Sasha Cohen: "I am going to compete at nationals''

I wasted no time getting to the point with Sasha Cohen when she responded to my Monday message for her to call.

After wishing her Happy New Year, I asked, ``Are you going to compete at nationals?''

``Yes,'' she said, ``I am going to compete at nationals.''

A couple minutes later, after Cohen told me about her arrival plans and her plans for the programs she would skate at the U.S. Championships in Spokane, I doubled back and asked, ``You have no doubt, barring a car accident or something bizarre, that you will be competing at nationals?''

``Absolutely,'' she said.

It is still unclear whether even such unequivocal declarations so close to the event -- the women's competition begins Jan. 21 -- will end the ``I'll believe it when I see it'' attitude about Cohen's participation in her first competition since winning a bronze medal at the 2006 World Championships. Prior to that in 2006, she won the Olympic silver medal and U.S. championship.

That attitude was reflected by another U.S. skater, Ashley Wagner, when asked about the impact Cohen would have on an event where the women will be battling for two spots on the 2010 Winter Olympic figure skating team.

On three separate occasions during a Monday conference call, Wagner used the word ``if'' when referring to Cohen's presence at nationals.

``I am skeptical,'' Wagner said. ``I think it's very hard to be out of competition for three years and have your first competition be nationals. (But) I'm not counting her out. She's part of the equation.

``If she does show up, I think she will really be prepared for the challenge. It might make things more difficult (in the Olympic quest).''

Reigning U.S. champion Alissa Czisny had similar feelings on another Monday teleconference.

``For me, it would be difficult to come back after four years,'' Czisny said. ``I take the spring and summer off, and I have to get back into the competition mode. To take four years off and then come back is pretty impressive. It will certainly make the competition more exciting and interesting. Sasha Cohen is such a great skater, and I still look up to her.''


Since I broke the story last spring that Cohen would try a comeback, questions about her sincerity have grown because she withdrew from both her planned Grand Prix competitions with injuries and equipment problems.
"I do realize that (there has been skepticism about my competing), but that's the nature of life, and so be it,'' Cohen said Monday. ``I've worked so hard. I've really put myself on the line for this. I have dedicated my whole life for this.

``I want to be there. I want to make the (Olympic) team. I want to skate great. I may be nervous, but I'm really excited, and I'm feeling really good about it.''

Cohen, who turned 25 in October, said she has returned to her old coach, John A.W. Nicks, after developing tendinitis in her leg in October. She had switched to Rafael Arutunian at the start of the comeback.

``Rafael helped me a lot, but it was time for me to go back to what had worked,'' she said.

She hopes to do six triple jumps -- including all types but the triple axel, which she never has done -- in the free skate. Her planned combination in the short program is triple lutz-double toe, and she will do triple flip-double toe and triple salchow-double toe-double toe in the free skate.

``I would have liked to have a triple-triple, but other than that, I really like how I'm skating,'' she said. ``I'm doing all the elements, getting the levels on the spins, jumping well and strong.''

I asked her how much harder the comeback has been than she expected.

``Sometimes it's great, (but) the injuries and equipment problems have been a nightmare for me, very stressful,'' she said. ``I have been just putting one foot in front of the other no matter how hard it has been, and it has been paying off now. It has been a very frustrating fall, and it's nice to be skating well again. The difference is amazing.''

Cohen said she will arrive in Spokane two days before the women's event begins. While her first practice won't be a media circus like the first Tonya - Nancy practice in Norway, there will certainly be a sizeable crowd on hand to see if Cohen's belief in herself is realized.

As the recent U.S. Olympic Committee slogan put it: ``Amazing Awaits.''

There's still not much to be made of Sasha Cohen'sforthcoming return to competitive figure skating. She hasn't performed her 2010 programs in public and she hasn't skated under international judges since the 2006 Worlds. The only thing left to do is to continue to speculate, or even to speculate upon speculations.

What follows is purely speculative.

On Monday, Cohen revealed some of her planned elements to the Chicago Tribune. She plans a triple Lutz - double toe combination in the short, and triple flip - double toe and a triple Salchow - double toe - double toe in the free skate. Those elements aren't drastically different from what she performed in Torino, in fact, the second combination she says she's planning in her free skate is actually an upgrade.

