Word: kwan
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Four years ago in Nagano, young Tara Lipinski "pulled a Tara," leaping over Michelle Kwan without nicking her to take the gold medal. In figure skating circles that immediately became known as pulling a Tara because, under the rules of skate scoring - rules so arcane and cryptic and convoluted (and, as we know, so easily abused) - no one is allowed to pass anyone in the rankings unless the pre-disposed judges say they can. Yet Tara did just that, turning in a long program performance so astonishing that the judges could not deny her superiority. And so they moved...
Even so, getting to the podium won't be a slap shot for Hughes. Cohen, a gifted performer, is as much a master of the mental game as she is of the triple Lutz. At last month's nationals she clipped Kwan twice during the warm-up before their final programs, rattling Kwan enough that she cut short the prep for her jumps. Cohen denied the hockey tactics were intentional, but gamesmanship may be part of her package. "I'm always trying to be on top of the podium," she says. Hampered by a back injury last year, Cohen...
...that elusive esprit that Kwan is hoping to capture, something she hasn't been able to do since her 1998 performance at the nationals, a month before Nagano. Without a coach but with a boyfriend and college classes as part of her life, Kwan says, "I have a different motivation now. I feel I have to take control of my skating at this moment." If she can harness it successfully, Kwan could add Olympic gold to the four world and six national titles she holds...
That's an ambitious move, but after patiently working her way up the ranks, Hughes knows she can match Kwan, and anyone else, on the ice. For Hughes, who once admired Kwan from across a restaurant, it's time to win some admirers...
That dry spell may end in Salt Lake City, if either Irina Slutskaya, 22, or Maria Butyrskaya, 29, skate to their potential. While their shaky performances at last month's European championships bode well for the Americans, Slutskaya has defeated Michelle Kwan each time they have competed this season, while Butyrskaya grabbed gold from Kwan at the 1999 world championships...