The Associated Press

DALLAS - A year's layoff certainly hasn't dulled Sarah Hughes' competitive fire. In her first major competition since winning the Olympic gold medal, Hughes gutted out a flawed short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Thursday night. She's third behind Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen going into Saturday night's free skate, worth two-thirds of the final score.

"I definitely could have done a lot better," Hughes said, laughing. "Even though I had a terrific warmup, I felt a little wobbly. But determination got me through it."

Hughes pulled off one of the biggest stunners in Olympic history last February when she vaulted from fourth to first with a spectacular free skate. It was a brilliant performance, a perfect combination of elegance and technical skill.

And she's spent the last year enjoying the rewards that come with such an achievement. The 17-year-old has traveled the world, met Leonardo DiCaprio and handed out a Grammy.

But the whirlwind came with a price. She didn't have her usual conditioning when she began training for the season, and she injured her right leg.

She missed the entire Grand Prix series recuperating, and came to nationals way behind the rest of the competition.

"I didn't know what to expect. It was very, very difficult for me to compete tonight," Hughes said. "It's really difficult competing and getting my competitive legs under me. Even as a competitor, it doesn't change the fact that I haven't competed in 11 months."

But even when she's struggling, Hughes is still one of the best. Skating to a vibrant and more modern Rachmaninoff piece, she reflected the choreography perfectly with angular movements and a beautiful midnight blue dress with dramatic geometric accents.

But her jumps were weaker than usual. She had to hold on to save her triple lutz, the opening jump of her combination, and she had a small dip on the landing of her triple flip.

"I wouldn't say I was tentative. I was wobbly," she said. "When I'm feeling off, it's hard to go full-speed ahead. Even though I tripped, I was able to go full-speed ahead.

"Until I tripped again."

But she always stayed on her feet. Her footwork was solid and her spirals were lovely.

Her technical marks ranged from 5.1 to 5.7, and her marks for presentation were from 5.5 to 5.8. That left her in third, but she still can capture her first national title by winning the free skate.

And we've learned not to count Hughes out. Third place is one spot higher than she was after the short program in Salt Lake City, and look what happened there.

"For the point I am at now," she said, "I couldn't be happier."