U S Figure Skating Championships

To the end, Sasha Cohen insisted she could have competed in the U.S. figure skating championships. Even though a stress fracture in her back caused the 16-year-old from Laguna Niguel to fall in practice on a single axel jump--a basic move she hadn't missed in years--Cohen wanted to skate. Her coach, John Nicks, finally won their battle of titanic wills, and Cohen withdrew Wednesday.

Two-time men's national champion Todd Eldredge, considered a medal contender in next month's Winter Olympics at Albertville, France, will decide after a workout today whether he will withdraw from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships because of a back injury. Dr. Arthur Pappas, the Boston Red Sox orthopedist who had tests that the skater underwent at a hospital here this week forwarded to his Worcester, Mass., office, advised Eldredge by telephone Wednesday night he should rest.

When figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked and injured last week and forced out of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, she was not the only casualty. The sport also suffered as a result of the assault and the reports that four men associated with U.S. champion Tonya Harding might have been involved. At least that's the view of former Olympian Tiffany Chin of Toluca Lake.

The primary obstacle between Sasha Cohen and her first U.S. figure skating title vanished last week when nine-time champion Michelle Kwan withdrew because of a groin pull. But Cohen has hit an unexpected hurdle: flu. Cohen, of Corona del Mar, was off the ice for three days and performed only pieces of her short program Tuesday during the first official practice at the Savvis Center before the women's competition begins Thursday.

Before the last lutz was landed and the last sequin scraped off the ice at Staples Center, organizers of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships were ready to do it again--but on a bigger scale. Calling last week's event a "big-time" success financially, competitively and logistically, Larry Kriwanek, chairman of the LA2002 organizing committee, said Sunday the group plans to bid for the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships. The bid process is expected to begin next year.

The men stumbled and fumbled. The pairs had difficulty staying upright and aloft. Even the ice dancers couldn't keep their footing. The women stole the spotlight at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which ended with Michelle Kwan winning her seventh title, including a record-tying six in a row, and recording her 10th consecutive top-three finish, tying a record for women. The four-time world champion earned a perfect 6.

It's going to be cold. The playing surface will be frozen. The aging veteran will suit up one more time, drawing energy from countless fans pulling for one more championship run, trying again to stave off another wave of younger challengers. A couple of old pros will be in the television booth, analyzing every move. Lisa Guerrero will be on the sidelines, toting a microphone. But enough about the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on ABC.

Tim Goebel has overcome back, leg and neck injuries to stay among figure skating's elite. He wasn't about to let wounded feelings prevent him from regaining the form that won him an Olympic bronze medal in 2002, the 2001 U.S. championship and two world silver medals. Goebel, a superb jumper but often wooden performer, said he was "a little surprised" when his coach, Frank Carroll, ended their 4-year-old partnership.

So much for the long-distance rivalry between the men who had won the last five national titles, Evan Lysacek, who trains on the West Coast, and Johnny Weir, who trains on the East. Suddenly it has turned into a local battle between Jeremy Abbott and Brandon Mroz, who train in the same Colorado Springs rink under the same coach, Tom Zakrajsek. Abbott and Mroz finished 1-2 in Sunday's U.S. Figure Skating Championships, putting each on the senior world team for the first time.