Let's assume that Cohen shows up at Nationals with programs roughly equal to those she performed in Torino. We'll keep her short program elements the same and we'll sub in the new combination in the free skate with the addition of changing one spin that wouldn't score any points under the rules today. And in this ideal scenario, we'll assume that Cohen gets the same levels she did in Torino and all of her jumps are considered fully rotated. Add up all of those numbers, her base technical score is roughly 32 points. And in the free skate, with those same assumptions (and that the elements garnering bonus for being in the second half of the program remain as such), her program starts at about 58 points.

And while it really isn't a fair comparison (this isn't even apples to oranges; it's more like apples to oranges to carrots), Kim Yu-Nahad a 34.9 (Grand Prix Paris) and 54.95 (Grand Prix Paris) this year. Mao Asada hasn't come close to either in the short program, but put up a 55.9 in the free skate at her National Championships. And Cohen's domestic competition? Rachael Flatt had 34.3 and 58.61 at Skate America; Ashley Wagner had 31.2 and 55.11 at two separate events this season.

It's only just to point out that Cohen's score is based on solid execution and, for example, Kim's free skate score is based on what she actually performed. Give Kim back the triple flip she flubbed in Paris and her free skate base score jumps to 60.45. Give Asada a fully-rotated triple Axel in the short and she gets a short program base score well above Cohen. Asada's free skate soars with fully-rotated jumps is on-par, on-paper with Kim.

Is your head spinning yet?

What's to be learned? Well, nothing earth shattering, but...

1. Cohen's hypothetical programs can hold up technically - at least in their base value. She still has to perform each of the elements, hit all of the required positions and complete the number of revolutions. They may not be the most difficult in the world, but what she did in Torino is still good enough.

2. The lack of a triple-triple combination could become a factor in Vancouver. That's what gives Kim and Flatt the big numbers above. (Asada has the triple Axel as her big point-getter.) That would potentially keep Cohen down in the standings after the short program.

3. Based on Cohen's history, her spins, steps and spirals have been consistently looked upon favorably by the judges, who reward her with positive Grades of Execution - those points made the difference between Olympic silver and bronze in 2006. It's a safe bet that she'll gain points here. No one in the field hits positions like Cohen can.

4. Cohen's program components are likely to give her a slight edge, but over whom and how much is to be determined. It's tough to predict how she'll be scored against the field until everyone skates on the same ice; the point margins tend to be unpredictable. Cohen will need a strong score here, and it's almost a given she'd get it.

5. A base score is exactly that - a base. Land a solid triple Lutz? Six points. Put your hands down on a triple Lutz? Roughly four points. Miss a spin position? Not hold a spiral position for the required amount of time? These things are all factors unaccounted for until the skating happens.

6. This is all fun and games until Sasha Cohen takes the ice.

On to Spokane...

By Dennis Manoloff
January 12, 2010, 4:45PM

For months, Sasha Cohen has been holed up in a cold laboratory, putting herself through a mental, physical and psychological grinder.

Now it's time to find out what the grand experiment looks like.

Cohen, 2006 Olympic silver medalist, is among the competitors at the U.S. National Championships, which begin this week in Spokane, Wash.

Cohen, 25, has not competed with gusto since 2006. She also won the national title that year.

She is supposed to be too old to make noise. But those who have tracked Cohen know it is never wise to count her out of anything. When she puts her mind to something, positive results typically follow.

In 2007 and 2008, Cohen stayed busy with numerous projects that helped build her brand. Companies tripped over each other to get to the front of the line. Among the reasons: five-star personality, intelligence, integrity, looks.

Cohen would have been just fine as a two-time Olympian who had moved on to even better things in corporate America. But she could not stop wondering if she had cashed all of her chips as a skater.

Cohen received a ticket to nationals because she had medaled in the previous Olympics. The 2010 Olympics are in Vancouver, British Columbia, in February.

No matter what happens at one or both of those events, Cohen is scheduled to be in Cleveland on April 30 for the Smucker's Stars on Ice Tour at The Q.

Cohen recently allowed for a peek into her world by phone from California:

DW: Average training day in months leading to Nationals?

SC: Half-hour of Pilates and stretching; go to rink, run for 10-15 minutes or other warmups; skate for 1 1/2 hours; break; skate for another 1-1 1/2 hours; come home; snack; lengthy jog (some days), weights/sprints (other days); half-hour of stretching.

DW: Any fun in there?

SC: (Laughter) Sure. It's all fun.

DW: How many days per week?

SC: Six. I didn't go out much, which was fine.

DW: What was your typical eating schedule/menu?

