Friday, Feb. 17, 2006 | 12:30 p.m.
Though an injury forced women's figure skating champion Michelle Kwan to withdraw from the 2006 Olympic Winter Games barely one day after the 16-day event opened, Kwan launched what has been a heroic first week for U.S. Olympic athletes.
In an era where million-dollar endorsement contracts, doping scandals and winning-at-all-costs strategies have polluted much of American athletics, U.S. Olympians this past week brought back sportsmanship and honor through the love of sport.
Kwan, who injured a groin muscle during practice Saturday, made a painful yet courageous decision just hours later when she declared these Olympics - her last - were over.
"Taking myself off the team is the most difficult decision I've ever had to make," the 26-year-old world champion said during a news conference Sunday. "The Olympics is the greatest sporting event in the world, and what's most important is that the United States fields the strongest team possible ... I would never stand in the way of that."
Later in the week, U.S. speedskater Joey Cheek took the podium to claim a gold medal in the men's 500-meter event and announced that he would be donating his $25,000 bonus awarded by the U.S. Olympic Committee to a program that helps children in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan. Rather than thanking sponsors and parents, Cheek used his time at the microphone to plead for assistance for Sudan refugees.
And like a pack of playful otters, the U.S. snowboarders offered a respite from the usually grim, tension-filled atmosphere of most events. Call us biased, but these smiling, fresh-faced U.S. riders showed what it means to get out and play. When Shaun "The Flying Tomato" White finished his gold medal-winning run, he beamed like a kid on the last day of school, then cried when he saw his mom.
Can it get any better than that? Yes - and American ski racer Lindsey Kildow showed us how. Kildow took a brutal high-speed fall Monday while practicing on the icy downhill course at San Sicario. Two days later, a bruised and battered Kildwon skied the women's downhill event anyway, gliding on determination and hope. She finished eighth. But, like many American Olympians this past week, she showed the world a heart of gold.
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