Portland, Ore. ? Michelle Kwan held up nine fingers and grinned at the camera. She has her place in history, a run as impressive for its longevity as its dominance.

Kwan won her ninth title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Saturday night, tying Maribel Vinson for the all-time record. She earned four more 6.0s, giving her 42 at nationals in the illustrious career that began more than a decade ago with a tiny 12-year-old who wasn’t even old enough to wear makeup.

Now 24, Kwan is one of the most recognizable faces in the world. But she’s as dominant as she always has been, with no one in the United States coming close to challenging her.

Certainly not Sasha Cohen, who once again failed to come through when it mattered most. Cohen finished second after botching two jumps and was lucky to finish ahead of up-and-comer Kimmie Meissner, who made a bit of history herself with the first triple axel by a U.S. woman since Tonya Harding.

Vinson won nine titles in the 1920s and 1930s, a mark that once seemed certain to stand. Gretchen Merrill, Tenley Albright and Peggy Fleming all won multiple titles, but none came close to Vinson.

But it’s somehow fitting that Kwan was the one to finally reach the pinnacle. Her former coach, Frank Carroll, trained with Vinson, and Carroll would often tell Kwan stories about Vinson and the lessons she’d taught him. Vinson may not have lived to see Kwan, but she’s had a hand in Kwan’s success.

“There’s a cosmic connection between me and Maribel,” Kwan said. “She taught Frank, and Frank taught me. To be with her is something.”