SC: Four or five meals a day. Egg whites in the morning. A snack of fruit and yogurt. For lunch, sushi or chicken soup. For dinner, fish/meat and cauliflower. In general, lots of vegetables and lean protein.

DW: Do you ever eat junk food?

SC: Oh, yeah. I work hard, and I love sugar. Ice cream and cupcakes are my shortcomings. You need to have a balance so you can keep going.

DW: When did you decide for certain you were going to make one more run, and when did you start training in earnest?

SC: I decided in spring 2009. It came from a feeling that grew stronger and stronger every day. I knew I wouldn't feel satisfied unless I gave it my best, gave it another try and came back to challenge myself. I started training in June but it wasn't until November/December that I consistently felt right physically and was skating like I wanted to skate.

DW: Talk about the setbacks.

SC: Injuries caused me to miss the Grand Prixs in the fall. I had boot problems all summer. It was frustrating because I'd have a few good days, it would be so promising, and I'd say: 'Yes, it's coming together.' Then I would have injuries and setbacks. It was like a living hell. But I kept pushing through and pushing through and it paid off.

DW: In the midst of the worst of the boot/foot/leg issues, did you think, 'Maybe this comeback isn't meant to be?'

SC: It crosses your mind, especially when you can't train even though you really want to be there. When the body won't go, there's nothing you can do about it, no matter how positive your attitude is.

DW: Have you fixed the boot problem problem entering Nationals?

SC: My boots aren't perfect, but you have to work with what you have. I'm in a good place. All things considered, I'm very happy with where I am physically. I'm not going to complain.

DW: (Static on the line, with phones ringing in background) Are you in an office?

SC: No. I'm in a pharmacy, picking up my iron supplements.

DW: I'm glad you didn't say you were picking up your pain medication.

SC: (Laughter) I already have that at home. I take Alleve every day to get me through.

DW: To that point, does the general public, or skating fan, have any idea how much discomfort/pain the elite ones experience in training?

SC: No -- but that's how it should be. Nobody wants to hear about your problems or hear you complain. If you get into this and don't think there's going to be pain, you're badly mistaken. You accept it as part of the job.

DW: During training, did you put all your outside interests on hold?

SC: Pretty much. To do this right requires tunnel vision.

DW: Are you ready for the amount of attention you're going to receive at Nationals? Just by showing up, you make the event 10 times more interesting.

SC: That's nice of you to say, but the way I see it, there's lots of great skaters. I'm really excited for this opportunity. I've done it twice, and I've realized that when you go away from it and come back, you have so much more perspective. You see what it means in the bigger picture of your life.

DW: Please elaborate on the last point.

SC: I'm not feeling that nervous, crazy, intense pressure going in. The reason is, it's what I want to do, not what I have to do. Of course I'm nervous, but it's a good nervous.

DW: Ladies' figure skating, as you know because you lived it, is a young woman's game. What makes you convinced you can hang with the youngsters in this country, let alone worldwide?

SC: I'm skating as well as I have in a long time. I've watched the recent Grand Prixs, and I think I measure up.

DW: Upon your arrival in Spokane, you undoubtedly will be asked about the unfinished business of not winning Olympic gold. How big of a motivator was that?

SC: Not that big, to be honest. Of course I want to win a gold medal. Who wouldn't? But this time around, it's about the journey, not the destination. I missed the challenge, the struggle.

DW: The struggle?

SC: There's a lot to be said about pushing yourself and overcoming obstacles. My goal is not so much the gold as it is to perform the absolute best I can. I'll take whatever comes from that.

SPOKANE, Wash. — The curtain will finally be lifted on Wednesday when Sasha Cohen will finally skate before a crowd bigger than her coach. Cohen is due to arrive in Spokane on Tuesday night and practice the following afternoon.
The 2006 Olympic silver medalist will compete for the first time in almost four years Thursday in the short program. "You're going to be surprised," her longtime coach John Nicks said.

Ever since she announced her comeback last May, no one has seen Cohen skate. In November, she pulled out of Skate America just days before the competition due to tendinitis in her right leg. Given her layoff, there has been plenty of skepticism about Cohen's readiness, even questions about whether she would show up.

"I'm going home Sunday," Nicks said, "And coming back with her Tuesday night."

SPOKANE, Wash. —
Sasha Cohen has quite the hold on figure skating.

It's been almost four years since she last competed, and no one has even seen her skate recently. Yet her presence hung over every event this season, and she's the only woman on anyone's mind at these U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

"Have you seen Sasha?"

