Oct. 31, 1999 1:18 AM Reuters

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, Oct 30 (Reuters) - American figure skating star Michelle Kwan was clearly the class of the women's field, easily winning her fourth Skate America title in six tries, but a new star may have been born among the men.

American Tim Goebel settled for a silver medal, but he raised the bar for the future by becoming the first skater to successfully land three quadruple jumps in competition, a feat that left the favorites impressed.

Flaws in the rest of Goebel's routine and a start from third place after Friday's short program allowed two-time world champion Alexei Yagudin of Russia to hold onto first place and take the Skate America men's gold medal.

But Yagudin doubled his only attempt at a quad and stumbled out of his eighth and final triple jump. Despite taking gold, the Russian appeared awed by Goebel's performance.

"He's pushing us to do more. I need to think about that," Yagudin said.

Canadian three-time world champion Elvis Stojko, who was the first skater ever to land a quad in competition, took the bronze medal and had high praise for Goebel's effort.

"It's inevitable progress. Amazing to see, but that's the way the sport is going," Stojko said.

"I'm overwhelmed to be in the company of Alexei and Elvis," Goebel said. "Before the event I was aiming for the top five."

Kwan so impressed the judges with her all new routine that the two-time world champion drew a perfect 6.0 from the Austrian judge despite a fall.

It was the 42nd career 6.0 for the 19-year-old Olympic silver medalist but the first one given for a performance in which she fell. Kwan landed six perfect triple jumps but fell on the seventh, a flip.

"It's a complete contrast. People have followed me for so many years, I wanted to do something totally different," she said of her long program to music called "Red Violin".

"The marks for artistry were outstanding. They make me very pleased, particularly considering she had a mistake," said Kwan's longtime coach Frank Carroll.

"It's a really tough program. I think it takes a great artist to perform to it."

Skate America '99 is the first of six stops on the Grand Prix series, which culminates with the top performers competing in the final in Lyon, France in January.

Canadian newcomers Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, competing internationally for only the third time, turned in a magnificent performance to capture the pairs title.

The duo sped over the ice in a series of daring and original lifts, making only one minor error in an emotionally charged routine to music from the film "Love Story".

The winning routine was choreographed by Lori Nichol, who devises Kwan's critically acclaimed programs. "She brings out the best in us," said Sale.

Their far more experienced rivals all made multiple mistakes, including twice world champions and Olympic silver medalists Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze of Russia, who settled for third.

The Russian favorites blamed their difficulty on the thin air with the Rocky Mountain venue at an altitude of 6,100 feet (1,859 m).

"If the world championship or Olympic Games is at altitude our Federation pays for extra time to adjust, but that was not so here," said their coach Tamara Moskvina.

Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio of Italy presented an energetic "Lord of the Dance" routine to win the ice dance title, overtaking Russians Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh, who had led after the first two rounds.

"This is our first Grand Prix win," said a delighted Fusar-Poli. "We have competed against the Russians many times, maybe twenty times, and this is the first time we win."