Oh, dear.

[xerox78]

Associated Press: Kwan Won't Rule Out Withdrawal From Turin

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TURIN, Italy - Michelle Kwan wouldn't rule out a withdrawal from the Olympics after cutting short her first practice Saturday because of stiffness in her groin.

Kwan said the long plane ride and marching in the opening ceremony caused enough problems for her to skip a short program run-through one day after arriving in Turin. She avoided answering several questions about whether she's worried about competing in her third Olympics.

But asked directly if she might drop off the U.S. team, the five-time world champion said: "I really have to pay attention to how I am feeling these days. Dropping out, it's not something I want to do, but I have to listen to what my feelings are."

Kwan said she will be at practice Sunday.

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It was not pretty. Her first jump, a smooth triple toe loop, came 13 minutes into the workout. She then landed on two feet on her first triple flip, and fell hard on her next attempt at the jump. Kwan also cut another try into a double flip.

Most of the practice was spent on footwork and spins. At one point, Kwan did her footwork from her free skate and Glenn and U.S. judge Charlie Cyr seemed to be checking the levels of difficulty.

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Associated Press: Kwan ponders withdrawal after rough practice

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TURIN, Italy - Michelle Kwan cut short her first practice because of a sore groin Saturday and left open the possibility of withdrawing from the Olympics if she's not 100 percent healthy.

The five-time world champion stopped short of saying she was considering dropping off the U.S. team. But asked directly, she replied:

"I really have to pay attention to how I am feeling these days. Dropping out, it's not something I want to do, but I have to listen to what my feelings are."

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I'm not worried. *gnaws on all 10 fingernails at once* She only got to Torino yesterday morning, did 5,209 interviews and then went to the Opening Ceremonies. She is probably just a little jet-lagged and tired. Michelle skated just as badly in practice at 1998 U.S. Nationals right after coming off a stress fracture in her left foot and ended up skating two of the best performances of her career. She looks plenty cheerful in this press conference.

Besides, she is going to practice some more on Sunday after she has a chance to loosen up. This past Wednesday at the roller skating rink, I went out on the floor and did shoot-the-duck for the first time. My legs were so tired and sore that I did not skate much for the rest of the night. To tell the truth, I'm still stiff. But I'm going to be right back out there tomorrow night!

Now let's hope I'm not saying all this to convince myself.