Kwan Cruises to Lead at U.S. Championships

Cohen Second After The Short Program

Sasha Cohen is in second place behind Michelle Kwan at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships entering Saturday's deciding long program. (Rick Bowmer - AP)

PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 13 -- As usual, Michelle Kwan commandeered the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, taking over the ice as if it were her own personal stage. Skating last in Thursday night's short program at the Rose Garden, Kwan accepted the challenge from Sasha Cohen and answered it with aplomb, skating elegantly and without mistakes to wrestle the lead from Cohen entering Saturday's deciding long program.

Wearing a blood red costume, Kwan, who is seeking her ninth U.S. title, effortlessly hit a double Axel and triple-double combination to start her performance, then cruised to a finish that was swallowed in the crowd's ovation and rewarded with three perfect 6.0 marks -- giving her a record 53 for her career.

Cohen finished second, Jennifer Kirk was third, and Kimmie Meissner, claimed fourth place.

Kwan grinned with delight -- but, perhaps, not surprise -- as her marks flashed on the scoreboard. She received 5.6s through 5.9s for technical merit and 5.9 to 6.0 for presentation.

"When I get in the kiss-and-cry [waiting area], my job is done," Kwan said. "If I get a 3.1 I'm still happy with my performance. With a 6.0, it's like, 'Oh, cool.' "

Cohen skated before Kwan, leading off the final group in a scarlet costume. After her name was announced, she adjusted her right skate boot, conferred briefly with her coach John Nicks, then yanked on a barrette. If she appeared nervous before skating, she looked at ease once her music started. Other than putting a hand down on the triple Lutz in her combination jump, she skated cleanly, showing off dazzling spins, spirals and footwork -- in other words, laying down a significant challenge to Kwan.

Cohen, who has finished second at three U.S. championships, received marks ranging from 5.4 to 5.8 for technical merit and 5.8 to 5.9 for artistry.

"Nationals is a very prestigious event," Cohen said. "It would mean a lot to win, but I'm really going in with the approach to be so thankful for the opportunity to do what I'm doing and just enjoy it."

Before Thursday night, Kwan, 24, hadn't competed in a major event since finishing third at the 2004 world championships last March. She sat out the grand prix season for the second straight year, a move that allowed her to concentrate on her preparations for the end-of-season events, even while frustrating fans and International Skating Union officials who consider her the biggest drawing card in the sport.

"My biggest competitor is myself," Kwan said. "[I'm my] best friend, but also [my] biggest enemy as well. I want to keep it a friendship right now."

Cohen, too, hasn't competed at a big-time event since she finished second to Japan's Shizuka Arakawa at the world championships. But while the intervening months have been relatively uneventful for Kwan, Cohen, 20, endured an unnerving season. She withdrew from the grand prix season because of a back injury. In December, Cohen made her third coaching move since finishing fourth at the 2002 Winter Games, leaving Robin Wagner of Long Island, N.Y., to rejoin Nicks, her former coach of eight years, in Costa Mesa, Calif.

"It felt great to be out there and skate well," she said. "I'm feeling really good. I've prepared very well, I've got a beautiful costume. Things are finally coming together this part of the season."

Though mystery surrounded both skaters as they took the ice together for the warm-up for the last group, few expected the competition to come down to any other pair.

"This is a two-skater competition," Nicks said before the event. "I guess it's not a very politically correct thing to say, but look at the American ladies . . . At this point in time, at this nationals, it appears to me, with their records and experience and ability, that Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen are the two outstanding skaters."