Is It Fair?

The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are upon us. One of the favorites to win, Michelle Kwan, has pulled out of the competition due to a groin pull. For this reason she is in danger of not making the U.S. Olympic Team to compete next month in Italy.

The winner of the U.S. Championship automatically gets a spot on the Olympic team. Many believe that the individuals (or pairs) that come in second and third should also get the other two slots on the team. This isn’t the case. In truth the committee that selects the team could pick the person that came in 20th at the championship event, or even someone that did not compete.

Michelle Kwan believes that she will be healthy in 28 days for the Winter Olympics. She is petitioning to be put on the team even though she won’t be competing in the U.S. Championships.

The question then arises if it would be fair to put Kwan on the team in this situation.

Many believe that Kwan’s endorsement deals will play a big part in the decision. She already has Olympic endorsement deals in place for Coca-Cola, Visa, and East-West Bank. Could this be the factor that gets her on to the team?

While Michelle Kwan is still one of the best women’s figure skaters in the world, should an injury that keeps her from the U.S. Championships prevent her from competing at the biggest sporting stage in the world? If she does get a slot on the team, is it really fair to those U.S. figure skaters that did compete at the U.S. Championships? Will money and endorsements be a deciding factor?

It will be very interesting to see at the beginning of next week which figure skaters do get named to the team.