Boitano, Kerrigan Head Trials : Figure skating: The U.S. Olympic team will be chosen after this week’s competition.

With memories of Kristi Yamaguchi’s gold medal and Paul Wylie’s silver from the 1992 Winter Olympics still fresh in their minds, the U.S. Figure Skating Assn. has gathered at Joe Louis Arena this week to choose the team for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway.

Following is a look at the national championships, which began Tuesday night with compulsory ice dances and ends Saturday with the women’s freestyle programs:

MEN

Returning to the nationals after five years as a professional, Brian Boitano of Sunnyvale, Calif., is expected to become the first five-time champion since Dick Button. Boitano, 30, has a decided edge in experience and maturity.

Emerging as the No. 1 contender for the second Olympic berth is defending champion Scott Davis, 21, of Great Falls, Mont., who does not appear intimidated by competition, even from the 1988 Olympic champion.

This was supposed to be the year for Mark Mitchell, 23, of Camden, Conn., to come to the forefront, but he was disappointed with last winter’s results--second in the nationals, fourth in the worlds--and left his longtime coach for Carlo Fassi.

“Mark has a lot of new things to contend with,” Wylie said. “I had Carlo Fassi for nine years as a coach. He wasn’t exactly the most calming influence.”

WOMEN

Forget the triple flip. Nancy Kerrigan can do a triple flop and still win. It has happened before, last year for example.

But the 1992 bronze medalist is back with a new, aggressive attitude, perhaps because of sessions with a sports psychologist.

Not only does Kerrigan, 24, of Stoneham, Mass., consider herself the favorite, she proclaims herself the favorite in the Olympics.

Why not?

“She’s definitely the most complete skater,” Yamaguchi said.

As for contenders for the other Olympic berth, former national champion Tonya Harding, 23, is the most accomplished. But something seems to always be going on in her life other than skating.

It could be time for Nicole Bobek, 16, of Colorado Springs, Colo., to step forward. Some believe she would have been good enough last year if she had even one ounce of discipline.

“I think the judges were telling Nicole, ‘Bear down and shape up. There is a higher standard of behavior expected of you,’ ” Wylie said of her fifth-place finish at nationals. “It was the PGA Tour-to-John Daly message.”

PAIRS

Calla Urbanski, Rocky Marval, Jenni Meno, Scott Wendland, Natasha Kuchiki and Todd Sand represented the United States in the Olympics two years ago. All are trying to earn return trips with new partners, except Wendland, who retired.

Let’s see if we can get this straight. Meno is with Sand, Kuchiki is with Marval, and Urbanski is with Joe Mero, who used to be with Katy Keeley.

Together for all of 1 1/2 years, Meno and Sand, of Costa Mesa, are the the most accomplished, finishing second in the nation and fifth in the world last year. They are expected to fill one of three Olympic berths

As for the other two, it’s anybody’s guess. Urbanski and Mero are the most interesting. After the waitress split with Marval, the truck driver, she tracked Mero down by fax in Italy.

DANCE

This competition is like pairs, except with more international intrigue. Gorsha Sur defected from Russia three years ago in an escapade that could have been written by John LeCarre, met Renee Roca and formed the best U.S. team.

They won at nationals last year and are favored to repeat, but they cannot go to the Olympics because Sur is not a U.S. citizen. Another contender for the one Olympic dance berth in Norway, Rachel Mayer and Peter Breen, quit because they felt the coach they shared with Roca and Sur in Colorado Springs was favoring their competitors.

That leaves newlyweds Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swalow, local favorites from Bloomfield, Mich., as the leading contenders.

They are tied for first after the compulsories with Roca and Sur.