Short Program

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The thin air and sparse crowd seemed to take the wind out of Kimmie Meissner's sails during her short program last night at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. The reigning world and national champion found herself in sixth place after an underwhelming performance that began with a fall on the front end of a triple-triple jump combination and wobbled into her least favorite spin -- the layback. Four Continents Championships Through tomorrow, Colorado Springs, Colo.

New routine? Check. New dresses? Check New teeth? Double check. In the figure skating world, where girls become young women in the blink of a season, Allison Timlen is pushing warp speed. Four weeks from now, she'll make her debut as a junior lady at the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships, where she hopes to wow judges and fans with a more mature persona and a brand-new long program to match. Her goal is a top-six finish in a field of 12 skaters and a place on the U.S. team.

READING, Pa. -- The present and future of U.S. women's figure skating sit in first and third place after the short program at Skate America, the first Grand Prix event of the season. Kimmie Meissner, 18, the national champion and former world champion, skated a solid, butterfly-free program for a score of 59.24. Her technical and artistic scores led the field, and she enters today's free skate with a cushion of 2.76 points. Skate America At Reading, Pa.; women's free skate, today, 4 p.m., chs. 11, 4

Evan Lysacek's coach, Frank Carroll, had one major hope for his skater going into Thursday's Olympic free skate final. "I want him to grab this opportunity and make it something special," Carroll said, "because so few skaters have this chance." Lysacek did all that and more at the Pacific Coliseum. Shaking off the suffocating pressure of the moment -- which actually lasted four minutes, 30 seconds -- Lysacek delivered a brilliant, career-best performance to become the first U.S. man to win the Olympic skating gold medal since Brian Boitano in 1988.

KITCHENER, Ontario - Fame comes at a price. For Kimmie Meissner, the bill arrived yesterday in the qualifying round of the World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Meissner did not look like the skater who won the bronze medal at the U.S. championships in January. She fell twice and failed to complete one jump, but still managed to finish 10th out of 43 skaters, with a score of 81.94. She will skate her short program today and her free skate Thursday. "It wasn't my best," said the 15-year-old from Bel Air, trying to make light of her performance.

PHILADELPHIA -- Michelle Kwan flipped.Tara Lipinski flopped.That's all you have to know about what happened here yesterday at the CoreStates Center in the ladies short program of this year's U.S. Figure Skating Championships.Kwan, the former world and American champion coming back from a foot injury that sidelined her for a month last fall, skated to near perfection after sleeping in rather than practicing.Lipinski, the reigning world and U.S. champion coming off her victory at last month's Champions Series in Germany, botched her triple flip and all but eliminated her chance at a repeat.

OSAKA, Japan -- Kimmie Meissner gave herself a pat on the back for her free program in Paris. She deserves another one for her short program in the NHK Trophy competition yesterday. The Bel Air 16-year-old improved on her previous best short-program score with an effort last night that included the highest-scoring jump combination of the evening - a triple lutz-triple toe loop that she never did in the Paris Grand Prix meet, falling during the first part. She ranks third here behind Carolina Kostner of Italy, the world championships' bronze medalist.

MOSCOW - Michelle Kwan had been in a disconcertingly unfamiliar position. For the first time in 11 years, Kwan skated so poorly in one phase of a championship she did not qualify for the leaders' group of six in the next phase, yesterday's short program at the 2005 World Championships. "It has been rough so far," Kwan said. "I didn't deserve to be in the last group." No wonder there was a look of relief on Kwan's face as she left the Luzhniki Sports Palace ice following her solid performance in the short program.

Tokyo -- Going into today's long program at the World Figure Skating Championships, Kimmie Meissner finds herself in a familiar spot: behind. Last year, she used the long program to make up a 5 1/2 -point deficit and springboard from fifth place to the top of the podium. This year, she starts one spot closer to the leader but needs to make up a gap of 7.28 points on leader Yu Na Kim of South Korea, who looked unbeatable in a flawless and fluid short program.

WASHINGTON - Michelle Kwan's face was a mask of intensity. The American was skating what she later described as a career-matching best performance, and the grace of her spins and spirals and the beauty of her jumps could be said to have brought serenity to the faces in her audience. But Kwan's face was not serene. "It's the poker face I use when I'm playing cards with my family," she said after finishing first in the women's short program at the 2003 world championships. "It was my game face.

