Skating's new queen sans glitter Kimmie Meissner eyes U.S. crown in nationals.

NEWARK, Del. - Figure skating's female stars are like the glittery beads that festoon their outfits: They are designed to grab attention. They glow like little stars in the spotlight. And yet they are impossibly fragile.

Because of the single-mindedness their sport demands and the attention lavished upon them, the best of these tiny dancers often morph into insecure divas, their lives a monotonous trail of flashbulbs, fans and four-star hotels.

And then there's Kimmie Meissner, a wispy 17-year-old who despite being the reigning world champion still leads a remarkably normal life.

"Kimmie has stayed the girl next door," said Pam Gregory, her coach.

Meissner, who trains here at the University of Delaware, eats turkey hoagies from Subway, never misses the TV show Heroes, goes to a public high school, and frets more about exams than she does about the next competition.

Next year, as a Delaware freshman, she plans to spurn dorm life and commute from her home in Bel Air, Md.

"It really helps after a day of skating to go back with my parents," she said last week. "I can just relax, unwind and talk to them about everything."

This week at the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Wash., Meissner will try to add a national title to the world crown she captured in Calgary, Alberta, last March.

With nine-time champion Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen, the 2006 winner, having stepped away from skating - perhaps for good - Meissner, runner-up a year ago, will be the clear favorite in a field that includes Emily Hughes, last year's bronze medalist and sister of 2002 Olympic winner, Sarah; Christine Zukowski, a Newark resident and the daughter of a Temple University athletic-department official; Katy Taylor; and Alissa Czisny.

"Being the favorite hasn't really changed my mind-set," said Meissner, who is scheduled to skate on Thursday and Saturday. "I'm still going into nationals the same way, hoping to do well in both my short and long [programs] and give a really good performance that the audience will enjoy - and, hopefully, the judges will, too."

Suddenly, with her more ethereal competitors, Cohen and Kwan, absent, it's Meissner's freckled countenance that has become the face of U.S. figure skating.

"People are starting to recognize Kimmie and her name," said Kristi Yamaguchi, the 1992 Olympic champion.

Meissner is in many ways the opposite of her American male counterpart, Chester County native Johnny Weir, who will be shooting for a fourth straight men's title in Spokane.

While the flamboyant Weir, who wears boas and immerses himself in Russian culture, wins with elegance and artistry, the 5-foot-3 Meissner relies on simplicity and athleticism.

She leaped into prominence by landing a rare triple axel at the 2005 nationals and used jump-filled programs to earn both a 2006 Olympic berth (she finished sixth) and the subsequent world title.

Though Meissner is expected to land on the Spokane Arena medal-podium's top step Saturday night, she probably won't be attempting a triple axel. She needs only to finish in the top three to qualify for the 2007 World Championships, set for March in Tokyo.

There, a phalanx of Japanese stars, will be poised to take Meissner's title. That's why she's been working so hard on broadening her skills. Always jump obsessed, she realizes she needs to improve her artistic scores.

"I've been focusing a lot more on the second mark, as usual," she said. "I'm getting to be older and more mature, so I can take on bigger pieces of music and really explore different styles of skating."

Because Meissner didn't compete often enough to qualify for this year's Grand Prix finals, she practiced even more here with Gregory and choreographers Lori Nichol and Nikoli Morozov.

They buttressed her long program with a Spanish flamenco theme, for which Meissner got advice from her mother's aunt, who used to be a flamenco dancer.

"She showed me how to do a few things," she said, noting that the dancers always keep their wrists in and their thumbs pointed out. "The Spanish music ['Galicie Flamenco'] brings a different style and attitude to my skating."

All the while, Meissner has been completing her senior year at Fallston (Md.) High School, where she takes only French, English and Fundamentals of Technology. In class, she said, she often counts the minutes until she can get on the ice.

Unlike Kwan and Cohen, Meissner, a skating gym rat, can't imagine taking a break from skating.

"I love coming here to see what I can do, what kind of challenges there are that day," she said of her daily sessions. "If I had to take a long break, I don't know if I would. I like to stay on the ice all the time."

She has had few layoffs in a year she characterized as "a whirlwind." First came the nationals in St. Louis, followed by the Turin Olympics and her surprise world championships.

"Winning worlds last year was like a big shock," she admitted. "The way it normally goes [is] you win nationals and then win worlds. But I decided to change things up and do it the other way around."

The breakthrough victory put Meissner in demand. She threw out the first ball at Phillies and Orioles games, took a lap in a NASCAR vehicle and performed in numerous weekend ice shows. She bought a gown and attended the ESPYs ceremony in Los Angeles. And when the Harford County phone book arrived at her door recently, her photo was on its cover.

"This was a very big year for her," said Ron Ludington, the Delaware club's founder and director. "It's difficult not to get distracted. But she's so good at keeping her focus."

Even that Fundamentals of Technology course she dislikes.

"Exams are this week, so there's been lot of studying," she said. "It's very nerve-racking. I think this is more nerve-racking that skating at nationals.