Actually Kerrigan lost out on gold by very slim margin. She was much improved going into that US championship and solved her inconsistency with her jumps. She was nailing perfect programs leading to the Olympics.
I thought at the time that Kerrigan’s performance in the Olympics was not worthy of the scores she got. Not to say she didn’t do well, I just remember thinking at the time, that they were OK, but not medal worthy. But I am not a judge of the technicals when it comes to such things. I just felt that it was more of a gift to her rather than she performed significantly better than her competitors.
I am not attempting to besmirch her or belittle her skills, I just felt then that her competitors performed with more panache.