1989: Kimberly Claire Meissner is born Oct. 4 in Towson. She is the youngest of four children. 1995: Meissner begins to skate as a 6-year-old when her backyard freezes. 2000: Meissner qualifies for the U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships on the juvenile level, where she places 16th. 2003: At 14, Meissner qualifies for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in the novice category and wins a national title by landing a triple lutz in the free skate portion of her program.

Director Bobcat Goldthwait will host the opening-night shorts program of the 11th annual Maryland Film Festival and will even bring along one of his short films. Goldthwait Home Movies, spotlighting a fictional 40th-anniversary reunion of the cast of the "original" Goldthwait Home Movies, will be among the eight short films shown at the Maryland Institute College of Art's Brown Center on the festival's opening night, set for 8 p.m. May 7. "It's unbelievably funny," says film festival head Jed Dietz, noting that Goldthwait's appearance jibes with the event's desire to showcase short films and the eclectic group of filmmakers who make and enjoy them.

EVERETT, Wash. - Moments after her first performance of the new Grand Prix season, Kimmie Meissner was already looking forward to her next. The former world and national champion from Bel Air took a spill on the second element of her short program at Skate America when she rushed the entrance to a triple flip, a jump that gave her problems last season. "I really thought I had it, and [the coaches] said, 'No, you were going to go down anyway,' " Meissner said. "It's not a big deal to me. I know I can fix it. I'm really excited about everything else."

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN -- When her short program was over yesterday, Kimmie Meissner smiled the smile of a champion, a smile few had seen in more than a year. It didn't matter that the judges placed her ninth at the World Figure Skating Championships or that instead of a triple-triple jump combination she performed a triple-double. When the music stopped and the cheers began, Meissner was upright and happy and just seven points behind the leader, Carolina Kostner of Italy. With every step, with every spin, with every spiral, the former world and U.S. champion showed glimpses of her old self and more.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- In basketball, a 12-point lead can disappear in four trips down the floor. But Kimmie Meissner isn't on the hardwood, and Mirai Nagasu, the leader going into tonight's long program at the U.S. figure skating championships, vows she can't be rattled. The defending U.S. champion saw her chances of repeating take a serious hit Thursday night, when three youngsters glided past her in the short program with performances that dazzled the crowd at Xcel Energy Center. Meissner's lead, established near the beginning of the evening, vanished in an hour.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Perhaps a young competitor best summed up the opening night of the U.S. women's figure skating championships. "I think at this nationals, anything can happen," said Rachael Flatt, 15, who stands in third place after the short program. Defending champion Kimmie Meissner rallied from an early tumble, but it wasn't enough to hold off a trio of dynamos who electrified the crowd at the Xcel Energy Center with performances worthy of a veteran. Meissner had to settle for fourth place with a score of 57.58 -- 5.33 points behind Flatt and a whopping 12.65 points behind the leader, Mirai Nagasu.

Final warm-up group, in skating order, for long program at White Ring arena.1. Michelle Kwan, 17, USA: First after short program. Music: "Lyra Angelica," performed by London Philharmonic, and "Gym Nopedie No. 3" by Erik Satie. Program: She plans seven triple jumps, two in combinations with doubles during the first minute. Could calm the drama quickly with a strong program.2. Irina Slutskaya, 19, Russia: Fifth after short program. Music: Russian folk tunes. Program: Has five triple jumps, three in the first 90 seconds.

READING, Pa. -- The present and future of U.S. women's figure skating sit in first and third place after the short program at Skate America, the first Grand Prix event of the season. Kimmie Meissner, 18, the national champion and former world champion, skated a solid, butterfly-free program for a score of 59.24. Her technical and artistic scores led the field, and she enters today's free skate with a cushion of 2.76 points. Skate America At Reading, Pa.; women's free skate, today, 4 p.m., chs. 11, 4

Tokyo -- Going into today's long program at the World Figure Skating Championships, Kimmie Meissner finds herself in a familiar spot: behind. Last year, she used the long program to make up a 5 1/2 -point deficit and springboard from fifth place to the top of the podium. This year, she starts one spot closer to the leader but needs to make up a gap of 7.28 points on leader Yu Na Kim of South Korea, who looked unbeatable in a flawless and fluid short program.