It was the last element of her short program, a move in which the skater spins in a variety of different positions, changing position while spinning.
In recent years, Michelle Kwan often did those combination spins so slowly it looked like a stop-action replay.
This time, Kwan was in fast forward, going back in time as she approached the future with an elan to her skating that captivated the crowd and the judges and left the media to dig out old adjectives about the brilliance of the sport’s old lady.
“My music builds at the end, and I’ve worked really hard at picking up speed so I could go whipping into the spin a little faster,” Kwan said. “That gives you more speed on the spin.”
Kwan skated circles around rivals Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes in Thursday’s short program, putting a new spin on her chances for a sixth straight U.S. Figure Skating Championships title Saturday.
At 22, Kwan is older than all but one of the 17 women whom she will face in Saturday’s free skate.
Cohen, 18, and Olympic champion Hughes, 17, both did flawed short programs to finish second and third. Jennifer Kirk, 18, skated cleanly and might have deserved better than fourth if her program had been the least bit interesting.
Kwan, winner of Olympic silver and bronze medals, four world titles and three world silver medals, will be happy to make history as the first U.S. woman to win six straight since 1948, as long as she doesn’t become history yet.
“Last year someone said, `You are the most decorated U.S. female skater [in history],”‘ Kwan said. “It doesn’t sound right when you’re still competing. But I guess if I compete more and more, it’s like `Remember me! Remember me!”‘
Slippery ice
The ice dance competition nearly produced a considerable upset, with Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev winning a fifth straight title by a 5-4 judges decision in the free skate Friday. They are the third couple to win five straight U.S. championships, joining Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert (1981-85) and Judy Schwokmeyer-James Sladky (1968-72).
The runners-up, Tanith Belbin and Chicagoan Benjamin Agosto, lost their chance when Belbin stumbled during a footwork sequence, then lunged to regain her balance and missed the ensuing few seconds of her program.
“We made a very large mistake,” said Belbin, a Canadian who will not gain her U.S. citizenship until after the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Lang and Tchernyshev, who had not competed since March because of a cyst in her left ankle, also made one footwork mistake that was not as evident.
“When I saw the results I picked up anything I could and threw it and kicked the air, I was so excited,” Lang said. “It has been a really stressful season.”
Ice chips
In one of the poorest quality pairs competitions in nationals history, Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn won their first U.S. title despite her two falls. Angela Nikodinov withdrew from the women’s competition because of recurrent shoulder problems. Nikodinov, a two-time national bronze medalist, was 11th in Thursday’s short program, failing to execute cleanly any jump. . . . Natalie Mecher, 15, a freshman at Vernon Hills High School, took second in the junior women’s event.
