Three's a crowd

American figure skaters share ice for first time

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- After days of practicing alone at the Olympics, Michelle Kwan had company Saturday. She shared the ice with her two teammates, Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes.

"Everyone is here. No more private ice," Kwan said with a smile.

While Cohen went back home to practice in Lake Arrowhead, Calif., and Hughes trained in Colorado Springs, Kwan stayed and had most of the practices to herself, except for an occasional Japanese skater.

Cohen and Kwan practiced briefly together last week before Cohen departed. Saturday was the first time all three Americans were on the ice together since the national championships.

"It is nice having company on the ice," Kwan said. "After a while, it gets too quiet."

Kwan, the four-time world and six-time U.S. champion, is the favorite, along with Irina Slutskaya of Russia, who has yet to practice in Salt Lake City. Slutskaya is arriving Sunday after training in Logan, 90 miles north of the Olympic site.

Cohen thinks the practices here are vital, not only for her, but for the people watching her.

"I think practice is important for me and important for everyone, because every practice is a mini-competition," Cohen said. "It is a chance to show yourself and what have you been doing. The judges can see what an overall skater you are and not just what you are doing in six minutes."

The women have their short program Feb. 19 and free skate on Feb. 21.

"So every practice, I am going out to skate my best and improve for Tuesday and Thursday," Cohen said.

Both Cohen and Kwan, who brushed against each other in a free skate warm-up at the U.S. championships, steered clear of one another Saturday.

But then there were just four skaters on the ice, including Japan's Yoshie Onda, instead of six, as it will be in the final warm-up Thursday night.

Quite likely, three Americans and three Russians will be in the final six.

Hughes' coach, Robin Wagner, said there were benefits in staying away.

"Colorado Springs was wonderful, it was great to get away and take a breath and regroup," Wagner said. "We've been watching everything on TV -- I mean everything, every night; we were addicted -- but we were itching to get back, too."

All three Americans worked on their long programs, with Kwan going all out, doing her entire routine from start to finish. A fall on the opening jump, a triple loop, marred her presentation.

Hughes and Kwan were working hard on triple-triples.

"Right now my triple toe-triple toe is getting better," said Kwan, who even tried a more difficult combination at the end of the session, but did not get around completely. "It doesn't hurt to try the triple lutz- triple loop."

Hughes was working on two different triple-triples.

Cohen said she was taking it easy in her first practice in Salt Lake City.

"I was warming up a little in practice," she said, "getting my feet under me, and kept getting better and better."

Although all three plan to stay in the village, it will be only on occasion. They plan to leave the village for quieter living quarters as the competition nears.

"I plan to stay a lot of my time there, but also some time with mom before I compete," Cohen said.

"I have been going back and forth with my parents," Kwan said.

But she's also attended some events.

"I went to see the U.S. hockey game against Finland," Kwan said. "It was awesome."

Not so awesome to the skaters has been the pairs controversy.

"It is very complicated with another gold medal awarded," Kwan said. "But I didn't watch any of the skaters and I am glad, because I can say 'No comment,' since I didn't actually see them."

Nor is she concerned how it might affect her Olympic performance.

"This is what I figure: I do my own business and it's out of my hands," Kwan said of the judges. "Do what you want with me."

Cohen is intrigued by one thing.

"I thought it was nice they could both have gold medals," Cohen said. "It's too bad they can't do that for all the events."

 

Related information
Stories
In Salt Lake City, ice is all Kwan's
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.