By Barry Wilner

Michelle Kwan wouldn't rule out a withdrawal from the Olympics after cutting short her first practice Saturday because of stiffness in her groin.

Kwan said the long plane ride and marching in the opening ceremony caused enough problems for her to skip a short program run-through one day after arriving in Turin.

She avoided answering several questions about whether she's worried about competing in her third Olympics.

But asked directly if she might drop off the U.S. team, the five-time world champion said: ``I really have to pay attention to how I am feeling these days. Dropping out, it's not something I want to do, but I have to listen to what my feelings are.''

Kwan said she will be at practice Sunday.

If she drops out before the Feb. 19 draw for the women's event, then Emily Hughes, the third-place finisher at the U.S. national championships and younger sister of 2002 Olympic champion Sarah Hughes, would take her place.

The nine-time U.S. champion quit the 40-minute workout session with about 15 minutes remaining and smiled at assistant team leader Taffy Holiday when she left the ice.

When she skated, though, she looked serious, even dour, and missing three triple flips couldn't have helped her mood.

When she stood by the sideboards and chatted with team leader Roger Glenn, he could be seen holding her hand or arm several times as if comforting the nine-time U.S. champion.

The 25-year-old Kwan was given a medical bye onto the U.S. team after a groin injury sidelined her for the national championships a month ago. On Jan. 27, she passed a monitoring session conducted by U.S. Figure Skating, and this was her first public practice.

It was not pretty. Her first jump, a smooth triple toe loop, came 13 minutes into the workout. She then landed on two feet on her first triple flip, and fell hard on her next attempt at the jump. Kwan also cut another try into a double flip.

Most of the practice was spent on footwork and spins. At one point, Kwan did her footwork from her free skate and Glenn and U.S. judge Charlie Cyr seemed to be checking the levels of difficulty.

Kwan left the ice without her short program music being played. Her agent, Shep Goldberg, said he believed the music never arrived at the practice rink, but Kwan's early departure was unexpected _ and unlike her.

A silver medallist in 1998 and a bronze winner in 2002, Kwan is the rare skater who has stuck around for three Olympics.