"What have you heard about Sasha?"

"Do you think Sasha is going to compete?"

"Everybody thinks so many different things," Cohen said after the mere confirmation she would be at nationals generated more buzz than anything any of the current U.S. women have done. "Some people love me, some people hate me. Some people think I'm going to compete for the next 10 years, some people were ready to write me off five years ago. You can't listen to what people say.

"This is for me because I want to do it, and I want to perform again."

That Cohen remains so enchanting is hardly a surprise. Tiny (she could be a ballerina), beautiful and unbelievably flexible - coach John Nicks likes to say it's impossible for her to get in an ugly position - she can be breathtaking to watch, the kind of skater that made fans fall in love with the sport in the first place. Funny, personable and, at times, feisty, she gives skating some personality, an edge that makes people feel they have to tune in just to see what she does next.

And she is, of course, immensely talented. The reigning Olympic silver medalist and a three-time world medalist, she has no idea what life is like outside the top five. Just the thought of her is a soothing reminder of the good old days, when the Americans were fixtures at the top of the figure skating world.

But expecting Cohen's return to be an instant fix for the recent woes of the U.S. women is a lot to put on her slim shoulders. Four years is an eternity in skating, and the sport has changed in her absence. At 25, she's six years older than Kim Yu-na and Mao Asada, the last two world champions. With the United States having only two spots at the Vancouver Olympics, there is little, if any, margin for error for her.

None of that, though, fazes Cohen.

"What I feel from that is I feel so happy that people want me back, that they're excited to see me, that they missed me, that it means something to them to have me there," she said. "For me, I feel just pressure from myself."



Rumors of Cohen's comeback kept the skating grapevine humming for more than a year. She was only 21 when she stepped away after the 2006 worlds, and skaters are sticking around longer now, finding success at later ages. Though she was the star attraction on the "Stars on Ice" tour, her acting career hadn't advanced past the dabbling stage.

Finally, last May, Cohen announced she would, indeed, resume competitive training with the intention of making her third Olympic squad.

"I wanted to wait until I knew that's what I wanted to do," she said. "I had this overwhelming feeling that this is what I want to do, I want to embrace this challenge. I waited for the decision to pick me, I didn't force something. It was always something that was on my mind, but it's not something like, 'Oh! I'm going to the movies.' If you do this, you DO this."

But why? After devoting most of her life to training, she was just starting to explore life on her own terms. She hasn't lost her passion for acting and dreams of going to college at NYU. Her comeback put all of that on hold.

The answer is surprisingly simple.

"It was great having fun for three years, but then it kind of seemed pointless. What am I waking up for?" Cohen said. "I have the next 50 years of my life to meander and figure things out. I want another year of intensity, I want to push myself to see what I'm capable of, set down the bottom line.

"What I'm asking myself to do is really tough," she added. "The system's changed and the skaters have changed and everything's different. I haven't been here for a few years, and I'm older. But yeah, lay it down, see what you have, see if you can do it."

She threw herself into the process, leaving her family and the relaxing environs of Newport Beach, Calif., for Lake Arrowhead, where she was the oldest skater at the rink by far, and online shopping and learning to cook Chinese food passed as her entertainment.

She upended her training routine, too. She is so close to Nicks he's like part of her family (when her younger sister celebrated her birthday last summer, Nicks was at the party), and she called him frequently to bounce thoughts and ideas off of him. But she opted to train with Rafael Arutunian, who once coached Michelle Kwan. She also worked with respected choreographer Lori Nichol for the first time.

Even when she'd return to Orange County to visit her family, Cohen's focus was evident. The woman who once guest judged on "Project Runway" showed up for a lunch interview in black workout clothes and sneakers, and ate with a big ice pack wrapped around her ankle.

"I'll ice my leg and walk around the grocery store, go to the drug store," she said. "Everyone's looking at me like, 'What are you doing? It doesn't matter to me. I'm just in my own little world."

But distractions and challenges quickly intruded. A week before she was to return to competition at Trophee Eric Bompard, the season's first Grand Prix, she dropped out because of tendinitis in her right calf. Still in pain a month later, she withdrew from Skate America.

By early December, she was back at her old rink full time. It wasn't long before she was back with Nicks, too.

"I learned a lot from Rafael, but I decided to go back to what worked before and someone I was comfortable with putting me on the ice," Cohen said. "I'm going back to what works."

Whether it will be enough, though, remains to be seen.

