Michelle Kwan, former Olympic figure skater and now an adviser at the State Department, talks about a difficult time during her quest for the Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan at 17. Injured and “emotionally drained”, Kwan remembers that specific moment when she got off the ice and burst into tears.
“I think my parents felt so helpless because they weren’t able to help me,” she said. Despite the struggles at a young age, she went on to become the most decorated figure skater in the United States,including nine national figure skating championships in the U.S., five world championships and two Olympic medals.
“Life kind of throw you curve balls sometimes,” she said. “Sometimes you get hit once in a while, and sometimes you fall down. But the important thing is to pick yourself back up.”
Kwan talked to the Washington Post as part of its series on leadership. See the video in the Washington Post.
