Meissner confident heading into long program

Posted on Saturday, January 27th, 2007 at 1:40 am

With an afternoon to kill, Kimmie Meissner figured she’d chill out. Maybe take in a movie. Practice a little, too, of course.

Nowhere on the schedule, though, was there time for panic.

The Bel Air teen may be four minutes from winning her first title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but this is the easy part.

“After the short program, it’s a lot better,” she said. “The long is kind of my area. The short makes me nervous.”

The reigning world champion overcame her jitters and lived up to her favored status Thursday, easily winning the short program. Though the new judging system makes it easier for skaters to jump in the standings, somebody will have to skate awfully well to catch Meissner.

She leads Bebe Liang by more than three points going into Saturday afternoon’s free skate. Emily Hughes is third.

“The opportunity is there,” said Meissner’s coach, Pam Gregory. “She set herself up beautifully, and she’s prepared.”

Has a neat little good-luck charm, too.

On their way home from getting this year’s long program from choreographer Lori Nichol, Meissner and her mother, Judy, stopped to see relatives in Buffalo, N.Y.

When they played the new long program music, Meissner’s aunt recognized it. Turns out, she was skating to “Galicie Flamenco” — and Galicie is the area in Spain where her great-grandparents were from.

Meissner now has a piece of black lace from her great-grandmother, Paulina Novo, as well as a mantilla.

“I was going to try and put it in my costume,” she said, “but I didn’t want to cut it up.”

Meissner won’t do the triple axel Saturday, but her program is still loaded with tricks. She plans two triple-triple combinations in the first minute of the program, and a three-jump combination at the end.

She also plans to show off her new artistic side.

If there’s been a drawback to Meissner’s skating, it’s been her artistry. It’s not always easy for a teenager to interpret music, and many skate as if they’re simply going through the motions. Even in practice, though, the work Meissner has put in is evident. Her arm movements punctuate the beats perfectly, and her jumps emphasize the notes.

“Anything can happen,” Gregory said. “She’s prepared, but she has to lay down a good program.”