OLYMPIC SWEEP POSSIBLE FOR U.S. WOMEN; FIGURE SKATERS TAKE EXPERIENCE, TITLES TO NAGANO GAMES.Byline: Jere Longman The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times Now that Michelle Kwan Michelle Wing Kwan (關穎珊) (born 7 July 1980) is an American figure skater and media celebrity who has won nine U.S. championships, five world championships, and two Olympic medals. , Tara Lipinski Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10 1982) is an American figure skater and celebrity. At the age of 15, she won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and remains the youngest gold medalist in the history of the Olympic Winter Games. and Nicole Bobek Nicole Bobek (born August 23, 1977) is an American figure skater. She was the U.S. Champion in 1995, and won a bronze medal at the World Figure Skating Championships the same year. have finished 1-2-3 at the Olympic trials, many in the figure-skating community believe that they can also sweep the medals at next month's Olympic Games Olympic games, premier athletic meeting of ancient Greece, and, in modern times, series of international sports contests. The Olympics of Ancient Greece Although records cannot verify games earlier than 776 B.C. . ``We can be 1-2-3,'' said Christa Fassi, who coaches Bobek. ``I really think we have the Dream Team for these Olympics.'' Never has the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. sent to the Olympics three women who have won a national championship. Kwan won her second national title on Saturday night with a joyous performance that received perfect marks of 6 from eight of the nine judges for artistry, after a short program on Thursday that was awarded seven 6s for presentation. Combined, Kwan's performances were considered the greatest efforts at the national championships. ``They will go down in history as the best set,'' said Brian Boitano Brian Anthony Boitano (born October 22, 1963 in Mountain View, California) is an Italian-American figure skater from Sunnyvale, California. He is a four-time US National Champion (1985-1988), two-time World Champion (1986, 1988) and the 1988 Olympic gold medalist. , the 1988 Olympic champion. Concerning the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, it is not unprecedented for American women to win all the medals at an important competition. Kristi Yamaguchi Kristi Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12, 1971) is an American figure skater. In December 2005, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Biography Kristi Yamaguchi was born on July 12, 1971 in Hayward, California, to Jim Yamaguchi, a dentist, and Carole Doi, a , Tonya Harding Tonya Maxine Harding (born November 12, 1970) is an American former figure skater. Despite a tough childhood in an unstable family, as well as being plagued by asthma (aggravated by smoking), she became an elite figure skater. She won the U.S. and Nancy Kerrigan Nancy Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969 in Stoneham, Massachusetts) is a two-time American Olympic figure skating medalist and 1993 U.S. champion. Biography Kerrigan began skating at age six. She grew up with brothers who played hockey, and often joined in herself. finished first, second and third, respectively at the 1991 world championships. But several factors would seem to make an Olympic sweep unlikely. First, it may be difficult for Kwan, Lipinski and Bobek to repeat in unison the engaging, redemptive performances they delivered on Saturday night. And even if they deserve the medals, it does not mean they will win them. The Cold War is over, but judging can still play out along political fault lines. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, the 5-4 judges' victory that Oksana Baiul Oksana Baiul (Ukrainian: Оксана Баюл) (born November 16, 1977) is a Ukrainian professional figure skater. She is the 1994 Olympic Champion. of Ukraine achieved over Nancy Kerrigan of the United States to win the gold was a classic East versus West vote. By the same token, what is often viewed as politics may be simply a matter of taste. Not every judge appreciates the same type of skating. Some may prefer the artistic sophistication so·phis·ti·cate v. so·phis·ti·cat·ed, so·phis·ti·cat·ing, so·phis·ti·cates v.tr. 1. To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly. 2. of one skater, others may prefer the technical superiority of another. Baiul mesmerized an audience; Kerrigan was technically efficient but remote. ``You have so many countries; not all of them look at skating the same way,'' said Linda Leaver, Boitano's coach. ``People are still arguing about Oksana and Nancy four years later. It's not just East-West. It's what people admire in a skater. I think the Americans will have to be slam-dunk good to sweep the medals. It will have to be indisputable.'' Besides the three Americans, only four other skaters appear to have a serious chance to win a medal: Tanja Szewczenko of Germany, Lu Chen of China, and Irina Slutskaya and Mariya Butyrskaya, both of Russia. Szewczenko, the German champion who landed seven triple jumps at a recent Olympic preview, is the biggest threat to an American sweep. Of the U.S. team, Bobek is erratic and is the most vulnerable to slipping out of the medal hunt. Morry Stillwell, president of the U.S. Figure Skating U.S. Figure Skating (USFS), officially called the United States Figure Skating Association or USFSA, is the national sport governing body for figure skating in the United States. Association, said he thought chances were small for an American sweep. ``Szewczenko is really good,'' he said. On the other hand, each of those four international skaters has a weakness. Szewczenko remained out of competition for 18 months because of a debilitating de·bil·i·tat·ing adj. Causing a loss of strength or energy. Debilitating Weakening, or reducing the strength of. Mentioned in: Stress Reduction viral infection viral infection, n an infection by a pathogenic virus. A virus acts on the cell nucleus, taking over the genetic material within the nucleus and replicating itself. , and her conditioning could be a factor. Chen, the 1995 world champion, is a marvelous artist, but she is returning from injury and does not have a full complement of triple jumps. Slutskaya, who finished fourth at the 1997 world championships, has appeared overweight this season. Butyrskaya is as erratic and unpredictable as Bobek. Some Americans believe the Eastern judges may be more receptive to an American sweep if Russians have already won the pairs, dance and men's competitions in Nagano. ``If they skate like this, our skaters will be 1-2-3, or should be,'' said Joan Burns, an international-level judge from the United States. ``Our judges have to talk it up. Promote it. You have to be diplomatic. You can't tell the Russian judge, `Our girls deserve to be 1-2-3.' That's illegal. You have to say, `Your girls are great, our girls are great. Let's see how they skate.' Plant the seed.'' Frank Carroll, who coaches Kwan, believes the Americans have a chance to sweep because Kwan, 17; Lipinski, 15, and Bobek, 20, will offer three different styles to the judges. ``Nicole looks like a movie star,'' Carroll said. ``Michelle has uniquely wonderful artistry. Tara is a wonderful young jumper, technically very strong and consistent.'' These championships magnified the widening gap between Kwan, the 1996 world champion, and Lipinski, the 1997 world champion, in terms of maturity and refinement. Kwan also trumped Lipinski's technical performance, which had been perceived as Lipinski's advantage. While Lipinski remains a determined jumper with improved artistry, it has become clear that she cannot defeat Kwan in Nagano unless Kwan makes a mistake. ``Michelle is a skater for the ages,'' Leaver said. ``She's so far above everyone else. She's only 17, and she skates from her heart. Everyone in the audience can feel it. The technical side is incidental to the artistry of the whole program. She takes your breath away.'' There is no guarantee, of course, that Kwan will win the Olympics. As Yamaguchi, the 1992 Olympic champion, pointed out, Kwan and Lipinski will start with a clean slate in Nagano. Boitano said, ``This sport is so volatile, momentum and positiveness can change in a split second between the triple lutz and the spin.'' And while Kwan, Lipinski and Bobek will represent the United States, they can only nominally be considered a team. Skating is an individual sport. At the Olympics, it will be every woman for herself. ``This is not like a bobsled team, where they are all pushing the same sled,'' Carroll said. ``They are all out there by themselves. If you fall on your butt, you do it alone.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO From left, Tara Lipinski, national champion Michelle Kwan, Nicole Bobek and Tonia Kwiatkowski. Jon Ferrey / Allsport |
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