Kwan at ease as she wins short skate

Fellow Americans Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes place third and fourth behind Russian Irina Slutskaya.

©Associated Press
February 20, 2002

SALT LAKE CITY -- Michelle Kwan's pursuit of a total Olympic experience is carrying over to the ice.

Looking cool and relaxed, Kwan edged main rival Irina Slutskaya to win Tuesday night's short program, in which Americans Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes were third and fourth.

"I felt really calm out there," Kwan said. "I am well prepared, in good shape, healthy. You've just got to feel you are fortunate already, before the start of the program. What I have done, no regrets. Just go out and have fun."

Kwan, the 1998 silver medalist who regrets not spending more time at the Nagano Games, has been in Salt Lake City from the start of the Olympics. She has gone to hockey games, hung out in the athletes' village and generally enjoyed her stay.

And when she took the ice for the short program, worth one-third of the total figure skating score, the four-time world champion and six-time U.S. title winner was relaxed and beaming.

The smile remained after a terrific, if not perfect, performance. Although she under-rotated her triple flip, dropping her technical mark a bit, the showmanship was brilliant. At one point, she spiraled across more than half the rink, her arms extended and her face glowing.

"Just let it all go," she said. "It's not worth holding back, because I've seen what can happen."

When Kwan was finished, she shouted "Go U-S-A" as dozens of flags waved and the ovation grew.

Kwan picked up a stuffed animal thrown onto the ice -- along with hundreds of flowers -- and sat down to watch her marks.

A stream of nine 5.9s for artistry, always her strength, made the difference as she edged Slutskaya 5-4. But Slutskaya also had three third-place votes.

"My program is harder -- harder jumps, harder spins, harder steps," Slutskaya said when asked about three judges placing her behind Cohen. "Oh, well, it's sport. Judges judge."

The Russian has beaten Kwan six times in their past eight meetings, but was runner-up to her at the last two World Championships. In both of those events, Slutskaya won the short program, Kwan took the free skate. The free skate is Thursday night.

Slutskaya's performance lacked spark, but was technically sharp. Especially nice was her layback spin, and her jumps were as smooth as ice.

Hughes, at 16 the youngest of the American skaters, clasped her hands in prayer just before taking the ice. She took her time getting ready, then got off to a slow, nervous start.

"I've never had a crowd get so enthusiastic about me," she said. "If I started right away, it would have thrown me off a little. So I needed to refocus."

She hit every element, although her triple lutz-double loop was technically flawed and she barely held the landing of her triple flip.

Next came Cohen, 17. She was far quicker and smoother than Hughes, and her magnificent spirals rivaled Kwan's.

"Once they called my name, no butterflies, just calm," Cohen said. "I just went out there to attack."

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