Kwan makes U.S. team thanks to medical bye

ST. LOUIS — Without ever putting her blades on the ice, Michelle Kwan made the U.S. figure skating team heading to the Torino Olympics — with national champion Sasha Cohen right by her side.

Kwan missed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships with a groin injury. But the selection committee gave the nine-time U.S. and five-time world champion a medical bye Saturday night, placing her on the team with Kimmie Meissner and ahead of third-place finisher Emily Hughes.

"I thought just standing on the podium at nationals was such a great feeling for me to be third," Hughes, the little sister of 2002 Olympic champion Sarah, said before the decision was announced. "Whatever decision they make, I think it will be a good one. I'm going to go home and train because you never know what will happen."

Cohen automatically got a spot as the national champion.

"It's a hard decision for whoever has to make it. I hope the best decision is made," Cohen said before the decision was announced. "I know they worked hard all year, and it would be nice for them to go since they earned their spots."

But Kwan has earned another shot at that elusive gold medal, too. Though she's skated sparingly over the last few years and was fourth at the world championshps in March, she's been the face of figure skating for the last decade.

And while she may not be the same skater who went to Nagano and Salt Lake City as the gold-medal favorite, she remains a contender. Even though she finished fourth at worlds, only Cohen has higher scores under the sport's new judging system. Hughes' best finish at an international event was a bronze medal at last year's junior worlds.

The committee also had a report from a doctor, who examined Kwan on Thursday. The Olympic silver and bronze medalist jumped Friday for the first time since Dec. 17.

Cohen didn't need any help from the selection. She earned it all on her own with her very first national title. She finished with 199.18 points, more than 28 points ahead of second place Meissner.

"I've got a lot of silvers in different shoeboxes in storage units all over the place. But I think the gold one will have a special place," said Cohen, who couldn't take her eyes off the medal during the awards ceremony.