NAGANO, Japan -- Although it's not exactly Tonya vs. Nancy, this Olympics has its own figure skating soap opera with Michelle vs. Tara.

And don't forget Nicole.

American

Tara Lipinski prepares for her showdown with Michelle Kwan. (AP)

teen-agers Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski, on much better terms than Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan ever were, resume their rivalry Wednesday when women's figure skating begins at the Olympics with the short program.

And Nicole Bobek is something more than just an interested bystander.

FOR KWAN AND LIPINSKI, this is the next chapter of what has become a compelling battle on ice, two champions going skate to skate. Kwan, 17, won the world and national titles in 1996, and then Lipinski, 15, took them both in 1997.

That brings us to 1998 and the Olympics. Kwan comes in as the favorite after recapturing the national title last month in a wave of perfect 6.0 scores from the judges. Lipinski fell in the short program and needed a rally to finish second.

Caught in the crossfire is Bobek, 20, often overlooked in the excitement generated by the two champions, but also a real medal threat. She was third at the nationals and could be the final piece in an unprecedented gold-silver-bronze sweep for the United States.

CBS, hoping that women's figure skating can rally its slumping Olympic ratings, will show the short program Wednesday night. Also scheduled is coverage of the men's giant slalom and cross-country skiing.

FIGURE SKATING TRADITIONALLY PROVIDES some of the best drama at the Olympics and the three-way battle between the Americans could add to that history.

Kwan and Lipinski bring different styles to their Olympic showdown. Kwan is more artistic, skating to classical music. Lipinski, equipped with a unique triple loop-triple loop, is more athletic and prefers movie sound tracks.

Both choose to play down their rivalry. "We're not the best of friends," Kwan said, "but I think we have a friendly relationship."

That leaves Bobek. After she finished third at the nationals, Richard Callaghan, who coaches Lipinski, talked about an Olympic sweep.

Bobek liked the sound of that.

"ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE," SHE SAID. "I am really just focused on going out there and doing what I know I can do. I want to know I did well and that I did the best I could.

"I have never worked so hard in my life. I have never put so much emotion into it. The last two weeks, I cried every day after practice. I put so much emotion into it."

Kwan is happy with the favorite's role.

"That's great, that a lot of people have confidence in me," she said. "But there are a lot of great skaters out there. You don't think about winning Olympic gold. My winning program is to skate well, and that's what I have to do."

Lipinski doesn't mind chasing her rival at this stage.

"I like being the underdog," she said. "It gives me a lot of things to think about and keeps me motivated."

ONLY FIVE AMERICAN WOMEN HAVE WON figure skating gold -- Tenley Albright in 1956, Carol Heiss, 1960; Peggy Fleming, 1968; Dorothy Hamill, 1976; and Kristi Yamaguchi, 1992. Albright and Heiss were 1-2, the only gold-silver finish for the United States.

One of the roadblocks to a possible U.S. sweep was removed when Germany's Tanja Szweczenko withdrew on the eve of the competition because of illness. She had been running a fever and had no power in her practices.

That marked the second straight Olympics mishap for the German. She suffered a bruised hip in 1994 when she crashed into gold medalist Oksana Baiul during training on the eve of the long program at Lillehammer.

Other medal threats include Russians Irina Slutskaya and Maria Butyrskaya, and China's Lu Chen.

For the short program, skaters must do eight required elements in 2 minutes, 40 seconds, with the performance worth one-third of the final score.