Kwan Wins Ninth U.S. Title

Weir Gets Five Perfect 6.0s En Route to the Men's Championship

"When the teddy bears came down, I was like, 'Wow,' " said Michelle Kwan, who was showered with stuffed animals after her victory. (Don Ryan -- AP)

PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 15 -- This week will go down in figure skating history as one marked either by extraordinary perfection on the ice or extraordinary generosity from judges. Amid another deluge of perfect 6.0 scores, two more U.S. champions were crowned today at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Michelle Kwan seized a record-tying ninth U.S. title with a dominant victory in Saturday night's long program, accruing her usual collection of 6.0 marks for presentation. After unveiling a dramatic performance in a gold dress to Ravel's "Bolero," Kwan received four perfect marks, giving her seven for the week.

"When the teddy bears came down, I was like, 'Wow,' " said Kwan, who was showered with stuffed animals at the conclusion of her skate. "It's incredible. Nine. . . . I remember trying to win my first one."

Kwan, who tied Maribel Vinson for the U.S. title record, easily held off Sasha Cohen, who is still trying to win her first one. With her usual gorgeous free skate unfortunately marred by technical mistakes, Cohen finished second for the fourth time. Meantime, youngster Kimmie Meissner leaped from fourth at the start of the night into third place, unveiling a technically sophisticated program that included the first triple Axel in competition by a U.S. skater in 14 years.

"It's really cool," Meissner, 15, said. "I feel so awesome. I want to go out and do it again."

Earlier, Johnny Weir won his second straight U.S. men's title with a polished and well-executed performance and received five 6.0s for presentation. A total of 28 perfect marks were awarded at these championships, crushing the previous record of 15 set in 1998. All of those were earned by Kwan.

The slender Meissner fashioned an entertaining subplot to what had been billed the Michelle vs. Sasha Show when she landed the triple Axel, using all of her strength to keep her balance. When she completed the last rotation without putting a hand down, she smiled with elation, knowing she had landed a jump that hasn't been executed by a U.S. skater in competition since 1991 when Tonya Harding did it. Meissner, it is worth noting, was not yet two at the time.

Her youth provides one frustration: She was not able to claim one of the three world championship team spots available today because she doesn't turn 16 until October. The cutoff is July. Instead, the United States will send fourth-place finisher Jennifer Kirk.

Meissner, though, reveled in her night's fine work. She received marks ranging from 5.7 to 5.9 for technical merit. A Baltimore native who trains in Newark, Del., Meissner said she became determined to land the jump in her program after hitting a perfect one in the warmup. She said she landed her first triple Axel in practice in August, but abandoned her attempts until last week because of a back injury.

"This nationals for me, it doesn't have that much pressure," she said. "It's my first year at seniors."

For Cohen, the event carried considerably more pressure. She hoped to end her string of just-misses here after having returned a month ago to John Nicks, whom she left in 2002 after eight years. But Cohen put a hand down on a triple loop attempt and fell attempting a triple Lutz.

"I really enjoyed the performance tonight," she said. "The audience was great. I felt I really got into it and skated it. I didn't hold back."

Kwan cleanly hit all of five triples, turning one planned triple Lutz into a double. Her program, as usual, was executed without so much as a wobble. She received 5.7s to 5.9s for technical merit and 5.9s and 6.0s for presentation.

In the men's competition, Weir didn't seem quite convinced he deserved such lofty marks, but he wasn't complaining.

"If the judges wanted to give me 6.0s, that was their choice," he said. "I'm completely [happy] with that, of course. . . . It was a great experience. The 6.0s were kind of like the cherry on top of the sundae."

Weir convincingly defeated Tim Goebel, who led after the short program but finished second today and second overall, and Evan Lysacek, who maintained his third place position. That trio will represent the United States at the March world championships in Moscow. Both Weir and Lysacek, who did not attempt quadruple jumps, said they planned to add them in time for worlds. Goebel, who trains in Fairfax under Audrey Weisiger, attempted a quad but two-footed the landing.

McLean's Michael Weiss, who collided with Goebel during the eight-minute warmup before the final skaters performed, finished fifth in the free skate and fifth overall. The skaters performed in front of a crowd of 8,972 that was certainly depleted by an ice storm that shut down most other events in the city.

Weir put his hand down on a triple flip attempt and skipped a planned double toe, but five judges viewed his performance among the week's perfect displays of artistry on ice.

Note: Vienna's Katherine Hadford, who trains in Newark, Del., finished 18th Saturday and 17th overall. Emily Hughes, 15, the little sister of 2002 Winter Games champion Sarah Hughes, finished sixth in the free skate and sixth overall in her first U.S. senior championships.