Merely a Walk in the Park for Kwan

Michelle Kwan is skating against herself at these U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She knows it, the other skaters know it, the judges know it and--listen closely, you can almost hear Nicole Bobek drop--the spectators know it too.

Friday night’s women’s short program at Nashville Arena was a quiet endeavor. Too quiet. There was no drama, no suspense, no backstage sniping, no teary-eyed I-was-robbed tirade against the judges.

It was an evening so devoid of spark and sparkle that a couple of longtime skating writers were overheard waxing wistfully about Tonya Harding.

This is what Friday’s short program amounted to: Kwan, the defending world champion, skated second, skated proficiently if politely and put up the numbers to chase. Then, everybody sat around and watched skater after skater--18 in all--step onto the ice, do her best, and not even come close.

Bobek, the 1995 U.S. champion, had created a buzz earlier in the week with a series of charismatic practice skates, looking fully recovered from the back injury she suffered last fall. But when it mattered, Bobek blew a triple-lutz landing, failed to attempt a double-toe loop altogether and spun out of a triple toe-loop late in her program.

She ended the night in sixth place--two judges ranked her ninth, another eighth--virtually eliminating her from medal contention.

Tara Lipinski and Tonia Kwiatkowski accompanied Kwan into the leaders news conference, but they were only there to fill out the dais. This was Kwan’s show, from beginning to end, and she sounded almost bored as she discussed the events of the night.

“It was kind of easy,” Kwan said, seeming more perplexed than braggadocio. “It seemed like just another day at practice.”

There was no one to push Kwan, on or off the ice. Partly because of her early start time--Kwan skated minutes after 5 p.m.--and partly because Nashville has an Opryland but definitely no Double-Axel Land, large sections of the arena were empty when Kwan began her program.

“It didn’t seem like a competition to me,” Kwan said. “It happened so quickly. Boom!--it was done. I didn’t see any of you guys [the media]. There wasn’t a camera in your face. I sat down and said to myself, ‘These are the national championships . . . where is everybody?’ ”

Lipinski, the 14-year-old former junior national champion, completed a difficult triple-lutz, double-loop combination and skated cleanly enough for second place. But she is where Kwan was, pre-Lillehammer--too few years on the resume, and the planet, to be regarded a serious contender for what is still officially known as a “ladies” championship.

Kwiatkowski, 25, has the years, but not Kwan’s polish. Second at the nationals in 1996, Kwiatkowski skated steadily Friday but not spectacularly, positioning herself in third place leading into today’s long program competition.

If anyone seemed a threat to Kwan, it was Bobek, a bronze medalist at the 1995 world championships before spending most of 1996 recovering from back and ankle injuries. But Bobek was skating in her first major competition in months, and her recent inactivity was evident in a jittery performance.

“I was very nervous out there,” Bobek said. “You know, I haven’t done this in a while and it was almost a brand new feeling. I felt awesome during the warmup and very relaxed. I thought to myself, ‘Gosh, why can’t they just judge me on the warmup and it would be over.’

“I guess the nerves really hit me after that.”

After that, Kwan’s quest for the second consecutive national championship was scaled down to a matter of time.

A couple more hours today ought to do it.