SASHA COHEN
Mysterious Sasha Cohen.
Translation of an article by Dmitry Borisov printed In a Russian language publication “Sportsdaily.ru” on October 5, 2008. (I presume the initial interview was in English, making this version twice removed from the source.)
After a two and a half year absence, the Silver medalist of the Turin Olympics, American skater Sasha Cohen is coming back to big sports. The sportswoman who is going to be 24 at the end of October is planning to compete in the World Championship in the US in 2009 and at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Sasha was considered to be one of the most talented single skaters. And the most unlucky one. Good physical form and work with famous coaches the likes of Tatiana Tarasova, made Sasha a favorite for any World Championship. But she failed to win any of them. The problem was mostly psychological. Every time she stopped, it was just one step away from the gold. In 2004 and 2005 she won silver and in 2006 – bronze. The biggest achievement of her career was the silver at the Turin Olympics, but even there it was due to the kindness of the judges. Cohen fell twice while performing the free program, but the arbiters gave her higher marks than the Russian skater Irina Slutskaya, who won the bronze. Even Sasha looked embarrassed on the podium.
At the World’s Championship in Calgary in 2006, where the main contenders for the gold – Russian Irina Slutskaya and Japanese Shzuki Arakava -- were absent, Sasha was considered to be the main contender for the gold, but she only got the bronze. She could not control her nervousness. That performance became the breaking point for the American skater. She was so disappointed by her performance that she decided to quit eligible sports and become a professional.
Sasha explained her decision- “I know that I am being perceived as a skater who did not win a lot of titles. The wins mean much more that how one skates. I can not become a robot who stamps out high quality performances.”
She signed a contract with “Stars on Ice” and for 6 months was traveling all over the world. She took some time off and went to Hawaii to water ski.
And then she decided to go back to amateur sport:”I want to concentrate on figure skating and to do what I like and know how to do. Lately, I've practiced a lot and I hope that soon I will be able to compete with any figure skater. I would like it very much to start competing in the next season.”
Cohen is ambitious. Her motto in life is: “Try to fly to the Moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” But currently there are new heroes in vogue. Could she, after such a long break, compete with Japanese skaters Mao Asada and Yukari Nakano, Korean Kim Yu Na and Italian Carolina Kostner? Many experts doubt that she could do it. She is considered to be too unstable and it is not known how fast she could get back into her form after the break.
But no matter what, the return of this miniature (145cm – about 4ft 8in) and artistic sportswoman will make the women’s singles competitions more interesting.
Translation of an article by Dmitry Borisov printed In a Russian language publication “Sportsdaily.ru” on October 5, 2008. (I presume the initial interview was in English, making this version twice removed from the source.)
After a two and a half year absence, the Silver medalist of the Turin Olympics, American skater Sasha Cohen is coming back to big sports. The sportswoman who is going to be 24 at the end of October is planning to compete in the World Championship in the US in 2009 and at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Sasha was considered to be one of the most talented single skaters. And the most unlucky one. Good physical form and work with famous coaches the likes of Tatiana Tarasova, made Sasha a favorite for any World Championship. But she failed to win any of them. The problem was mostly psychological. Every time she stopped, it was just one step away from the gold. In 2004 and 2005 she won silver and in 2006 – bronze. The biggest achievement of her career was the silver at the Turin Olympics, but even there it was due to the kindness of the judges. Cohen fell twice while performing the free program, but the arbiters gave her higher marks than the Russian skater Irina Slutskaya, who won the bronze. Even Sasha looked embarrassed on the podium.
At the World’s Championship in Calgary in 2006, where the main contenders for the gold – Russian Irina Slutskaya and Japanese Shzuki Arakava -- were absent, Sasha was considered to be the main contender for the gold, but she only got the bronze. She could not control her nervousness. That performance became the breaking point for the American skater. She was so disappointed by her performance that she decided to quit eligible sports and become a professional.
Sasha explained her decision- “I know that I am being perceived as a skater who did not win a lot of titles. The wins mean much more that how one skates. I can not become a robot who stamps out high quality performances.”
She signed a contract with “Stars on Ice” and for 6 months was traveling all over the world. She took some time off and went to Hawaii to water ski.
And then she decided to go back to amateur sport:”I want to concentrate on figure skating and to do what I like and know how to do. Lately, I've practiced a lot and I hope that soon I will be able to compete with any figure skater. I would like it very much to start competing in the next season.”
Cohen is ambitious. Her motto in life is: “Try to fly to the Moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” But currently there are new heroes in vogue. Could she, after such a long break, compete with Japanese skaters Mao Asada and Yukari Nakano, Korean Kim Yu Na and Italian Carolina Kostner? Many experts doubt that she could do it. She is considered to be too unstable and it is not known how fast she could get back into her form after the break.
But no matter what, the return of this miniature (145cm – about 4ft 8in) and artistic sportswoman will make the women’s singles competitions more interesting.
posted by Alina Adams at 7:12 AM
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