1-2 PUNCH; KWAN, LIPINSKI IN LEAD AFTER SHORT SKATE PROGRAM.

Byline: Diane Pucin Philadelphia Enquirer 

The side-by-side smiles were the most winning of all.

When Tara Lipinski nailed that triple flip, the one she had fallen on in Philadelphia during the U.S. Nationals last month, her eyes got wide and so did her smile. It was, Lipinski said afterward, ``the most happiest I've been in my life.''

When Michelle Kwan completed - a little cautiously maybe, a little slowly perhaps - her triple lutz-double loop combination, the one she had flubbed in the warmup, causing Kwan to slap herself on the head, then on the thighs, she burst into a smile that might have melted the ice.

Practically perfect. That was first Lipinski, then Kwan on Wednesday night as the Olympic women's figure skating short programs were performed. Kwan, the 17-year-old from Torrance earned nine 5.9s for presentation and stood in first place. Lipinski, 15, who was born in Philadelphia, lists Sugar Land, Texas, as her home and trains at the Detroit Skating Club, stood in second place.

Maria Butryskaya, at 25 the oldest woman in the competition, had the bad luck of skating first, but scored high enough to place third. Any of the three who win Friday's long program will win the Olympic gold medal.

The happy prospect of an American medal sweep, however, disappeared when Nicole Bobek, the third U.S. entrant, did her very first jump. Bobek slammed to the ice on the triple lutz part of her triple-double combination. She doubled her triple flip and stepped out of the landing of her double axel. The peppy music that Bobek skated to - ``Zorba the Greek'' - became a cruel joke as the program dissolved. At the end, so did Bobek, who collapsed into tears on the shoulder of her coach, Christa Fassi.

Fassi's husband, Carlo, had taken over the care of Bobek's career last year, until he died of a heart attack at the world championships. These Olympics were dedicated to Carlo, Bobek had said. When she skated an exuberant short and long program to finish third at the nationals, it seemed an Olympic medal was possible. But the 20-year-old Bobek stands 17th and will only skate for pride in her last competitive performance.

Lu Chen, whose grace and elegance have always been a pleasure to see, also was in tears at the end of her skate. But Chen's tears were the good kind, tears of happiness and satisfaction. After a year of personal and professional turmoil that had culminated in a 25th-place finish at last year's world championships following first- and second-place finishes at the 1995 and 1996 worlds and an Olympic bronze medal in 1994, Chen skated without mistakes. Even though her short program wasn't technically as difficult as some others, she is in fourth place and has a chance to win a medal.

But it was the skating of the two young Americans that caused the normally obedient Japanese to ignore all the warnings about taking flash photos. Bulbs were popping during both performances.

Lipinski skated first. She has been joyfully embracing these Olympics in their entirety, sampling life in the athletes' village, attending events, eating lunch in the press dining room. She has said that if her skating were a failure, she would not want that to be her entire Olympic experience. Lipinski's skating, though, was anything but a failure.

When the first note of the friendly, familiar music from the movie ``Anastasia'' trilled, Lipinski's body seemed to relax. Her layback spin was easily held, her spiral sequence was done with particular speed. If there was any flaw, Lipinski pretty obviously did her flawed triple lutz, the flutz, as the first part of her triple-double combination. But otherwise the program was skated with such enthusiasm and joy that Lipinski let out a hearty yell when she completed her final required jump, the double axel.

``I did a great job,'' Lipinski said. ``I tried to be Anastasia. And I tried to skate for myself and everybody I loved. It just felt great. I wished this was a four-minute program. I wished I could keep going and enjoy the moment.''

Lipinski had led off the third group of skaters. Kwan led off the fourth group.

During her warmup, Kwan had trouble landing her triple lutz. As her coach, Frank Carroll, lectured later, ``That's why it's called the warmup. It's for warming up.'' But clearly Kwan was flustered a bit. She talked to herself, slapped herself, popped herself in the head with her hand, as if saying, ``You dope, how can you miss that jump?''

And about 20 seconds into her routine, Kwan was cautious and slow in entering and exiting that lutz, but she landed that lutz, the double toe loop that followed, her double axel and her triple toe loop near the end of the program.

``When I was in my starting pose,'' Kwan said, ``I thought, `ready or not, here I go.' I knew I had a job to do. I didn't have a very good warmup but I threw it away and said, `I can do it now.' ''

At the end, when the final notes of the Rachmaninoff piano music faded, Kwan was relieved and beaming. She received no perfect scores this time as she had at nationals at the CoreStates Center, but that doesn't matter. Kwan was in first place.

After Lipinski skated, she went up to the stands and sat on the lap of pairs skater Jason Dungjen. She whispered into the ear of her training partner, Todd Eldredge. She signed her autograph on photos and banners, posters and even hands. She posed for pictures, laughed and giggled and watched all the other skaters.

Kwan went to a hospitality suite with her parents and watched the other skaters on TV, in private.

That is how the two U.S. women have spent their time here, so differently but so right for each of them. Lipinski has lived the Olympics. Kwan has lived her program. Neither is the right way or the wrong way. It is just the way two different teen-agers handle the most important moment of their lives.

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Torrance figure skater Michelle Kwan was in first place after scoring nine 5.9s for presentation.

(2--Color) Tara Lipinski hit the triple flip that had given her troubles to land in second after the short program.

(3--4) As expected, U.S. figure skaters Michelle Kwan, left, and Tara Lipinski were first and second, respectively, after Wednesday's short program.

Associated Press