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Tuesday, March 28
Can Kwan win at worlds?

By Terry Gannon
Special to ABC Sports Online

I think it is an intriguing World Championships for the ladies. You have Michelle Kwan (USA), who is absolutely the greatest artist on ice in the world. But she is trying to keep pace with the others at the top in the technical aspects of the sport.

For the first time since her duels with Tara Lipinski, Kwan is entering a major competition without being the overwhelming favorite. She is one of the favorites, no question, but she is going to have to skate extremely well to win. You have Irina Slutskaya (RUS) and Maria Butyraskaya (RUS), who are certainly well known and established in the skating world.

Slutskaya has totally reinvented herself. After winning two European titles, she was skating so poorly last year that she almost quit the sport entirely. Now things have changed and she has won another European Championship. She has a new look. She has new training habits. She is in the best shape of her life. She also had a triple-triple combination in Grand Prix final. No woman had ever done this before.

Butyraskaya has the experience and is the defending world champion, so you know inside she has what it takes to win the title. Even though she has not recaptured last year's form, which won her the World Championship in Helsinki, you know that she is always capable.

And finally for the women, you throw in young Sarah Hughes (USA), who in her first trip to the World Championships last year finished seventh, which is incredible. Technically she is still too young to compete at the World Championships, but because she won a medal at last year's Junior World Championships, she is going back for the second time. And in terms of what she can do on the technical side of the sport, especially her triple-triple combination, she has a chance to finish in the top five.

Men
This is a great duel between two Russians who once trained together, were once coached by the same person, and now speak to each other as little as possible. These two are certainly not each other's best friend -- Evgeny Plushenko and Alexei Yagudin. Plushenko this season has completely dominated Yagudin. However, Yagudin is the two-time, defending world champion. I cannot wait to see this play out.

And then you throw into the mix three-time world champion Elvis Stojko (CAN). When all of the experts thought he would turn professional, he decided to remain an amateur and has said that his "best days on the ice are yet to come." He wants to go back to the Olympic Games. So for Stojko, this is an opportunity to prove to everyone else that they were wrong and he was right in making this decision.

And now the Americans. Many people have written off Michael Weiss (USA), who won the bronze medal at Worlds last year, because of injuries. But with his performance at the National Championships to win the gold medal again, Weiss has placed himself right back in the thick of things.

Timothy Goebel (USA) has a way to go artistically. But the fact that he can do three quads in one program puts him in the mix in any event that he enters.

Pairs
[Editor's Note: Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze were banned Sunday for testing positive for a prohibited stimulant.] Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze (RUS), two-time and reigning world champs, were struggling so badly earlier in the season that after leaving the ice, Anton took off his jacket and tossed it in the garbage can. In Skate Canada, they spent almost every moment off the ice away from each other. But now they seem to have gotten things back together at the right time, and they won a European Championship. They must be seen as the favorite, but their countrymen Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov (RUS) can on any given night be the best in the world. It depends on which night and which pair shows up.

Jamie Sale and David Pelletier (CAN) are the surprise couple of the season. The judges love them. The international scene is something they are comfortable with even though they have been together for only a short period of time. They can threaten the world champs. Zue Shen and Hongbo Zhao (China) probably are the most explosive pair in the world. They help make the pair's event as competitive as any discipline. This has been a great year to watch so many pairs emerge and the world champions be so vulnerable.

Ice Dance
If Marina Anissina and Gwendal (FRA) don't win, I will swim back to America. This is their showcase. This is the event where they establish themselves as the dominant ice dance team in the world. Due in part to the fact that the reigning world champs are unable to skate, there is no one who can match what Annisaa and Perizerat can do on the ice.

The goal of the American Champions, Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev, it to finish in the top six in the world. If they accomplish this, even with Jamie Silverstein and Justin Pekarek, who everyone views as the next great American ice dance team and maybe the best ever at some point. It is almost as if their future is secure in the minds of the judges. If Lang and Tchernyshev can finish in the top five, that would really say a lot about the future of US ice dancing.

ALSO SEE
Michelle Kwan wins fourth U.S. title

Weiss wins second U.S. figure skating title

Irina Slutskaya captures European title

Plushenko dethrones Yagudin

Nationals are full of surprises

AUDIO/VIDEO

Michelle Kwan wins Nationals (Courtesy: ABC Sports)
RealVideo: 56.6

Michael Weiss wins Nationals (Courtesy: ABC Sports)
RealVideo: 56.6

Lang and Tchernyshev win (Courtesy: ABC Sports)
RealVideo: 56.6

Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman win the pairs championship at Nationals (Courtesy: ABC Sports)
RealVideo: 56.6

Timothy Goebel earns silver (Courtesy: ABC Sports)
RealVideo: 56.6

ABC Sports Special feature on Naomi Nari Nam and Sasha Cohen
RealVideo: 56.6