RICHMOND HILL, Ontario, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Canada's three-time world figure skating champion Elvis Stojko said a sore left knee will not hamper his performance at next week's Skate America in Colorado Springs.

"I was doing some fitness testing a couple of weeks ago and my knee was bothering me, so I came home a little early to get some treatment on it. But, it's not a problem before I leave for Skate America (Oct. 29-31), and head over to Skate Canada (Nov. 4-7)," Stojko said Tuesday in a teleconference from his home in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

After parting company with his long-time coach Doug Leigh last spring, Stojko moved south to train in Philadelphia with choreographer Uschi Keszler.

It was there, Stojko said, after some intense cardiovascular fitness testing on a steeply inclined treadmill that he started to feel pain in his knee which got progressively worse.

"It's not an issue at the moment," said Stojko, a firm believer in the healing power of acupuncture.

The 1994, 1995 and 1997 world champion and twice Olympic silver medalist relied heavily on acupuncture treatments to speed recovery from the serious groin injury that thwarted his 1998 Olympic gold medal hopes. Still, he struggled to regain his pre-injury form last season, and settled for fourth at the 1999 World Championships.

At Skate America, first stop on the six-event Grand Prix series, Stojko will be up against Russia's reigning world champion Alexei Yagudin and American bronze medalist Michael Weiss.

A week later at Skate Canada in Saint John, New Brunswick, Stojko will again face Yagudin as well as Japan's fifth-ranked Takeshi Honda and American Todd Eldredge, the 1996 world champion who sat out the Grand Prix last season.

"It's good that I'm going out with a number of the stronger guys that are out there really pushing forward," said Stojko who promised quadruple toe loop jumps in both his short and long programs.

Stojko, 27, emphasized, however, that his main goal is to peak for the 2000 World Championships in France next March.

Ironically, the Canadian figure skater reported that he has taken up ice hockey since relocating to the United States.

"That's been a good thing for me to be able to get out on the ice and shoot some pucks around. I'm still on the ice and having fun with the guys. You have that crossover that you don't usually see between hockey and figure skating," said Stojko, noting he usually plays hockey two nights a week and shoots 200 to 300 pucks in the mornings when no one else is at the rink.

The $2.3 million Grand Prix Series, with events also in Germany, France, Russia and Japan, concludes with a final competition for the top points finishers next January.