Verdict Goes to Kwan

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. â€”  Sarah Hughes got the standing ovation. Michelle Kwan got the victory. But if Hughes continues to deliver performances that are as technically accomplished and artistically appealing as the long program she did Saturday at Skate America, she has a good chance to become the judges’ favorite too.

Although Kwan did five clean triples to six by Hughes, Kwan was ranked first in the long program and won her third consecutive Skate America title, an outcome that was neither certain nor popular with fans at the World Arena. Kwan’s “Sheherezade” routine was good rather than mesmerizing, and she reduced her triple-triple combination jump to a triple-double, did a single axel in place of a double axel, and two-footed the landing on a triple loop. Hughes, skating last to music by Ravel and Rachmaninov, did a challenging program that might have propelled her to the top if her prey had been anyone but Kwan, who starts with an unofficial advantage as a four-time world champion and five-time U.S champion.

“This is a very subjective sport,” Hughes said of her marks, “and that’s people’s opinions.”

Although it’s unfair that Hughes must be indisputably superior to defeat Kwan and not merely slightly better, it’s an accepted part of figure skating.

“This is not something new, and this sport has survived,” said Hughes’ coach, Robin Wagner. “For me, the greatest joy is watching Sarah skate and see what she achieved. When you see a crowd get to its feet, that’s the ultimate.”

Viktoria Volchkova of Russia finished third on a generally flat night. Sasha Cohen of Laguna Niguel, fourth after the short program, dropped to fifth after a nightmarish performance. She couldn’t complete her promised quadruple salchow, fell on her next two jumps and landed her third jump on two feet before doing a clean triple loop. The applause she heard was out of sympathy and appreciation for her tenacity.

“I’m really disappointed because I’ve been doing pretty good run-throughs and had two good [long programs],” she said. “I’ve missed the quad before in competitions but I’ve come back and done everything else. I was nervous tonight and I tried hard, but it didn’t work out.”

The crowd’s will was carried out in the men’s competition. U.S. champion Timothy Goebel won his second successive Skate America title on the strength of an “American in Paris” routine that incorporated two quadruple jumps, one in combination. Takeshi Honda of Japan was second, Alexander Abt of Russia was third and Michael Weiss of the U.S. was fourth. The other U.S. entrant, Matt Savoie, was sixth.

For Goebel, who pulled out of the Goodwill Games because of a bad back and hadn’t competed until this weekend, the triumph was encouraging on several levels. He was able to survive the altitude, become familiar with a new long program that suits his strengths, and made progress in lifting his artistry to the high levels of his technical proficiency.

“I think I’ve reached the point in my skating where I feel comfortable enough with my jumps to relax and express the music better,” said Goebel, who trains in El Segundo with Frank Carroll, Kwan’s former coach. “I have a lot of work to do. The short didn’t go as well as I planned and I made a few mistakes tonight. I sort of peaked last year at Skate America. This year, I have a pretty good building point. I’m fortunate with the competition schedule I have, I have a lot of time to do some good work.”

Kwan has not lost to a compatriot since 1998, when Tara Lipinski upset her to win the gold medal at the Nagano Olympics. That streak nearly ended Saturday with a performance that only perpetuated debates over her decision to dismiss Carroll and go it alone on the pressure-packed final steps to the Salt Lake City Olympics. Although she was ranked first Saturday by five of seven judges, losing the Hungarian and German judges’ top ranking to Hughes, she realized it was not a premier performance.

“I don’t feel like this is a victory for me,” Kwan said after her first triumph this season. She previously finished second to Irina Slutskaya at the Goodwill Games in September and the Masters of Figure Skating pro-am two weeks ago, with so-so performances in both events.

“I felt that based on how I skated, not so much the results. In the short program, I made a mistake [doing a single flip instead of a triple] and I could have done it better. Sarah is a great person, but I’m battling against myself. I’m happy with how I skated. ... I felt easy. I didn’t feel panicked at any point of the program.”

Kwan, Slutskaya and Hughes, who finished 1-2-3 at this year’s world championships, will compete this weekend at Skate Canada, in Saskatoon.

Kwan will surely be tested again; she has responded well to challenges before, but she has never coached herself before.

“I think it’s nice having those two internationals back to back,” Kwan said. “It seems like the last few weeks my skating has gotten better and better. From training at altitude I’ll be stronger.”

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Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz of Canada won the ice dance title, sweeping all three phases of the competition despite performing a jumpy mish-mash of Michael Jackson songs Saturday for their free dance.

Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovsky of Israel moved up from third to second, passing Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas of Lithuania.