PREVIEW: THE OLYMPIC DREAM CONTINUES U.S. FIGURE SKATERS COMPETE FOR A TRIP TO SALT LAKE CITY.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

There will be distractions for Angela Nikodinov as she skates in her home city, deals with more friends and more family members than she's ever been accustomed. She will combat it by staying in a hotel and acting as if this is Any Other Town, USA, though her house is a short car ride away.

Nikodinov must block out the distractions if she is to achieve the goal she's thought about since she began skating at age 5, but she couldn't help but glow when asked about the possibility of representing the United States at next month's Olympics in Salt Lake City.

``Because of what's going on, the United States has never been this united,'' said Nikodinov, 21, who lives in San Pedro. ``The support for us will be 10 times more.''

But first Nikodinov must earn her spot. The path begins today as the United States Figure Skating Championships commence in Los Angeles.

The men's champion will be crowned after Thursday's free skating session at Staples Center. The women, led by five-time U.S. champ Michelle Kwan defending her title, will decide their championship Saturday.

The top three skaters from the men's and women's programs will make the Olympic team. Two ice dancing teams and two pairs teams will round out Team USA.

The favorites on the men's side are simple to determine: defending champion Tim Goebel, two-time champion Michael Weiss and former champ Todd Eldredge, one of the most decorated men's skaters of all-time with six world medals, including a first-place finish at the 1996 World Championships.

``There's three guys going into this thinking they should win, and that's because they've each won one,'' Weiss said. ``Tim's had a great year. He's done very well at the Grand Prix events. Todd's done very well. In 10 years, nobody's going to remember who won the Nations Cup. People remember Olympic medalists and national champions. I think any one of us can win this event.''

Any of the three might win, but they are clearly favorites to battle again in the Olympics.

The women's draw is much more interesting.

Kwan is a five-time winner at the nationals, a silver-medal winner at the 1998 Olympics and considered a favorite this week.

However, Sarah Hughes, Jennifer Kirk and the Southern California contingent of Nikodinov, Sasha Cohen and Amber Corwin each are in search of a berth on the Olympic team. Last year the top three were Kwan, Hughes and Nikodinov.

``I can't worry about who was in the top three last year,'' said Corwin, who finished fifth. ``Basically, I want to finish in the top three. I just want to go to the Olympics and think of the future with bigger and higher goals.''

The strategy also is different. While some skaters enter the competition with a desire to win, others are hopeful of finishing in the top three to win a spot on the Olympic team.

But there always is concern among participants in such high-profile competitions because of subjective judging.

``For nationals, I'm going in to do my best,'' said Goebel, 21. ``There's a lot of politics in skating and a pecking order. Because I'm young (Eldredge is 30, Weiss is 25) and haven't been around, I'm behind the others. You don't (get used to it). You learn as you go up. It's part of the game. You never really accept it, but you deal with it.''