Kwan Can’t Afford to Play It Safe Again

The Super Bowl of the Winter Olympics, at least as far as North American television audiences are concerned, will be decided tonight in the women’s freestyle program. Michelle Kwan of Torrance, leading after Tuesday night’s short program, tries to win the gold medal that was denied her four years ago when she played it safe in the long program and lost to Tara Lipinski.

Kwan knows she will have to skate more aggressively this time to win and hold off second-place Russian Irina Slutskaya, who is superior technically but not artistically, and third-place Sasha Cohen of Laguna Niguel, who combines both elements better than the others but is inexperienced in international competition. The third American, Sarah Hughes, is fourth. The freestyle program counts toward two-thirds of the final score.