After three-year layoff, Cohen begins comeback November 4, 2009 at 11:47 am
A group of the top U.S. women’s skaters was asked recently about 2006 Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen’s return to competition. One by one, they showered her with compliments and talked about looking forward to measuring themselves against her.
The last one to speak, Mirai Nagasu, had a different take.
“You all seem to want to compete against her,” she said to the others, “I think it’s a little intimidating that the Olympic silver medalist is coming back and she just has that edge over us.”
How much of an edge Cohen still has after not competing the past three years holds the greatest intrigue for U.S. women’s figure skating this Olympic season.
Without her, the USA appears to be a long shot for a medal — the U.S. women haven’t medaled at the world championships in three years. With her, there might be a better chance.
It hinges on whether Cohen, at 25, has retained her energetic appeal and trademark flexibility and further refined her technical skills to match the demands of a relatively new scoring system.
“This is not a system of crossovers between jumps,” Cohen says. “This is a system where you’re really rewarded for the complexity of turns and steps in between. I’ve been challenging myself to do that in my programs and to (increase) my speed.”
Last month’s Trophee Eric Bompard was supposed to be Cohen’s first competition back. She withdrew because of tendinitis in her right leg and foot.
The injury has persisted, says her coach, Rafael Arutunian, although she’s aiming for next week’s Skate America in Lake Placid, N.Y. If she’s able to compete, her readiness will be tested against the gold standard: Also in the field is 2009 world champion Yu-Na Kim of South Korea, widely considered the 2010 Olympic favorite.
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