By Barry Wilner
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Michelle Kwan could have done this in her sleep.

Kwan practically tumbled out of bed to beat Russia's Elena Sokolova and U.S. teammate Sasha Cohen, winning her qualifying group at the World Figure Skating Championships. Olympic champion Sarah Hughes was sixth.

"It's odd to skate so early, compete so early," said Kwan, whose Wednesday session began at 10:30 a.m. "But all the skaters are in the same boat."

Well, they wish they were in the same boat as Kwan.

Considered the "old lady" of the sport - her first worlds were in 1994 - the 22-year-old Kwan remains a force. The lack of an Olympic title has had little or no effect on her. Kwan tends to perform steadily, and better than the competition.

She skated in only two events this year, not having to leave this country for Skate America and the U.S. Championships. She won both, taking her seventh national title and sixth in a row.

Now Kwan leads at worlds, where she has won four times. Only Carol Heiss and Dick Button have won five among Americans.

"Ah, it just felt like another competition," Kwan said with a sigh and a smile. "I feel pretty relaxed and comfortable. It's nice not having to travel so far. I guess that is the Americans' advantage. And having the crowd cheer for you."

Japan's Fumie Suguri, the bronze medalist a year ago, won the other qualifier, followed by Canada's Jennifer Robinson and Russia's Viktoria Volchkova.

The MCI Center was about one-third full for Kwan's group, which also included Hughes, who had a ragged performance that included a fall and two shortened jumps.

Cohen hit seven triple jumps, three in combination, and had a strong conclusion to her routine to a piano concerto by Rachmaninov. She was mechanical early on, but her spins and spirals were superb at the end and she finished first with one of the seven judges. Her marks, however, ranged from 5.1 to 5.9, while Kwan's were 5.7 to 5.9.

"It takes a lot of composure to do seven triples and skate well against the tough group that we had," Cohen said.

As for the 5.1, she added: "I was kind of like, `Whoa,' because I have got pretty high marks all season not skating as well as this."

Of course, under the interim system in use at worlds, with only seven of 10 judges' marks counting, it is unknown if the 5.1 actually mattered.

While Cohen didn't flow nearly as well as Kwan, her program was pretty much spotless. Kwan did mess up once late in hers, and she wore an ironic smile after doing just a single toe loop as the second part of a combination with a triple toe.

"What was that?" she said, laughing. "I was like, `OK, got to go."'

Hughes lacked spark and looked rusty from lack of competition this season - an injured leg sidelined her until nationals, where she was second behind Kwan. She never got in the air for a planned triple salchow-triple loop combination, and then after a nice triple loop out of footwork, she fell on a triple flip. Later, Hughes managed only a single toe loop rather than a triple.

"My body is a little tight right now," Hughes said. "I didn't have a year of competitions to rely on."

It was a disappointing performance after Hughes lit up the arena in Dallas for her free skate at nationals. Her chances for a first world title disappeared. Even a medal will be difficult for the 17-year-old high school senior who has dealt well with the distractions that follow an Olympic champion.

"This last year has been so many new things, things I'm not sure where they fit in my life," she said. "To come here is a little comforting."

Sokolova's mouth was wide open almost in disbelief after finishing a technically strong program that included seven triples, four in combination. Two judges had her first and her marks ranged from 5.6 to 5.9, but her artistry couldn't match Kwan's.

"I did two triple-triple combinations for the first time in competition," Sokolova said. "Now I won't be afraid to do them again."

Suguri probably wouldn't have been in the top three in the morning group, but she was efficient enough to win her section. She had two major errors in her routine to Swan Lake.

"I will try harder to make the audience enjoy my performance more," she said. "And, perhaps, receive a standing ovation."