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Friday, February 22, 2002

By Lori Shontz, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

SALT LAKE CITY -- When she landed the final triple jump of her long program last night, Sarah Hughes pumped her fist and squealed with excitement -- but she had no idea what she was really celebrating.

Sarah Hughes receives the gold medal from former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, as bronze medalist Michelle Kwan looks on. (Amy Sancetta, Associated Press)

Thirty minutes later, after the top three skaters from the short program made mistakes in their long program, Hughes learned she had upset Michelle Kwan, the skater she had idolized as a beginner, and won the Olympic gold medal.

She and her coach, Robin Wagner, screamed with disbelief backstage, and no wonder. No one had ever come from fourth place after the short program to win an Olympic gold medal.

"It's probably my greatest skate ever," Hughes said, unable to keep a giant smile off her face. "It's great it happened the night of the Olympic long program."

Hughes, 16, of Great Neck, N.Y., skated a perfect long program, landing seven triples and becoming the first woman in Olympic history to land two triple-triple combinations. She was so astonished by her performance that she cried when she came off the ice, and when she was interviewed by NBC after the results were announced, all she could do when asked her about winning the gold medal was laugh.

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"When I finished and the crowd roared, it's really a moment I'll remember forever," she said later.

Kwan, 21, who was trying to win the only prize she has failed to get during her distinguished career, was foiled for the second consecutive Olympic Games by a younger skater who performed with more energy and greater technical skill.

Four years ago in Nagano, Japan, Tara Lipinski skated the performance of her life and went home with a gold medal, leaving Kwan -- who had skated cleanly but without the fire of her perfect performances at the Olympic trials -- with the silver.

Last night, after Hughes skated the performance of her life, Kwan followed up with a performance that had two major errors.

She failed to land her planned triple-triple combination, two-footing the first triple toe loop and turning the second triple toe into a double. She also fell on a triple flip, and as a result she settled for bronze.

"I think I was a little more disappointed in Nagano just because I skated much better," she said. "Tonight was one of those things, it didn't go well. I guess it's different. Both ended up crying."

The silver medal when to Russia's Irina Slutskaya, who landed six triples, some sloppy, but didn't fall the way Kwan did. Her performance actually gave the gold medal to Hughes; for Hughes to win, Slutskaya had to finish ahead of Kwan in the long program.

"I was so surprised with my second marks," said Slutskaya, whose artistic marks ranged from 5.6 to 5.9. "Every year I have good first mark and down second mark. It's sport. But it's really a shame. I worked so hard this year for the second mark. In all my competitions I have high second marks, 5.8 and 5.9. Here, I see 5.6 and I have shock."

Hughes, who had appeared nervous and stiff during the short program, looked like a different skater tonight. She even smiled while waiting to be introduced.

Wearing a new gray dress with sequins and skating to music from Ravel, Daphnis et Chloe, Hughes warmed up with her first jump, a double axel. She then progressed to a triple salchow, triple loop (and a big smile), and a triple lutz, double toe loop and triple flip. Ninety seconds into her program, Hughes had landed four perfect triples.

She made history a little later, with a triple toe loop, triple loop (and another big smile).

The energy in the final 90 seconds of the program came not from the music change she and her coach had made to put more excitement into the ending, but from Hughes' obvious elation with her performance.

The judges had to leave room for the skaters to follow, but Hughes received seven 5.8s and two 5.7s for technical merit and six 5.8s, two 5.7s and a 5.6 for presentation.

The third American skater, Sasha Cohen, who was third after the short program, finished fourth after falling on her triple lutz, triple toe loop combination.

Hughes and Wagner watched Cohen's performance, and when they saw the scores they knew Hughes was going home with a medal. They said they didn't pay much attention to Kwan or Slutskaya, and they realized Hughes' medal would be gold only after an NBC cameraman told them.

"We were both so shocked," Wagner said. "It wasn't really on the radar screen."