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American Morning
Everyone Talking About Olympic Skating Upset
Aired February 22, 2002 - 08:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front this morning, Salt Lake City's newest golden girl, 16-year-old Sarah Hughes skated to victory in dramatic fashion last night in the Women's Olympic Figure Skating final. Lots of other news from Salt Lake City this morning as well.
Our Carol Lin has it all.
I guess the news has probably finally sunk in for Sarah Hughes, the young woman who said that she wasn't even out to medal. I guess there were such low expectations. What a way to win the Olympics.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: You know, we could all learn a lesson from this 16-year-old. She said she was just going to do it for fun. She went in with such low expectations, and she pulled out a stunning performance. Paula, she made history as the first woman to ever land two triples in a row in a Winter Game. She pulled out seven triple combinations total, four of those combinations came just in the first minute 30 of her performance. She was absolutely elegant. She was both artistic as well as technically athletic, and that is where she pulled it out.
But the moment of heartbreak for both Michelle Kwan and the audience came as -- I think you have got a picture of the fall that she made, when she tried to attempt her first triple flip. Everybody said that Michelle Kwan would be tough to beat in artistry, but she had to pull it out athletically. And this was a painful moment. Even as she fell there, the audience was pushing her on, cheering her on. And when she came off the ice and she hugged her dad, she said you know, "I never gave up." And so she has to take home the bronze. She hasn't decided yet whether, Paula, she is going to compete in 2006, but clearly, a real heartache.
And then there was this -- did you see the Canadian hockey game with the United States women?
ZAHN: That was a surprise too, wasn't it.
LIN: It was -- yes. Yes, because you know, these women, as you know, they won the gold in Nagano, so they came into this competition with such high expectations, and the Canadians took advantage of that. And it's really weird, Paula, because even though the Canadians won 3 to 2 in a very, very close call, the Canadians were complaining about the judging. But the Canadians were also saying that they could see the fear in the American women's eyes. But the American women didn't give up without a fight. They took it right to the bitter end, even though they trailed by two goals just in the last four minutes. So that was a really upset too. A lot of excitement on the ice last night.
ZAHN: Well, let's talk a little bit about skiing. We can't leave those skiers out. What about Bode Miller? He got his medal.
LIN: What a nut. Yes, he did. He's got two silver medals...
ZAHN: I love that.
LIN: And yes, he -- but you know why? Because you just never know what he is going to do on skis. He has got a really bizarre style. And you can see it in the slow motion of the competition. He is just, you know, hands flailing. He tends to lean back on his skis. And this time he said, though, going into the Winter Games that he has got the control factor. That he was able to harness all of that energy, and he just flew down the mountain to a silver medal. He is going to go for another Olympic record in the Men's Slalom on Saturday. But the giant slalom was the thing that Bode Miller had his eyes on.
You know, he has a really wacky history. He comes from like this really cool, hippy family. He grew up with no running water or electricity. And he is just -- you know, he is just a nut.
ZAHN: All I know, those of us who ski would certainly like to carve our turns like he does. That's who we look to...
LIN: Yes. You bet.
ZAHN: ... learn from.
LIN: You bet.
ZAHN: All right. In the next hour, you're going to have to bring us up to date on all of the legal squabblings going on at the Olympics. More challenges...
(CROSSTALK)
LIN: Oh, yes.
ZAHN: It could have...
(CROSSTALK)
LIN: We are calling it the angry games, Paula. Everybody is just ticked off.
ZAHN: Yes, the Russians are ticked off, the South Koreans. Who else is mad this morning?
LIN: Oh, good heavens. Well, you know, the Belarusians are complaining about all of the fast food that they have been eating here in the United States, and of course, the Lithuanians were complaining about their placement in the skating competition. There is like something for everyone here, but we'll get into that in the next hour.
ZAHN: All right. Carol Lin, thanks so much -- see you then.
For more reaction to the miracle on ice, let's go now to Sarah Hughes' hometown, Great Neck, New York, where we sent our own Michael Okwu -- good morning, Michael. Have they awakened? Or they stayed up too late and the news has sunk in?
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are groggy-eyed, but they are all smiles. There is no complaining here in Great Neck. And I am here at Bruce's Bakery in Great Neck, which of course, is Sarah Hughes' hometown. They are all smiles amid their morning coffee clutches. And you can see that she is celebrated here. Here is a picture of Sarah with a big heart and a bouquet of roses. There were lots of roses on the ice last night, if you were watching.
And they have even gone so far as to have these cupcakes here. I don't know whether that's Anderson Cooper to the left of what appears to be Sarah Hughes, but I've got Joel Goldberg (ph) here, who is one of the owners of the bakery. And I've got to ask you, who is on the cupcake?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is me showing Sarah a few tips on how to do some nice little lutzes and other things.
OKWU: What was your feeling last night when she won?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable, magnificent, wonderful for Sarah, her family, the town of Great Neck. We are all overjoyed.
OKWU: I can see you're going to try to cash in on that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I just want Sarah to enjoy these moments and her family. They deserve it. They are magnificent, and the town of Great Neck appreciates everything she did.
OKWU: Joel, thank you so much for talking to us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
OKWU: I wanted to show you some of the other people who we have met here, who are all celebrating Sarah Hughes' victory last night. This is Marsha, right?
MARSHA: Good morning.
OKWU: Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. What was your feeling last night?
MARSHA: Oh, it was unbelievable. Sarah came out. She was just exhilarating. She was full of energy, happy. She really deserved to win the gold last night.
OKWU: And, Sue, have you ever met her?
SUE: I have seen her at the ice skating rink, because my kids play ice hockey there. OKWU: And you all want them to be Sarah Hughes now, I imagine?
SUE: Yes, very much so. She is a great role model.
OKWU: Is there going to be a parade here or something? I heard there is going to be some sort of celebration.
SUE: We hope so. Great Neck is very proud of her. We hope that we do something nice to celebrate for her.
OKWU: Great. I appreciate your talking to us. You can see here, she is on the cover of "The New York Times," and also on the local edition of "Newsday." Sarah Hughes, her arms upraised in victory. I can tell you that last night, I knew I was going to be up very early, and yet, I could not tear my eyes away. I'm going to admit that on national television. My very macho brothers, I can hear them right now hitting the speed dial -- Paula.
ZAHN: Michael, I want to share with you this headline, a simple "Sarah," in the "Daily News" this morning. It's all I needed to tell that story. So do you know how you can make the A.M. Team feel like it's a part of the celebration? Bring back about two dozen of those cupcakes with the bakery owner and Sarah skating on top.
OKWU: You know, Paula, I haven't really tried them yet. They look good, but I don't know tasty they are. But I'll try my best.
ZAHN: Well, we have our hopes up that you'll be bringing some home to us. Thanks, Michael -- enjoy the celebration there.
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