This had been her season all the way.  She made a triumphant comeback to skating after almost giving up the sport two years ago.  This year she persuaded the Russian skating federation to send her to Skate Canada to face Michelle Kwan early in the season, and she won that contest.  She beat Kwan again in the Grand Prix final, and looked ready to take her first World Championship.

But it was not to be. Perhaps believing that only technical superiority could secure a victory, Slutskaya overreached a jump by a millimeter, landed with a slight bobble, and gave away the competition in a split-second -- Kwan had left no room for error. But watch for Irina to come back more determined than ever next year with the Olympic gold medal at stake.