ESPN.com: Figure Skating

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Her jumps were no more difficult than they were a few years ago. She was too cautious, skating with too much reserve, lacking that pure joy that made her performances so magical.

She was, dare we say it, beatable.

Well take that, naysayers! Kwan answered her critics with her fifth title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, staging her two best programs since the 1998 Olympic trials.

"It doesn't get easier. It gets harder and harder," she said Saturday night. "You have to stay on top of your game."

Kwan certainly was. Her short program was magnificent, filled with a power, beauty and grace no one in the world can match, and it earned her seven perfect 6.0s.

Her free skate may not have had the same breathtaking energy, but it was vintage Kwan. She even tossed in a triple toe loop in the closing seconds to make up for the combination she botched earlier.

The program earned her two more perfect marks.

With five U.S. titles, Kwan now has as many as such Olympic gold medalists as Peggy Fleming and Tenley Albright. This was her fourth straight, the first woman to accomplish such a feat since Linda Fratianne in 1980.

"To be in the same category as Tenley Albright, I still can't believe it," Kwan said, choking up. "It's pretty amazing."

Kwan knows she still has room to improve with the Salt Lake City Olympics only a year away. All she has to do is look at the other two skaters on the medals podium.

Silver medalist Sarah Hughes is a 15-year-old on the rise. Though she lacks Kwan's polish, she gets closer every year and has the technical edge to be a real threat.

Angela Nikodinov seems finally to be living up to her potential, skating the two best programs of her career to finish third. Portraying "Sleeping Beauty" in the free skate, her presentation was world class and she landed six triple jumps, though none in combination.

"People, particularly the media, they like to see a rivalry, they want to see a challenge. It makes a good story," said Frank Carroll, Kwan's longtime coach. "There will always be someone to challenge Michelle. I don't think she takes it for granted she's going to be No. 1."

That challenge is not only good for Kwan, it's good for the United States. Kwan, Hughes and Nikodinov will be a formidable trio at the world championships if they duplicate their performances at nationals.

Throw in Jennifer Kirk, Amber Corwin and 12-year-old mighty mite Beatrisa Liang - not to mention Naomi Nari Nam and Sasha Cohen, who withdrew because of injuries - and the United States is shaping up quite nicely for Salt Lake City.

"The depth in our women's field in the United States is quite extraordinary," said Robin Wagner, Hughes' coach. "We had two incredible nights of skating. I think there's still more to come."

If only the U.S. men and pairs could say the same thing.

With only two spots available for the world championships and Todd Eldredge, Michael Weiss and Timothy Goebel vying for them, this was touted as the toughest men's competition at nationals since 1994. Instead, it was a train wreck.

Weiss, the two-time defending champion, melted down so badly he did he not make the world team; he's the SECOND alternate. He didn't land a jump until 3:17 into his program, and managed only two clean triples.

The top six women all managed more triples than Weiss.

Eldredge finished second despite popping his quad, trying only three kinds of triple jumps and landing five triples. His double salchow and double loop were quite nice - if he were still a novice.

Goebel won his first national title, but it was hardly an inspiring performance. He proved again he's got an impressive set of springs, landing a quadruple jump, two triple axels and four other triples.

But unless he finds a way to put some life and feeling into his program, he'll have a tough time getting on the medals podium at worlds.

"I think I speak for both when I say this was not our best night of skating. We can both do more, much more, technically, and we've proven that all season," Goebel said, referring to Eldredge and himself. "But nationals, you have to remember, is probably the hardest competition of the year. It decides our entire next season."

That must have been the excuse for the pairs teams, too. There were more falls (14) than couples (13) in the free skate. Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman formed the only team that looked worthy of international competition, and even they made mistakes.

Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev won their third straight dance crown, but the silver medalists are a year removed from the junior ranks and not even eligible for the Olympics.

If not for Kwan and the rest of the women, these national championships would have been a real dud.

"I'm trying the best I can," Kwan said. "All this week, I felt I can do this, I still belong. It doesn't feel like I have to prove myself again."