Kwan Is Longshot to Win Sixth Title

Michelle Kwan’s bid for a sixth world figure skating title all but ended Friday when she was overshadowed by Sasha Cohen and penalized for a short program that officials contend ran two seconds too long.

Kwan dropped to fourth place after an admirable but cautious performance. She executed all her elements, including a triple-double jump combination and another triple, but her technical marks were low -- 5.1 to 5.8. Her artistic marks were 5.6 to 5.9.

Referee Jan Hoffmann told U.S. team leaders that Kwan’s program lasted 2 minutes 42 seconds -- two seconds too long. The violation requires an 0.1 deduction on each mark.

The U.S. team said it would file an immediate protest and is asking for a review of the program’s timing.

“All week long, Michelle Kwan’s music has been timed at 2:40. Our question is, how then can the timing be off in the performance? That’s the reason for the protest, to confirm that the timing of the performance was correct,” said Chuck Foster, U.S. Figure Skating president.

Kwan skated to “The Feeling Begins.” Officials say that after the music ended, she skated two additional seconds before her final pose. Kwan said she was unable to hear the music at the end of the program over the crowd.

“It was silly. The audience was loud. The music kind of bled,” Kwan said. “So what am I supposed to do?”

Cohen skated the same jumps as Kwan, but with an intensity that no other competitor could match. Her tantalizing interpretation to “Malaguena,” which included the spirals that showcase her flexibility, earned her four perfect 6.0 marks for artistry. Her technical marks ranged from 5.6 to 5.9.

“I wanted it so badly today, that’s why I skated aggressively,” Cohen said. “I’m much more confident than a year ago. I have the feeling that I can make it.”

Long regarded as the best female skater of her era, Kwan tied the U.S. record for world titles held by 1960 Olympic champion Carol Heiss with her victory in 2003. But she has little hope of winning a sixth title in today’s final skate.

Shizuka Arakawa of Japan and national champion Miki Ando were second and third, respectively. Both did triple-triple jump combinations.

The 16-year-old Ando, who won the world junior title three weeks ago, is planning a quadruple salchow jump in the final free skate. That would be a first for a woman at the world championships.

It would take a complex series of events for Kwan to take the title. One possible scenario would be for Kwan to win the free program, Ando to finish ahead of Arakawa, and Cohen to finish fourth.

Hungary’s Julia Sebestyen, the European champion, was fifth, and Italy’s Carolina Kostner was sixth. Kostner also did a triple-triple.

Irina Slutskaya of Russia, the 2002 world champion who has had health problems this year, finished seventh with a flawed program.

Russia earned its third gold medal of the competition when Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov won the ice dance title with an array of 6.0 scores.