A Kwan-derful finish?
By TERRY JONES -- Edmonton Sun
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Jennifer Robinson had to cringe at the quote.
"At my first Worlds I was a young girl. Now I'm an old lady trying to win the title again,'' said Michelle Kwan.
Kwan, who won her first of four World Figure Skating Championships in Edmonton in '96, moved within today's free-skate final of winning her fifth as she nailed everything to lead after the short program here yesterday.
She's 22.
Robinson, who was 21st to Kwan at those Edmonton Worlds, skated one of her best short programs ever in her first appearance in a final flight at the world championships, but flubbed a flip and sits eighth.
She's 26.
Kwan is all that's left of the much-hyped U.S. medal-sweep prospects here.
Olympic gold-medal winner Sarah Hughes crapped out in the qualifying program and sits a spot back of Robinson in ninth.
And Sasha Cohen of the U.S., who fell on her triple Lutz in the short program, goes into tonight's final in fourth.
"I don't know what happened,'' said Cohen. "I just fell over.
"I'm pretty disappointed. But it's over and now I have to move on.''
Elena Sokolova of Russia sits second with Fumie Suguri of Japan third.
Many felt Robinson was dealt with unfairly by the judges considering she did reel in her fractured flip and stay on her skates. But the Windsor, Ont., skater wasn't going to allow secret judges' marks at this event to dampen her day.
"I don't care what the marks were,'' she said. "It was the first time I was ever in a final flight and I did my job and I did it well.
"Considering being in the final flight for the first time, I was surprised how good I did feel. I really enjoyed it. And I really fought to save that flip. I had to bring it back a lot ... a whole lot.''
The judges obviously scored it as a fall.
"What are you going to do?'' she asked.
"I'm so excited with what I did.''
Coach Michelle Leigh appeared mystified by the marks in the Kiss 'n' Cry.
"I don't have much to say,'' she said.
"We've never been as high as eighth after the short program, so that's the positive. We're always trying to come back from way behind.''
Robinson finished seventh at the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City last year. In her five previous appearances at Worlds she's finished eighth (2000), ninth (2002), 15th (2001), 18th (1999) and 21st (1996).
The latter three positions are what Joannie "Rocket" Rochette is likely looking at here.
Rochette recovered from her Alice in Wonderland experience of the qualifying competition when she found herself in the same dressing room and in the same flight as Kwan and Sarah Hughes.
Tied for 17th after that, The Rocket, who simply flies around the ice, skated clean in the short program to move up to 16th place to, if nothing else, make the cut for today's free-skate final with no problem.
"I'm happy,'' said the Berthierville, Que., skater. "I'm competing at my first world championships and I'm so excited to be here. To skate like that today gives me confidence.''
She even had to handle adversity - a six-minute delay in proceedings before she skated due to a technical malfunction with timing and scoring systems involving the scoreboard, while the previous skater waited for her marks.
"It didn't affect me. I had a pretty bad warmup. They showed all the former champions in the arena on the video board during the delay and I just sat there watching them all like the crowd.''
She said she was much more relaxed overall than she was in her Worlds debut two days earlier.
"I was very excited, very nervous and too serious. This time it was fine. Today it was totally different. I took it easy and smiled more,'' said the 17-year-old.
One of her goals here is to get Kwan's autograph. But she says she hasn't done it yet.
"Not until it's over,'' she said.
