Kwan Takes Control Defending World Champ Dominates Short Program At U.S. Championships

Michelle Kwan got it done, got off the ice and got to watch everyone else fall short.

The 16-year-old world champion, skating second in the short program, swept the judging with a solid performance Friday night in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Expected to dominate a field weakened by the withdrawal of one top contender, Sydne Vogel, and the continued slump of another, Nicole Bobek, Kwan was unchallenged.

She isn’t expected to be pushed in today’s free skate, either, as she goes for her second consecutive national title.

Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, going for their fourth straight U.S. pairs title, were upset by the duo that has chased them for three years, Kyoko Ina and Jason Dungjen.

Ina and Dungjen, despite a superb performance to one of the most difficult routines seen in years in the nationals, barely squeezed past Meno and Sand. They finished first with five judges, while MenoSand were No. 1 with four.

“We can enjoy the moment now and hopefully skate better in the future,” Ina said. “Of course, there is more down the road for us, the world championships.”

For Kwan, it was almost like a leisurely romp on a deserted pond.

“It was awkward, it didn’t seem like a competition,” said Kwan, who was first with all nine judges. “It happened so quick; boom and it was done.

“It is not so bad to skate second. It was kind of easy and seemed like another day at the practice rink. Everything was smooth, the audience was great and I heard friends and family screaming for me, so that was even better.”

She left plenty for her competition to think about. Not that they had much chance of catching her.

Tara Lipinski and Tonia Kwiatkowski, who at 14 and 26 represent the new wave and old order of American women’s skating, finished behind Kwan.

Kwan, of Torrance, Calif., didn’t need the near perfection she exhibited in last year’s worlds, when she became the youngest American to win that title. Skating to “Dream of Desdemona,” she hit all of her elements, concluding with a superb death drop into a spin.

Because she was the second skater to perform, Kwan’s marks weren’t remarkable. She did get two 5.9s and seven 5.8s for presentation, though.

“I think she is handling it well, the pressure of defending,” her coach, Frank Carroll, said.

Vogel, the world junior champion, dropped out with back spasms. Bobek, who withdrew from the ‘96 nationals with an ankle injury after winning in 1995, stood sixth Friday. She dropped her triple toe loop jump, doing only a double, and put a step in between her combination jump.

“I felt awesome during the warmup and very relaxed,” Bobek said. “I thought to myself, ‘Gosh, why can’t they just judge me on the warmup and it would be over.’ I guess the nerves really hit me after that.”

Lipinski, trying to improve on a third-place finish a year ago, edged ahead of Kwiatkowski, the ‘96 runner-up, on the strength of a triple lutz-double loop combination.

“I was really excited and surprised to be on the world team last year,” the 74-pound Lipinski said. “I had to work hard and to concentrate on two clean programs for this year to stay there.”

The only skater who attempted a triple-triple combo was Amber Corwin, who did a triple toe-triple toe and was fourth after the short, worth one-third of the total score.

Ina and Dungjen, winners of the short program on Wednesday, did side-by-side triple toes, side-by-side double axels and a double flip-double toe combination. They also had two triple throws and strong lifts.

But they had to sweat things out, because Meno and Sand, bronze medalists in the last two worlds, skated two couples later. Just like in the short program, however, they stumbled, with Sand completing only a double toe loop on their first side-by-side jumps and a single axel on the second.

His wife looked annoyed at him as they left the ice, and the marks made it closer than it probably should have been.

“We just didn’t feel real good,” Meno said. “We obviously didn’t skate our best.”

Stephanie Stiegler and John Zimmerman came in third. All three will skate in the world championships next month in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The junior men’s title was won by Matt Savoie of Peoria, Ill.