| | CLEVELAND -- The U.S. Figure Skating Championships is special for many reasons.
Here in Cleveland, the people worked hard to land the nationals starting in 1993. It will be the third time that the nationals have been here and the first time since 1964, when Peggy Fleming won the first of her five national titles en route to becoming a household name. The nationals is an event that, probably more than any other, creates stars and previews the bright young skaters who are going to make names for themselves in the next couple of years.
Without question, the women's competition will be the most exciting of the four disciplines. You've got Michelle Kwan, the elder stateswoman who is the odds-on favorite to win. But she has a wave of young teenagers to fend off. It seems as if a whole new generation has emerged at once. This week we are going to learn a lot about who might be serious contenders for the 2002 Olympic team.
A few of the names: Naomi Nari Nam, who came out of nowhere to win the silver medal last year. Sarah Hughes, a promising 14-year-old from New York. Deanna Stellato, a novice skater last year who jumped over the juniors to now skate as a senior. Not to mention other talents such as Sasha Cohen, Angela Nikodinov and Amber Corwin.
Not just one or two particular skaters threaten Michelle; many skaters will present a challenge. She would certainly have to falter for anyone to take away her title. However, being the heavy favorite is a heavy burden to carry into every event. The challenge here is not only winning but also sending a message to those who will be gunning for her in March that she is on top of her game.
Michelle has to feel like they just keep coming. She won the national title for the first time in 1996. But the next year, 14-year-old Tara Lipinski won the national title and then the gold at the 1998 Olympics.
The men's competition essentially is a showdown between two. Michael Weiss is the defending champion, but in an odd way is not the favorite coming in this year. All of the attention is focused on a guy from Cleveland, Timothy Goebel. Weiss won the bronze medal at the world championships last year but hasn't met expectations this year due to an injured ankle. He has had to watch Goebel not only take his place on the international stage but also make history with three quad jumps in one program at Skate America, the first time that has been done.
Fortunately or unfortunately -- depending on your point of view -- ice skating has become all about jumping ability. In that respect, Goebel has the edge. But this is going to be a great event to watch because Goebel and Weiss are both going to try their quad jumps in the short program, then their jumps in the free skate. Two others who will fight it out for the podium are Trifun Zivanovic, last year's surprise silver-medal winner, and Matt Savoie, who has been skating well and has improved this season.
The pairs division has had a tragic year. Paul Binnebose, who with Laurie Handy won the bronze medal last year, had an accident at practice in which he fractured his skull and technically died twice before being revived. He is now recovering and doing very well, but obviously he and Laurie will not compete. I hope he will compete again as a pairs skater sometime down the line, and it is incredible how far he has come. Then you have the Hartsells, who won it last year. But Danielle shattered her kneecap during a practice in December to put an end to their season.
So we're left with Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman, who will be the favorites here. They have been inconsistent since coming together, though everyone talks about how much potential they have. This is their time to fulfill their potential. They are coached by the legendary Russian Tamara Moskvina, who also handles world champions Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze.
In the dance, there's another showdown between two teams. It is very interesting because you have two teams that are training partners and coached by the same people. Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev won last year. Then there's junior world and U.S. champs Jamie Silverstein and Justin Pekarek, who most people around figure skating see as the next big ice dance team from the United States. They have enormous potential but are not quite mature enough for the judges' tastes. Yet the judges have said this week that they will have no problem putting Silverstein and Pekarek on top of the podium if they deserve it and Lang and Tchernyshev don't skate extremely well.
On the whole, the ice dance lineup is deeper than it has been in the past. You can't go top to bottom and just pencil in each pair at a certain spot.
The nationals is the place that inspires the next generation of figure skaters, and it will always feature a few surprises. Going back to my first nationals in 1996 with Rudy Galindo in his hometown of San Jose, Calif., no one expected him to win the championship. Then in 1997, most had already handed it to Kwan when Lipinski won the championship. As you try to forecast what might happen at the nationals, you do so knowing that there will be some surprises.
The nationals sets up the world championship teams for the United States. Particularly in the ladies, that is a convoluted situation because many of the young skaters who have a chance to medal are not yet old enough to compete in the worlds. There are a number of skaters who, even if they finish in the top three at nationals, will have to compete at the junior world championships and win a medal there before they can qualify for the U.S. World team. The USFSA will work all of that out, and what they'll decide is anyone's guess.
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