Upon landing, she cried out, 'Yes!' The crowd, recognizing history in this 5'1', 105-pound package of fist-clenching grit, roared. Forty-five seconds into her routine, Harding stroked the length of the ice, coiled and sprang to an improbable height. If she missed it and didn't completely fall apart, it was likely she would remain in second place, since Kerrigan, too, had fallen during her free skating program. If she landed the triple Axel and skated cleanly, she might beat Yamaguchi. Harding took the ice without a great deal to lose. But her marks were high: 5.7's and 5.8's for technical merit, 5.8's and 5.9's for artistic impression. She touched down only once, falling while attempting a triple Salchow. Yamaguchi skated her four-minute free skating program first and was mesmerizing.

At the same time, she moved to Edmonton to train with her coach, Christy Kjarsgaard Ness, and began lifting (very, very small) weights for strength. Yamaguchi's hand was further strengthened because compulsory figures, the weakest part of her skating, are now a separate event. Last spring, Yamaguchi gave up pairs skating-she and partner Rudy Galindo were 1989 and '90 U.S. The beneficiary of Trenary's ill fortune was expected to be 19-year-old Kristi Yamaguchi, from Fremont, Calif., who had finished second to Trenary in each of the last two years.

'All the girls came here really well trained.' 'It was, like, open up the gates and let out the wild animals,' said Harding's choreographer, Barbara Flowers. or anywhere else-despite the absence of three-time national and defending world champion Jill Trenary, who withdrew before the competition because of an infection in her right ankle. Harding won her first national title by outshining what was one of the best women's fields in years-in the U.S.

Swift iceman killer instinct