ATLANTA (AP) - The rivals come and go, and so do the years. The only constant is Michelle Kwan and her brilliance on the ice.
The ``old lady'' of figure skating taught her latest challengers a thing or two Saturday night, winning her eighth national title and seventh in a row with a style, grace and determination that no one can match.
And she did it with a pile of perfect 6.0s. Seven of them for artistry as she swept the nine-judge panel. She has 35 perfect marks in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but they still leave her speechless. When the marks flashed on the scoreboard, her mouth dropped open and she buried her face in coach Rafael Arutunian's shoulder as the audience roared.
Only one of the sport's greats, Maribel Vinson, has more U.S. championships, with nine. Kwan also owns five world championship crowns, tying Carol Heiss Jenkins for the most by an American woman.
``I don't know what to say. I just don't know,'' Kwan said. ``I've not swallowed the whole evening in quite yet.''
When she does, she will be as dazzled as the adoring crowd. Kwan won her first national title in 1996 at the tender age of 15. Eight years later, she remains the gold standard in a sport where champions come and go as quickly as the fashions of those quirky costumes.
Though short program winner Sasha Cohen left Kwan an opening after botching two jumps, Kwan didn't need it. She was more than good enough to win on her own. Cohen was second. Jennifer Kirk was third.
At 23, Kwan put on a performance that stands up athletically to any of the mighty mites. Though she doesn't have the triple-triple combination, what she does is so superior it doesn't matter.
Her jumps were as sure and strong at the end of her four-minute program as they were in the beginning. The quickness of her jumps, their flow, their landings - everything was so perfect it could be sold as an instructional video.
But it's her presence on the ice that's simply magical. When she finished her last jump, a triple lutz, and began her footwork, it was as if the arena got a jolt of electricity. With her hands to the heavens, almost sprinting down the ice, Kwan flew down the ice in a victory lap.
``On that footwork at the end, I was like, 'Yeah!''' Kwan said.
The audience roared with adoration, their applause the same cadence as the beats in ``Tosca.'' They rose to their feet with 30 seconds left in the program, and their cheers were so loud they drowned out the finale of the music.
When Kwan finished, she threw her head and arms back, and punched her fists. Stuffed animals began raining down on the ice, and her eyes filled with tears.
``Wow! It seemed like in warmup, I was having so much fun - the music, the crowd, the energy,'' Kwan said. ``Everything came together tonight.''
For Cohen, it was another lost opportunity. She has all the makings of a superstar, with superior athletic ability and the grace and elegance of a ballerina. But her mind has never been as strong as her body, and she has a nasty habit of faltering when it matters most.
The Salt Lake City Olympics. Last year's national championships. The 2003 world championships in Washington. Each time Cohen went into the free skate with a chance to medal, if not win. And each time, she tumbled off the podium.
After winning the three Grand Prix events she entered earlier this season, she lost her last two competitions, falling six times. A coaching switch - she left Tatiana Tarasova for Robin Wagner, Sarah Hughes' former coach - seemed to rejuvenate Cohen, and she appeared to have a new confidence after winning the short program Thursday night.
When her ``Swan Lake'' music started, though, it was the same old Sasha. She was elegant, including a lovely scratch spin with one arm bent above her head.
But she didn't have anything resembling her usual fire.
``It was kind of good, but not what I wanted,'' Cohen said. ``Every program I practiced went better than that.''
She skated with a caution she rarely has, as if she was skating not to lose rather than to win. And when you don't attack a program, it usually winds up coming after you. On her triple toe loop, a jump that's normally automatic for her, she looked as if she spun off the ice instead of jumping.
Just like a top, she fell over.
``My timing was a little bit off,'' she said. ``I felt like I went for it, but my arms went faster than my legs. It's definitely an easy jump for me, but I was pretty tired at that point. That makes it a lot tougher.''
She also two-footed her second triple lutz. She finished her program strongly, and smiled broadly as she waited for her marks. One judge gave her a 6.0 for artistry, and Cohen gasped when she saw it.
``Wow,'' Cohen said. ``That's really nice.''
More like a gift. That performance wasn't close to perfection, and the rest of her marks reflected that. She received 5.6 to 5.8 for technical merit, and after the 6.0, mostly 5.8s for artistry.
That left the door open for Kwan, and she proceeded to kick it down.