SportsLine wire reports

SALT LAKE CITY -- Tara Lipinski took her Olympic gold medal and skated away, leaving Michelle Kwan in a class by herself, no one to stop her from collecting all the titles she wants in the next three years.

So guess who's having post-Lipinski withdrawal?

"I think it's great when the best skaters are out there. That is pure competition, that's what I love. So I do miss her," Kwan said Tuesday at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

"We were always like this," she said, holding up two fingers close together. "It was great for us. Every time I would go on the ice, I would always go out there and say, 'I need to work harder and harder because she is always there.' "

NOW KWAN HAS TO FIND A WAY to motivate herself. Without Lipinski, who gave up her eligibility six weeks after the Olympics, there may be other skaters on the ice, but there's no competition. She arrived this week with a nine-event winning streak. She won her second world title and the world professional title since leaving Nagano, and barring a freak injury or sudden abduction by aliens, she's the overwhelming favorite to win her third U.S. title this week.

And unless someone new comes along from the junior or novice ranks, that's not going to change over the next three years. Kwan and coach Frank Carroll are going to have to come up with new and creative ways to keep her interested.

"Michelle and I don't think of the nationals as an easy competition," Carroll said. "We respect this title very well and we plan to go after it with a vengeance. We're not here for casual play. We mean to skate well.

"I'd really like her to do a bang-up job here to show how much she's improved," he added. "I think she's really going to do it up right."

OF COURSE, THERE'S ALWAYS THE OBVIOUS motivation of wanting to make up for her silver medal at Nagano. After going into the Olympics as the favorite, she had to be just devastated when Lipinski won the gold and she had to settle for the dreaded silver, right?

Not exactly.

For anyone who thinks Kwan's sticking around until 2002 just so she can exorcise some demons, Kwan's got one thing to say: Get a life.

"I don't think if I could go back in time, I don't think I'd change anything," she said, her voice strong and sure. "It helped me grow as a person and as an athlete. So I think it was good. It was meant to be.

"Right now, I feel I'm stronger than ever. From the Nagano experience, it's helped me mentally and pushed me further."