PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The crowning of Michelle Kwan as figure skating's new queen will have to wait at least another year.
Nicole Bobek, 17, of Chicago, was the surprise women's winner in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships Saturday night at the Providence Civic Center.
Bobek hit on five of six triple jumps, and had great height on all of them in a tightly contested long program. Her artistry was clearly more attractive than the performances of runner-up Kwan, 14, and third-place Tonia Kwiatkowski, 24.
Kwan's fall on a triple Lutz late in her program sealed the title for Bobek. The top two finishers will participate in the World Championships next month in Birmingham, England.
Bobek was first on seven of the nine judges' cards.
"This means a lot," said Bobek. "It goes to show that a lot of hard work, all the pain and all the suffering was worth it."
Bobek was on a mission, trying to dispel her image as a party animal and chain smoker. Bobek had not won a skating title since the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1991 and has a history of poor training habits. She has changed coaches 11 times in 12 years, and once was intoxicated at a world junior championship.
Bobek finally settled late last summer on Richard Callaghan, who also trains Todd Eldredge, winner of the men's title Saturday afternoon.
Callaghan became Bobek's third coach in six months.
"My main goal was to show everybody that I was ready and prepared," said Bobek. "I wanted to show people that I had discipline. There have been a lot of rumors circulating about me, and I wanted to prove they were not true.
"I go to church every Sunday," said Bobek, smiling.
Kwan, from Lake Arrowhead, Calif., was the favorite, especially after placing second in the nationals last year in Detroit.
"Nicole is a real tough cookie under pressure, and we had no illusions of grandeur coming in," said Frank Carroll, Kwan's coach.
Kwan said: "I skated well. I missed a Lutz and a loop. I didn't think the pressure got to me, but that little fall turned out to be big."
Eldredge, 24, had just as tough a time edging two-time defending champion Scott Davis for the men's title. Eldredge, of Detroit, completed a three-year comeback with a stunning long program by executing seven triple jumps, including two triple axels -- one in combination -- and a triple flip toe loop combination.
"It has been a long time since I've been on this podium," said Eldredge, who won in 1990 and 1991 and joins Dick Button, Hayes Jenkins, David Jenkins, Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano as having won three.
Davis, 23, of Colorado Springs, Colo., basically had two mistakes -- putting his hand on the ice during a triple axel and stepping out of a triple flip -- but that was enough to give Eldredge the title.