Because no one has seen Cohen skate recently, rumors about her condition and capabilities abound. She is scheduled to arrive here Tuesday night, and her practice Wednesday is the most highly anticipated event in years. The women's short program is Thursday.

"I've trained my butt off this year," she said. "I keep coming in and doing my run-throughs, doing everything I need to do. Things haven't been easy, but it really is true: That which does not kill you makes you stronger."

Is Sasha Cohen skating on thin ice?

What people now want to know is whether the 25-year-old figure skater – missing from competitive meets for four years – will be a contender at next month's winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The quick answer is, the Olympic silver medalist and three-time world medalist says she's ready to hit the ice once more. "This is for me, because I want to do it," she tells NBC. "I want to perform again."

Still, speculation about Cohen abounds. Having left the sport at 21 to have fun, to explore dreams of acting and going to college, and to see whether skating was really what she wanted to do in life, Cohen – who will be competing at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane on Thursday, to be broadcast on NBC – says she ignores the chatter.

"Everybody thinks so many different things," says the Newport Beach, Calif., native. "Some people love me, some people hate me. Some people think I'm going to compete for the next 10 years, some people were ready to write me off five years ago. You can't listen to what people say."

Keeping her mind focused on her mission instead of the gossip, once Cohen realized skating was her calling she set to work on her comeback.

"I want to push myself to see what I'm capable of … I've trained my butt off this year," she says. "Things haven't been easy, but it really is true: That which does not kill you makes you stronger."

A prominent figure skating coach speculated that the planned comeback of reigning Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen after a four-year absence from competition could be either amazing or flat-out brutal, and one U.S. rival said she was skeptical Cohen would show up as promised to this week's U.S. Olympic trials.

Even Cohen's coach, John Nicks, said he feared, as recently as a few months ago, that his once-brilliant star wouldn't be ready.

Of all of the mystery surrounding the U.S. championships this weekend in Spokane, Wash., which will feature a host of talented but internationally unproven young women vying for two Olympic team slots, the greatest intrigue surrounds the veteran Cohen, 25, who hasn't skated in a competitive event since she won the bronze medal at the 2006 world championships.

"It's been very challenging for her, to be very honest with you," Nicks said. "About three months ago, I wasn't very hopeful, but the last four weeks or so, she has worked very hard."

After dabbling in acting, figure skating shows and even contortionist performances with the New Shanghai Circus, Cohen announced her hopes of competing in a third Olympic Games last May, saying she missed the challenge of high-level competition and wanted to test herself on the ice one last time.

Yet she pulled out of her two scheduled grand prix events in the fall because of injury and changed coaches six weeks ago, raising questions about how she would perform at this Olympic-selection event and whether she would even show up at all. The old Sasha Cohen would be the runaway favorite. But how close is Cohen to her previous standard?

Nicks said the nagging calf tendinitis that forced Cohen to withdraw from competitions in Paris and Lake Placid has not significantly hampered her, and her determination to get out on the ice this week never wavered.

"A lot of people had doubts about whether she wanted to come to nationals or not, but I never had that doubt," he said in cellphone interviews from Spokane and Mission Viejo, Calif., in recent days.



But in the months preceding this event, Nicks feared Cohen would not achieve the technical precision to overcome a host of teenage Olympic hopefuls.

"About three months ago," he said, "I was very worried, but things seem to be much better. She was having problems with a variety of elements . . . [But on Monday] she was skating well and enthusiastic."

Though Cohen was never as beloved in her heyday as retired U.S. great Michelle Kwan, she was considered an extraordinarily gifted skater with balletic grace and razor-sharp technique. Working under Nicks early in her career, she won two world silver medals and six U.S. championship medals. But the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City proved disappointing; she finished fourth, behind gold medal winner Sarah Hughes and bronze medalist Kwan. She also struggled at the '06 Games, losing her grip on first place and a possible gold medal with a fall on her opening jump attempt and other mistakes in the deciding long program.

When she announced her return last May, then training under Kwan's former coach, Rafael Arutunian, she said that she had made up her mind to chase her first Olympic gold medal and was extremely fit, and that "a fear of failure won't stop me."


"I'm not coming back to be as good as the old me," she added last fall during a conference call with reporters. "I'm coming back to push myself in ways I haven't before."

Cohen, however, recently has done little to abolish the mystery shrouding her comeback. She was noticeably absent from a lineup of pre-competition interviews arranged by the U.S. Figure Skating Association and the U.S. Olympic Committee, and has declined one-on-one interview requests in the past week.

