FIGURE SKATING / U.S. NATIONALS : Bowman Puts On Another Show

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Christopher Bowman Story. Take 217. Once more our hero creates a storm, finds the eye and calmly skates through it. Turbulence? What turbulence?

One day after drug rumors linked to the former child actor from Van Nuys reached a crescendo, causing the U.S. Figure Skating Assn. to release a statement in his support, Bowman moved into position for his second national championship and a berth in next month’s Winter Olympics at Albertville, France, by winning the men’s original program.

Later Friday night, in the women’s original program at the Orlando Arena, Kristi Yamaguchi of Fremont, Calif., performed like the world champion that she became last year, finishing first with scores of 5.9 on a scale of 6.0 from all nine judges for her presentation.

The other two women who joined her on the victory stand at the World Championships, Nancy Kerrigan of Stoneham, Mass., and Tonya Harding of Portland, Ore., were second and third.

Marked down for falling on her trademark triple axel jump, Harding, the defending national champion, was almost overtaken for third place by Tisha Walker of Thousand Oaks.

But, as usual, it was “Bowman the Showman” who turned on the crowd of 9,495 with an energetic and error-free program that merited six 5.8s for required elements and one 5.9 and five 5.8s for presentation.

His coach of less than a month, John Nicks of Costa Mesa, turned to a companion at one point in the 2-minute 40-second program and shrugged as if astonished by Bowman’s performance.

Nicks later denied that he was surprised, claiming that he had no expectations at all.

“Preconceived notions about Christopher Bowman?” he said. “Are you serious?”

Still, Nicks considered it a coaching milestone.

“I think having Christopher Bowman follow coaching instructions for two minutes and 40 seconds is the most remarkable achievement of my 31 years of coaching,” he said. “I really thank him for that. If we can get through four minutes and 30 seconds Saturday, it will be wonderful.”

The championship will be determined by today’s freestyle competition, which accounts for two-thirds of the final score. Mark Mitchell of Hamden, Conn., is second, while Scott Davis of Great Falls, Mont., is third.

Paul Wylie, a 27-year-old Harvard graduate who is a favorite of crowds and judges, failed to complete a required combination jump, touching both hands to the ice on a triple axel and stumbling on a double toe-loop, and clung to fourth place only because of his good scores for presentation.

Wylie, who did not get an argument when he said this week that he believes he potentially is the nation’s best skater, called his performance disappointing.

“My goal had been to win the nationals, so my goal is gone” he said. “Now, I’ll have to focus on my objective, which is to make the Olympic team.”

That will not be easy. The United States will send three men skaters to Albertville, but one of them might be two-time national champion Todd Eldredge, who withdrew from this competition Thursday because of a back injury. The USFSA’s international committee has the option of naming him to the team because he won a medal, a bronze, at last year’s World Championships.

“We’re going for two spots,” a resigned Wylie said.

There is less uncertainty about the three who will represent the United States at Albertville, although an injury Harding suffered to a tendon in her right foot during practice Friday morning could make today’s freestyle competition interesting.

She said that the injury was responsible for her missed triple axel, a 3 1/2-revolution jump that only she and Japan’s Midori Ito have landed in competition.

But Harding said she never considered removing the triple axel from her original program.

“Definitely not,” she said. “It’s my most consistent jump. I’m disappointed I didn’t land it, but that’s all right. I’m in the top three. I just want to go to the Olympics.”

Just before Bowman, 24, skated onto the ice, he turned to Nicks and said: “It’s you and me, baby, against the world.”

Afterward he said: “I think the hardships I’ve faced and the not really appropriate media attention I’ve received during the week has caused me a little pain and given me a lot of doubts and a lot of pressure. But I’ve been taught since Day 1 to take that pressure and turn it into nothing but the utmost of productivity in my work.”

That, he did.

Today is another day, he cautioned, but one of his former coaches in Canada, Ellen Burka, predicted he will prevail.

“Like they say about writers and artists,” she said, “nobody who could ever skate worth a darn could skate in peace.”

Skating Notes

After three straight years as runners-up, and less than three weeks after she underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured ovarian cyst, April Sargent-Thomas of Ogdensburg, N.Y., and Russ Witherby of Cincinnati won the dance championship Friday night at the U.S. figure skating championships.

Rachel Mayer of Wellesley, Mass., and Peter Breen of Brockton, Mass., finished second after the third phase of the competition, the free dance, to earn the United States’ only other dance berth for the Winter Olympics next month at Albertville, France.

Defending national champions Elizabeth Punsalan of Sheffield Lake, Ohio, and Jerod Swallow of Northville, Mich., had a fall, a rarity in dance, and finished third. just ahead of Jeanne Miley of West Chester, Pa., and Michael Verlich of Long Beach.

Earlier Friday, Caroline Song of Fullerton won the junior girls championship.