YOUNG SKATERS SHINE IN BRIGHT OLYMPIC LIGHT.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

TURIN, Italy - Sasha wowed, Irina dazzled, Shizuka challenged. That all went as expected.

Yet some of the most pleasurable skating came from a couple of teenagers, a pair of U.S. kids skating in their first major international competition and having absolutely no business acting immune to all pressure.

Kimmie Meissner and Emily Hughes skated like they were having the time of their lives. Youngsters having a blast. Like they were cheering at a high school football game on a Friday night.

``I had so much fun,'' Meissner said, and you did not doubt it.

A sellout arena, international television audience, the Olympics.

What's to worry? They stared down Winter Games anxiety, shrugged off nervousness, made a mockery of stress.

It didn't figure, didn't make much sense.

Their young legs should have been shaking. The mouths dry, insecurities surfacing, hearts racing.

``A little over a week ago I was worried about school and getting ready for the SATs, and now I'm here,'' Hughes said. ``It might have been a little better to have my mind off it.''

Understand, Hughes was not even supposed to be here. This was supposed to be Michelle Kwan's grand finale. Hughes was going to be home in New York watching it all on TV, cheering from afar.

Kwan - added to the team to initially bump Hughes off it - arrived in Turin, practiced once and promptly deemed herself too unhealthy to compete. Hughes, still at home in New York, was suddenly back on the team.

When we last saw Meissner and Hughes, they were stumbling in their long programs at the U.S. nationals. They did not look ready for prime time. They appeared young and overmatched, maybe a little scared.

There wasn't a whole lot to hint at what developed Tuesday night at the Olympic Games.

The headliners all delivered. Sasha Cohen skated faster than everyone, jumped effortlessly, emoted like never before. Irina Slutskaya looked like the world champion. Shizuka Arakawa, the former world champion, was still very much on her game.

But the kids delighted. Almost giggled at that big-time pressure. Skated fearlessly, joyfully.

Meissner, skating second on the night, was smooth and without error. Her long limbs graceful, her program clean, her smile telling. She was one of only two skaters to successfully land a triple-triple.

Hughes took a cue from her sister Sarah, the 2002 Olympic champion, soaking up the moment, smiling wide when she hit her jumps, working the crowd, acting like she was just having the time of her life.

``This is fun,'' Hughes said. ``I really have no expectations. This is my first Olympics, this is my first big international and I feel like it's going good so far.''

Hughes, 17, ended the short program in seventh place with 57.08 points. Meissner, 16, was fifth with 59.40 points.

Remarkably, both remain in medal contention. It would take another impressive program in the long skate and a couple of surprising slips by those ahead of them, but it's still there.

``Who knows, it's the Olympics,'' Hughes said. ``Funny things happen.''

Unexpected things, like when Sarah Hughes came up with the skate of her life, overcoming her fourth-place position following the short program to take the gold medal at Salt Lake City in 2002.

Sarah was in the crowd Tuesday, cheering her younger sister on, no doubt experiencing a few flashbacks.

``Watching her in Salt Lake was so great,'' Emily Hughes said of Sarah. ``I watched her work so hard, and to see a dream come true was just great.

``Now that I'm actually on the ice, and she's up in the stands. I know how she feels, and I guess she knows how I feel.''

Excited, enthused, beaming with newfound confidence, both Hughes and Meissner scored personal bests.

There was no succumbing to pressure. No glance through the sold-out crowd that brought pangs of anxiety.

``I think I was definitely more excited than nervous,'' Meissner said. ``I thought I'd be more nervous, but I just listened to the crowd and the music and put myself back in Delaware.''

Just like being back on the home rink, aside from a zillion cameras and the NBC TV crew up in the crowd.

Now they can't wait for Thursday's long program. Can't wait to get back on the ice, to continue their smiling contest, to let their youthful exuberance spill all over the Palavela arena. Emily said sister Sarah had only one bit of advice for her prior to Tuesday's program: ``She said, 'Go out there and have fun.' ''

That's what she and Meissner did. Two kids laughing at the pressure, without the burden of expectation, skating like they were having the time of their lives.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) HUGHES

(2 -- color) MEISSNER