GREENSBORO, N.C. -- After two years of ups and downs, Alissa Czisny lifted herself back to the top of figure skating in the United States on Saturday, performing elegantly and nearly perfectly to win her second national championship.

From the moment the final note of her music played, Czisny could not stop smiling. And with good reason.

The top three skaters -- Czisny, Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu -- had gone into the long program with only about a point separating them. But Czisny proved she was the night's best by a landslide, winning with a score of 191.24 points. She beat Flatt (183.38) by nearly 8 points and Nagasu (177.26) by almost 14.

"I knew exactly what I had to do," Czisny said. "Before every jump, I thought about what I was here for and what my goals were. I fought for every single thing."

Czisny, who at 23 is a veteran compared with the others, had just beaten Flatt and Nagasu -- two former national champions -- to become the first American woman to win multiple national championships since Michelle Kwan ended her reign of eight straight titles in 2005.

Nagasu, 17, the 2008 national champion, had hoped to be the one to do that. At last year's Vancouver Olympics, she was the top finisher among the American women, finishing fourth. But on Saturday, she was good enough for only third.

Nagasu, who has a reputation for crumbling in her long program, came into the final skate in first place. But when she

heard her score Saturday, she could not hide her disappointment. In the kiss-and-cry area, she frowned and slumped over.

Not only did Nagasu have problems on several of her jumps, but she also received no points for her flying sit spin after stumbling into its entry.

"I can't believe I messed up on a spin! A spin!" she said, adding that she had let her nerves get the best of her.

The United States has qualified for only two spots in the women's competition at the world championships in March, so Nagasu will not be making the trip to Tokyo. Instead, Flatt, last year's national champion and this year's runner-up, will join Czisny.

Skating to selections from George Winston's "Winter Into Spring," Czisny glided atop the ice so smoothly that she looked weightless. Her blue chiffon dress fluttered as she landed jump after jump with grace. Afterward, she stood at center ice and beamed as the crowd rose to its feet.

She had won the national title in 2009, but so many things have happened to her in skating since then. She crumbled at the world championships that year, finishing 11th and costing the United States a third spot in the Olympics. At nationals last year, she finished 10th, missing a chance to compete in Vancouver.

Crushed, Czisny wanted to quit the sport, but her mentor, the former Olympic champion Brian Boitano, persuaded her not to.

Notes: Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin won their first national championship in the pairs event, scoring 188.45 points. Coughlin finished the performance in tears, burying his face in Yankowskas' hand. They had skated to "Ave Maria," a song that has been emotional for Coughlin since his mother died last February. ... In ice dancing, Meryl Davis and Charlie White convincingly won their third consecutive national championship with 185.48 points overall, beating the up-and-comers Maia and Alex Shibutani.

BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Sarah Meier's career came to a perfect end, winning gold at the European Figure Skating Championships on Saturday. Florent Amodio's is just beginning.

Meier turned her last performance before retiring into a victory lap as the 26-year-old Swiss earned her first major title in front of adoring home fans.

A few hours later, the crowd rose again to acclaim Amodio, a 20-year-old French skater whose turn as an arrogant, strutting disco dancer won the men's European title at his first attempt. He had placed 12th at the Vancouver Olympics.

Born in Brazil but adopted as a toddler by a French couple, Amodio sang his anthem with gusto and right hand over his heart before jumping up and down on the top step of the podium with both arms in the air.

"It's a dream that has become reality," said Amodio, who thanked the audience for its support. "Sometimes I couldn't hear the music because they were so loud."

Saturday's individual events provided an emotional end to an otherwise low-key week in which Russia was shut out of the gold medals, one year after going 3-for-4.

Meier's victory was reward for returning after a disappointing Olympic season, and yet more injuries, for a final farewell at home.

Sitting third after Friday's short program, Meier was the last to skate. She dealt calmly with rapidly rising tension in the arena, as expectations of a Swiss victory grew when each of her main rivals fell.

Meier skated error-free to score a total of 170.60 points, edging defending champion Carolina Kostner of Italy by just over two points. Kiira Korpi of Finland took bronze on 166.40.

"It was so hard for me because it was so emotional," said Meier, who buried her face in her hands after completing her career-defining routine.

"Before the free skate I was no nervous. I tried to concentrate and now all the emotions come out."

After landing her opening combination of jumps — triple lutz-double toeloop-double loop — Meier never faltered in an expressive routine set to music from the film "Love in the Time of Cholera."

Kostner, a three-time champion, lost her victory chance by falling in both her programs. Her technical skills meant she scored best in the free skate and rose from sixth after the short program.

"I'm very surprised with the result and so happy for Sarah," said Kostner, who denied Meier the European title in 2007 and '08.

Korpi led after the short program but sprawled on the ice landing a triple loop, after also putting her hand to the ice.

Russian teenager Ksenia Makarova, a former United States junior, failed to defend her second-place spot from Friday and finished fourth. Teammate Alena Leonova rose to fifth having been 13th after a poor short program.

However, the Russian national champion could not compete this week. Fourteen-year-old Adelina Sotnikova is not eligible under International Skating Union age rules until the 2013 Europeans.

Amodio brought a teenager's verve on to the rink, showing no tension while defending his lead from Thursday's short program. He concluded his routine — which did not include a quadruple jump — with moves to Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."

"It's true that I don't yet do a quad for competition, but I will try to do it for the worlds," he said, targeting the Tokyo event in March.

Amodio scored well on step sequences and amassed a total of 226.86 points, less than four ahead of compatriot Brian Joubert. The three-time champion had the best free skate to climb from seventh.

Joubert, whose silver extended his streak of European medals to 10 straight years, was Amodio's roommate in the French team hotel.

"It's thanks to this kind of friendship between us, and all the team, that we can perform so well," Joubert said. France also got ice dance gold from Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat.

Czech skater Tomas Verner, the 2008 champion, took bronze on 222.60 having also performed to a Jackson medley.

"There's a reason why you skate to Michael Jackson music," Verner said, before Amodio arrived at the official news conference. "Even though you skate bad, people still enjoy the music."