EIGHT TO WATCH
MICHELLE KWAN
Country: U.S.
Age: 17.
Coach: Frank Carroll.
Short program: “Finale from Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Opus 30” (Rachmaninoff).
Long program: “Lyra Angelica” (William Alwyn).
Best known for: At 14, being dispatched to 1994 Lillehammer Olympics as an injury alternate in case Nancy Kerrigan was unable to compete . . . or in case Tonya Harding was prevented from competing. At 15, winning both 1996 U.S. and world championships. At 17, receiving 15 perfect scores out of 18 for artistic presentation at 1998 U.S. championships.
Would like to forget: At 16, falling three times during her long program at nationals, paving the way for Tara Lipinski Web sites, magazine cover stories and paperback biographies.
Hobbies: Corresponding with pen pals, collecting pins and stamps, biking, swimming, bowling, four-wheeling, hanging out with sister and other friends.
Nagano ‘98: It’s hers to lose.
TARA LIPINSKI
Country: U.S.
Age: 15.
Coach: Richard Callaghan.
Short program: “Journey to the Past,” “Once Upon a December” (soundtrack from “Anastasia”).
Long program: “The Rainbow” (Carl Davis) and “Scenes of Summer” (Lee Holdridge).
Best known for: Formidable opportunism at the first sight of Kwan sprawled on the ice at nationals in 1997. Turned one bad night by Kwan in Nashville into Tara Lipinski Inc.--becoming the youngest U.S. and world titlist ever at 14, being voted USOC female athlete of the year for 1997, employing her own agent and publicist before her 15th birthday.
Would like to forget: Her short program at the 1998 U.S. championships, when she fell on a triple flip and restored Kwan as the acclaimed queen of world figure skating.
Hobbies: Music, reading, cooking, swimming, tennis, hanging out with friends.
Nagano ‘98: Silver, unless Kwan has a bad Nashville flashback Friday night.
NICOLE BOBEK
Country: U.S.
Age: 20.
Coaches: Christa Fassi, Irina Rodnina.
Short program: “Zorba the Greek” (arranged by Herb Albert).
Long program: “Invitation to the Dance” (Carl Maria von Weber) and “Victory March” (Verdi).
Best known for: Beating Kwan for the U.S. title in 1995 amid tabloid sensationalism over her arrest for home invasion, her smoking habit, her dating habits and an off-target media insta-tag as “The New Tonya Harding.”
Would like to forget: Every newspaper and magazine story written about her during February and March of ’95.
Hobbies: Dancing, drawing, writing poetry, modeling, designing clothes, decorating old blue jeans with rhinestones and beads.
Nagano ‘98: The wild card of the field. Could finish anywhere from second to 10th without surprising anyone who has watched her for any length of time.
MARIA BUTYRSKAYA
Country: Russia.
Age: 25.
Coach: Zhanna Gromova.
Short program: “Fever” (Davenport Orchestra, Ted Heath).
Long program: “Otapal” (piano concerto by Raul de Blasio).
Best known for: Winning the Russian national title five times and becoming the oldest woman to win the European championship, last month in Milan. Created a stir in December at the Champions Series final in Munich when she denigrated Lipinski’s skating as “childish” while describing her own program as more interesting to watch because “I am a woman on the ice.”
Would like to forget: Waiting until 25 to win her first European title; never winning so much as a bronze medal at the world championships.
Hobbies: Dancing, roller skating.
Nagano ‘98: Bronze, if judges are dead-set on breaking up the Americans.
IRINA SLUTSKAYA
Country: Russia.
Age: 19.
Coach: Elena Tchaikovskaya.
Short program: Rubinstein waltz.
Long program: Russian traditional music.
Best known for: Becoming the first Russian woman to win the European championship (1996, 1997) and the first woman anywhere to perform a triple salchow-triple loop combination (Trophee de France, 1995).
Would like to forget: Ugly pratfall during her short program at the 1997 world championships that took her instantly out of medal contention. Looking heavy and slow, Slutskaya eventually finished sixth.
Hobbies: Music, collecting soft toys.
Nagano ‘98: Has two triple-triple combinations planned for her long program. If she hits them both, a possible bronze medal.
LU CHEN
Country: China.
Age: 21.
Coach: Liu Hongyun.
Short program: “Adios Nonino” (Astor Piazzola).
Long program: “Butterfly Lovers” (violin concerto by Chen Gang).
Best known for: Becoming China’s first figure skating medalist at the world championships (bronze, 1992) and the Olympics (bronze, 1994) and first world champion (1995). Was considered the next great female skater, but then Kwan beat her at the worlds in ’96 and she hurt her foot just before the 1997 season. Has been missing in action ever since.
Would like to forget: The last two years--fraught with injury, frustration and conflicts with the Chinese figure skating federation, which forced her to compete at the 1997 world championships despite Chen’s claims that she was unfit to skate. The result was a painful-to-watch 25th-place performance in Lausanne, forcing Chen to skate a qualifier in Vienna last fall to gain an Olympic berth.
Hobbies: Reading, music, dancing.
Nagano ‘98: Better to just remember the good old days.
SURYA BONALY
Country: France.
Age: 24.
Coaches: Suzanne Bonaly, Tatjana Tarasova.
Short program: “Caravan” (Duke Ellington).
Long program: “Four Seasons” (Vivaldi) or “Samson and Delilah” (Saint-Saens).
Best known for: Winning five consecutive European titles from 1991 to 1995 and three consecutive silver medals at the world championships (1993-1995). Nine-time French champion. Often outlandish costumes match her extroverted routines, which have included back flips during exhibition skates.
Would like to forget: Fateful workout session in May 1996 when Bonaly ruptured her Achilles’ tendon while practicing the back flip. Missed most of 1997 and placed only sixth at last month’s European championships.
Hobbies: Cinema, ballet, character dancing, nature, animals.
Nagano ‘98: Has been practicing the quad here. If she lands it during her long program, it would be a first for a female skater.
LAETITIA HUBERT
Country: France.
Age: 23.
Coach: Jean-Roland Racle.
Short program: “The Piano” (soundtrack, Michael Nyman).
Long program: “Dead Can Dance” (Maxim Rodriguez).
Best known for: Her Zamboni impersonation as a nerve-racked 17-year-old rookie skating in the last group with Kristi Yamaguchi, Midori Ito and Nancy Kerrigan in Albertville in 1992. How many times did she fall during that numbing long program? “Five. Or seven,” Hubert now says, finally able to joke about it.
Would like to forget: The longest four minutes of her life, Albertville, 1992.
Hobbies: Reading, music, cooking, museums.
Nagano ‘98: Enlisted a sports psychologist to help her deal with performance pressure and upset Lipinski last November in Paris. It won’t happen again, but she could make the last group Friday. If so, almost anything she does will qualify as an improvement.