Meno and Sand Are Winners in Committee Room at Least

The precedent set in a closed-door committee meeting late Friday night at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships made it perfectly clear:

Nothing short of a collision with a runaway Zamboni today is likely to keep Tara Lipinski off the U.S. Olympic team.

On the eve of the women’s long program, the pairs team of Jenni Meno and Todd Sand qualified for the Olympics without skating one second of their planned long program.

Meno strained ligaments in her right ankle while badly landing a throw-double salchow in practice, eventually causing her to withdraw moments before she and Sand were about to compete in the final group of pairs skaters at the CoreStates Center.

Meno and Sand are the most-decorated active skating pair in the United States, three-time U.S. champions, two-time world bronze medalists and fifth-place finishers at the 1994 Olympics.

Along with Kyoko Ina and Jason Dungjen--who won their second consecutive U.S. title Friday--they are the best pairs skaters the United States can send to Nagano next month.

And with two Olympic berths at their disposal, the International Committee of the U.S. Figure Skating Assn. made sure Meno and Sand were Japan-bound--voting them onto the U.S. team at the expense of Shelby Lyons and Brian Wells, who technically placed second to Ina and Dungjen.

Ina and Dungjen received the other berth, as per International Committee selection guidelines that state: “The U.S. Olympic Team shall include the current U.S. National Champion in each discipline. The remaining selection(s) shall be based upon the results of the two most recent U.S. National Championships, the most recent World Championships, all other international events and the current International Committee Ranking System placements.”

In other words, Lyons and Wells never truly had a chance. As soon as Meno and Sand withdrew--taking their superior credentials with them--Lyons and Wells were, in effect, eliminated from Olympic consideration.

“We pretty much knew what was going to happen,” said Lyons. “Our coach told us, ‘Just be ready, be prepared for it.’ ”

That didn’t make the committee’s decision any more palatable, however, when it finally was announced.

“That’s why there’s competition,” Lyons said. “[The committee is] going to do what they want to do, I understand that. But I want to go.”

Lyons and Wells were named first Olympic alternates and Wells, trying to keep the faith, said, “We’ve got to look at it as we still might go.

“It’s tough. What can you say? I’d really like to be there. I wish we would’ve had a healthy head-to-head competition.”

The committee’s ruling does not portend well for Nicole Bobek and Tonia Kwiatkowski, the two skaters positioned ahead of Lipinski heading into tonight’s women’s long program.

Lipinski, the reigning world champion, is fourth after the short program, with the United States having three Olympic berths for its female singles skaters. Should current standings hold, short-program leader Michelle Kwan would receive the automatic spot and Lipinski would likely be voted onto the team on the basis of of her two-year international record.

That would leave either Bobek or Kwiatkowski on the outside, looking at the Olympics on CBS.

Carolyn Kruse, chairwoman of the International Committee, said the vote to name Meno and Sand to the U.S. team was not unanimous, “but very much in the favor of the team that was announced.”

Why not unanimous?

“There are very, very few on the committee who feel the teams should go strictly according to placement,” Kruse said.

John Nicks, who coaches Meno and Sand, is a member of the committee but had to recuse himself from the vote. Before the meeting, Nicks sounded anxious about the balloting.

“When I get 38 people in that committee room, I’m never confident of anything,” he said.

Nicks said he talked Meno into withdrawing after watching her limp through warmups just before the pair’s long program was to begin.

“She came over to me once and I said, ‘How are you?’ ” Nicks said. “She didn’t say anything, but I could see it in her eyes. I could tell by the look on her face things were not going well.”

Meno returned to the ice to test her foot, landing a few throws. With each throw, the limp became more noticeable.

“After the throws, it looked impossible,” said Nicks, who promptly ordered Meno off the ice, much to Meno’s displeasure.

“I’m not sure I’ll be coaching them next week,” Nicks said. “I may get fired.”

Meno is scheduled to undergo an MRI examination today to determine if there is any torn cartilage in the ankle. If not, doctors said, Meno should be able to resume skating within three or four days.

If so, Lyons and Wells will likely be spending the Nagano Olympics at home.

“I heard they would be monitoring the injury until the 21st,” Wells said. “I’m not too hopeful about that.”

He shrugged.

“It not something we’re going to lose sleep over.”

“Well, I am!” Lyons interjected.

Lyons paused, grappling to locate a silver lining.

“There’s still time,” she finally managed. “There are still other Olympics after this one.”