WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It's never easy being an 18-year-old girl. When you're Sarah Hughes, it's even tougher because the whole world is watching.

	Olympic champion Sarah Hughes' embarrassing fall grabbed international attention.

Just this week, Hughes was named the U.S. Olympic Committee's sportswoman of the year and won the Sullivan Award, the top national honor for an amateur athlete.

But things aren't going quite so well on the ice.

In the women's qualifying Wednesday, Hughes finished sixth in her group, good enough for 11th place overall heading into the short program Friday at the World Figure Skating Championships.

That makes it nearly mathematically impossible for the Olympic gold medalist to win her first Worlds title -- she might not even medal at all. Despite the obvious disappointment on her face as she completed her program, she talked bravely afterward.

"I'm a strong competitor," Hughes said. "I have two more programs, hopefully."

Hughes is rusty because a knee injury has limited her competition time this year.

"I haven't had the practice competing much this year, but I won't blame that for everything," she said. "The Olympics changed my life a lot off the ice. It's an adjustment year. I'm just looking forward to getting my feet back on the ice, competing."

While Hughes is struggling to deal with growing pains -- she shot up an inch and half since the Games -- and life decisions like whether to go to college (she's been accepted at Harvard) fellow American youngster Sasha Cohen is coming into her own as a skater.

	Sasha Cohen is catching up with Sarah Hughes.

In the qualifiers, Cohen skated one of her best long programs ever. When the two were just coming onto the scene it was Cohen who could hit a quad in practice and looked like she'd be the next great thing.

A back injury put Cohen's career on hold, and while she was away Hughes grew confident enough on the ice to take home gold in Salt Lake City. But Cohen could be the one who rises up at the Worlds.

"I look at where I was a year ago, two years ago," Cohen said. "I've come such a long way."

Also jumping back into the scene is Elena Sokolova, a 23-year-old Russian who finished second in Group A qualifying, behind only Michelle Kwan.

Sokolova competed at the 1998 Olympic Games, placing seventh, and then the World Championships, placing eighth. Then she took a five-year hiatus from upper-level competition after she failed to make the Russian national team.

This year, she comes to Worlds as her country's national champion after upsetting Irina Slutskaya. Sokolova also won the silver medal at the European Championships.

There's even been some discussion that she really won her qualifying group instead of Kwan. Sokolova landed seven triples, including two triple-triple combinations that no other woman did. Yet Kwan won out for artistry.

It's all a part of the continuing judging controversy, which has skaters upset by the new anoynomity of judges. But Kwan is still a four-time World Champion. Maybe she just knows how to do this.

"I had a great Nationals," Kwan said. "I gave myself the down time to let myself build up again."

If Kwan wins the title she'll become only the third U.S. skater to win five World Championships titles, along with Carol Heiss and Dick Button.

Hughes still has time to pick up a few world titles of her own. In the meantime, she's competing in the year's biggest competition in her home country.

"In a way this last year has been so many new things for me, so actually coming here is comforting for me," Hughes said.

Cynthia Faulkner is the Olympics editor at ESPN.com.