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Kwan doesn't win but helps U.S.
Associated Press
NAGANO, Japan — Michelle Kwan helped the United States qualify three women for next year's figure skating world championships.
She may not be one of them.
Kwan won her seventh consecutive medal at the world championships that concluded Saturday. Whether she will go for an eighth straight remains to be seen.
Based on this year's results, the Americans have three men, women and pairs, but just two ice dance teams in the 2003 worlds in Washington.
After losing the world title she held for the past two years — and four of the past seven — Kwan said she would consider her options, though she ruled out turning professional.
"I know for sure I want to go back to school. I know I don't want to turn pro. I know I love competing. I don't know how much I am going to do. I am just going to take one thing at a time," she said.
Still, her second-place finish in Nagano and Sasha Cohen's fourth put the Americans well under the total of 13 points needed to qualify three women for next year's world championships.
Despite Sarah Hughes' Olympic victory in Salt Lake City, it meant nothing for the entry list next year. Only this year's world championship results are considered.
Hughes' replacement, Jennifer Kirk, had to withdraw with an injury. If Kwan had withdrawn, and her replacement placed low, it would have eliminated a spot in 2003.
The men also were comfortably within the limit, with Tim Goebel second and Michael Weiss sixth.
Matt Savoie, the replacement for Todd Eldredge, was 12th, but his placement doesn't count because only the top two are taken into consideration.
Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman placed third in pairs, and the seventh-place finish by Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn gave the United States three entries next year.
Only the ice dance will have less than the maximum three entries. Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev were ninth, and Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto were 13th.
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March 25, 2002
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