ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 24, 1996 TAG: 9603250088
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-7 EDITION: METRO AP. TARA LIPINSKI,
DATELINE: EDMONTON, ALBERTA
SOURCE: Associated Press
Michelle Kwan capped a near-perfect season with a touch of perfection Saturday night, winning the women's crown and giving the United States a sweep of the singles titles at the World Figure Skating Championships.
It was the first time since 1986 that Americans took both crowns. Todd Eldredge won the men's title Thursday.
Kwan received two perfect 6.0s for artistry and seven 5.9s to barely edge defending champion Chen Lu of China, who also received two 6.0s. The difference came in the technical marks, with Kwan throwing in a triple toe loop instead of a double axel at the end of her four-minute program. That was enough to take the free skate after Kwan won the short program the previous day.
And it was enough to make Kwan, 15, of Torrance, Calif., the third-youngest world champion, behind Sonja Henie (14 in 1927) and Oksana Baiul (also 15, in 1993). Kwan cried when she finished her superb performance, then wept again when she saw the marks that gave her the crown.
Irina Slutskaya of Russia was the bronze medalist.
Kwan has been virtually unbeatable this season. She won five of six events, including her first national crown, and was third in the Centennial On Ice in St.Petersburg, Russia, where she was ill.
Considered the rising star of American women's figure skating, Kwan grew up quickly this year.
Her skating at the world championships was magnificent, from her short program Friday to Saturday night's magical romp, in which she nailed seven triple jumps. It had to be in order to beat Chen, China's only figure skating champion, whose lyrical performances also drew standing ovations and top marks.
Kwan's 6.0s came from judges representing Japan and Bulgaria, while Chen, 19, got hers from the French and Hungarian judges. Kwan was first with six judges and Chen was No.1 with the other three.
Midori Ito, the 1989 world champion and 1992 Olympic silver medalist, did not have a happy return to international competition. After regaining her Olympic eligibility this season, Ito competed only at the Japanese nationals, winning there. But she was ill-prepared for the world championships.
Ito two-footed her triple axel - she was the only woman to try one - and left out a combination. Her skating was mediocre, and so were the marks, dropping her to seventh place.
Russia's Maria Butyrskaya was fourth, followed by Surya Bonaly of France, who fell on a quadruple jump.
Tonia Kwiatkowski of Broadview Heights, Ohio, was eighth overall, moving up one spot from the short program. Tara Lipinski of Sugar Land, Texas, at 13 the youngest skater in the competition, surged from 23rd to 15th with an 11th-place performance in the free skate, worth two-thirds of the total score.
Kwan's victory gave the United States four medals, its best showing at the world championships in nine years. Rudy Galindo won a bronze in the men's event, and Jenni Meno and Todd Sand took the bronze in pairs.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 linesby CNB