Hers to lose
Kwan looks like a lock for third national crown
Posted: Saturday February 06, 1999 10:52 PM
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Kwan is enhancing her artistry, which already ranks among the most enchanting ever in the sport. AP |
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Michelle Kwan has reached a strange juncture in her career as she heads into the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
She is the unchallenged queen of figure skating these days. It might remain that way, particularly in this country, right through to the 2002 Olympics in this very city.
For now, Kwan's quest will be for a third national championship, and she should get it even if she isn't at her best.
And that's where things get unusual, because there really are no valid challengers for the 18-year-old two-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist. Yet Kwan knows she can't afford to take things easy.
"I would never do that," she says with a chuckle. "I've never done it before. I know I have to always try to improve, do something different, try things. That's just the way I am and the way you have to be as a skater."
Kwan has been working on triple-jump combinations. She's enhancing her artistry, which already ranks among the most enchanting ever in the sport. She's challenging herself because, well, nobody out there is ready to do it.
Certainly not the medals contenders at the weeklong championships, which begin Sunday. They include Angela Nikodinov, Amber Corwin, Brittney McConn.
Nicole Bobek, the 1995 U.S. champion, withdrew Friday. She's undergoing treatment for an ovarian cyst and was advised by doctors not to compete, the Detroit Free Press reported.
After her disastrous performance in Nagano, Bobek, 21, reunited last fall with coach Richard Callaghan, who guided her to the 1995 U.S. title.
"I am regretful that I will not be competing in this year's championships," she said in a statement. "I can't afford to take the risk of jeopardizing my health and going out there knowing I will not be in the physical condition to do my best and achieve the goal I set out to do."
Even if Bobek were healthy, she would have needed a lot of work to come close to Kwan, whose only significant nonwinning performance in 1998 was at Nagano. Kwan has been so good ever since then that she also became the world professional champion, thanks to a rules change that allowed Olympic-eligible skaters to compete in certain open competitions this season.
And Kwan is healthy. A year ago, she won the nationals in Philadelphia with eight perfect scores, even though a stress fracture of a toe on her left foot bothered her.
"I'm not thinking about any of that," Kwan said when she won the pro title in December. "I'm looking ahead, and Salt Lake City is my goal."
She didn't specify if that meant 1999 or 2002.
A new men's champion will be crowned, because Todd Eldredge -- although still eligible -- is only competing in a select few open events. Eldredge, a five-time U.S. winner, had trouble holding off Michael Weiss the last two years, and Weiss is the favorite this week.
"I just look at it as a chance to show what I can do, and hopefully impress people by skating my best," says Weiss, whose artistry didn't usually match Eldredge, although his jumps can be spectacular. "I've felt for the last few years I was capable of [winning nationals]."
He'll be pushed by Tim Goebel, the first American to land a quad in competition, Dan Hollander and Derrick Delmore. Goebel and Delmore will be first-time contenders for a medal and a spot in the March world championships in Helsinki, Finland.
Kyoko Ina and new partner John Zimmerman will be the focal point of the pairs event. Ina won the last two national crowns with Jason Dungjen and was fourth with him at the Olympics. But they split up and Zimmerman, a veteran pairs skater, joined Ina in mid-1998.
With five-time champions Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow now in the pro ranks, the ice dance event is wide open.
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