it seemed like I was black-and-blue all over, especially when I was learning the harder jumps. I was lucky again, and managed to avoid serious injury until 1997. That year I had a stress fracture in the second toe of my left foot. A stabbing pain would shoot through my leg when I jumped. Finally, in the fall of that year, the doctor said I had to wear a cast and stay off the ice for three weeks. This was just three months before the 1998 Olympics! And you know what? Forcing myself not to skate took a lot more courage than anything I'd done till then. I was dying to get on the ice, but I followed the doctor's advice. In the end, it all turned out for the best. Just after the cast came off I went to the Nationals and skated the best program of my life.

Q7: What do you like to do with your free time when you travel? Do you shop?

Michelle Kwan: I feel so lucky to have gotten to travel to so many different parts of the world at such a young age. Norway, France, Italy, China, Japan ... it's like a dream when I look back on it. Shopping, of course, is near the top of the list for my free time. It's so interesting to see the styles in each country, things that are unique to that place. I love meeting people in each country and figuring out how to communicate in different languages. I also love to have adventures. Once I went on a white-water rafting trip with a group of skaters. I was holding on with white knuckles the whole way. I'll never forget that one!

Q8: Who are some of your role models ouside of skating?

Michelle Kwan: My biggest role models have always been my parents. They've always been there for me and for my family and for each other. I've never known two people who worked harder, but they've never made their hard work seem, well, hard. The reason is that they do it out of love. My parents are honest with me and keep me focused on the things that really count. To them it's more important that I'm enjoying my skating than that I'm winning my competitions. They taught me how to have respect, discipline, and loyalty. They were also the ones who first told me "Work hard, be yourself, and have fun." I still think that's some of the best advice I've ever gotten.

Q9: How do you psych yourself before a competition?

Michelle Kwan: That's a very good question. It's important to be in the right frame of mind before you skate, because so much is riding on those few minutes. I don't psych myself up in the sense of getting really excited. Instead, I try to get calm and focused, to visualize exactly what I want to do on the ice. I just try to relax into the moment. I say to myself "Here I am in this huge arena, with all these people waiting to see me skate. It's what all my hard work has been for. Now just go out and enjoy it."

Q10: How long does it take you to learn a difficult new move?

Michelle Kwan: A day. A month. A year. It all depends on the move. It all depends on how well your body type and style are suited to the move. I succeeded in doing a triple Lutz the very first time I tried it! But then in a couple of important competitions, it was the Lutz that tripped me up. So the truth is, you're never done learning a move. No matter how quickly you get it, you still have to work on it, practice it, perfect it, over and over. It never ends.

Check out Michelle's bio here.