Kwan Floats Above World for 5th Title
WASHINGTON — Michelle Kwan rescued figure skating from its own follies Saturday. Pushing aside, at least for four minutes, thoughts of judging scandals and baffling scoring systems, Kwan soared into history by winning her fifth World Figure Skating Championship and becoming the first woman to win the title three consecutive times.
"Tonight, this week, I still don't believe it. I have no words," Kwan said after her "Aranjuez" routine was ranked first by the judges and she added two 6.0s to her collection of perfect scores.
"The energy. I've never felt such energy, but I felt so calm," she added, after tying Carol Heiss and Dick Button for the most world titles won by a U.S. skater and earning a roaring ovation from the sellout crowd of 16,116 at the MCI Center. "I enjoyed every minute of it."
The U.S. sweep envisioned when defending champion Irina Slutskaya of Russia withdrew to be with her ailing mother never materialized. Elena Sokolova of Russia finished second and Fumie Suguri of Japan took third for the second consecutive year.
Olympic champion Sarah Hughes of Great Neck, N.Y., unable to overcome a messy qualifying program, battled back from a fall Saturday and finished sixth. Sasha Cohen of Laguna Niguel, the Grand Prix Final winner, finished fourth after stumbling through her short program Friday and falling on a flying camel spin and the takeoff of a triple toe loop Saturday.
Hughes, 17, hinted she might skip the Champions on Ice tour and leave elite skating to focus on choosing a college and enjoying her senior year of high school.
"Skating is my first true love, and I would love to go back and be able to enjoy it again and give my academic studies enough attention," said Hughes, who was slowed by an early-season leg injury and never recaptured the sharp technique and luminous spirit of a year ago.
"I don't think people were asking too much of me," she added. "I definitely did a lot more than I thought possible and I survived. I made an incredible leap in my life and I'm glad the year is over."
It took tremendous character for Sokolova to win her first medal at the world championships. That it was silver didn't disappoint the 23-year-old Muscovite, who didn't make her country's team for the Salt Lake City Games and hadn't qualified for the world championships since 1998, when she finished eighth.