Nicks, to whom she returned in December, said early Tuesday that he was expecting her for a short workout in Mission Viejo before her flight to Spokane on Tuesday afternoon, meaning her rivals would get their first chance to assess her skating at Wednesday's afternoon workout.

"It could be brutal, and it could be very sad for some of the younger skaters," said Priscilla Hill, coach of West Potomac High graduate Ashley Wagner. "I feel bad both ways. If [Cohen] goes out and holds it together, that's kind of amazing for her, yet for the younger ones . . . I'd hate to see [an Olympic opportunity] taken away from them."

A number of the young skaters against whom Cohen would be competing said in September during meetings with reporters that they idolized Cohen and were excited to share the ice with her. Wagner, whose family resides in Alexandria, said it would be "interesting" to see how she performs.

"I'm skeptical," Wagner said. "I think it's very, very hard to have your first competition be nationals. [But] I'm not counting her out. She's still part of the equation."

Nicks said he found Wagner's skepticism "interesting" but said Cohen did not need any bulletin-board material for motivation.

"Sasha's been used to reading things about her in the media for many, many years -- some complimentary, some not," he said. "I don't think this is any different. She doesn't take motivation from it; she's [already] a very motivated young lady."

Nicks said he considers Cohen an even better artist than when she won her Olympic silver medal, noting that her work with fan-friendly figure skating shows had honed her showmanship. But despite assistance from U.S. Figure Skating Association officials who have visited her to bring her up to speed on the changes in the judging system, Cohen has not matched her previous technical prowess, Nicks said, and would not even attempt a triple-triple jump in combination.



"Four years out is not easy," he said. "I think, as most people do, that she is going to add enormously to the ladies competition, a lot of interest . . . I just hope she skates well; I hope it enables all of the people watching to enjoy her skating. The result will be what it will be."

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Sasha Cohen can still spin. And jump. And put her body into captivating positions.

That was apparent Wednesday when Cohen skated before an audience in a competitive environment for the first time since 2006.

The 2006 Olympic silver medalist, as always rail-thin, fell on a triple flip jump in a run-through of her short program during practice at the U.S. Championships, in which the women's competition begins with Thursday's short program at Spokane Arena.
"Ice is slippery sometimes,'' Cohen said of the fall in a text message an hour after she finished practice.

Skating the 2-minute, 45-second short program to Spanish music, "Espana Cani,'' she landed a triple lutz-double toe combination with ease and followed with a stunning layback spin finished with a leg over the head in a Biellmann position.

Cohen, 25, showed impressive speed throughout the 40-minute practice. She landed triple flips at other points in the practice. But she implied in the text message that she was keeping things in reserve.

"Saving it for tomorrow,'' she said.

Cohen announced last May her intention to make a competitive comeback, but there were doubts she would make it to nationals after withdrawing from two Grand Prix competitions last fall with a calf injury.

Her coach, John A.W. Nicks, said he had "great concern'' about Cohen's ability to get this far when he saw her skate in the latter part of September. Nicks said it became apparent from the intensity of her practices in the past "five or six weeks'' that Cohen had put the doubts to rest.

Cohen agreed, saying in Wednesday's text message it was "only in December'' she was sure of being able to skate as well as she did in the practice.

It remains to be seen whether practice will translate into a performance -- or two -- to give her a shot at one of the two Olympic team places.

The short program won't give complete evidence of that. Cohen has a history of being unable to do two error-free programs in the same competition. The question is whether she can finally do it for the first time in her career.

"It is a substantial challenge,'' Nicks said. "I have always felt she has the ability to do it. Perhaps the words are sooner or later, and we hope it's sooner.''

Cohen failed to hold a lead after the short program in the 2006 OIympics, two world championships (2006 and 2004) and two national championships. Falls frequently have undone her in the 4-minute free skate.

Nicks boiled what Cohen must do to make the Olympic team to four words:

"Stay on her feet.''

SPOKANE, Wash. — The moment Sasha Cohen stepped onto the ice Wednesday for practice at the United States Figure Skating Championships, the cameras started clicking.

All eyes were on her as she glided, spun, leaped and lunged — and even when she blew her nose. The other figure skaters out there, including 15-year-old Christina Gao, stopped to take a prolonged peek.

When Cohen skated past, Gao’s mouth dropped open.

“I’ve looked up to her for so long, so it was really cool to be on the same ice with her,” said Gao, who is a decade younger than Cohen. “From the little I saw, she looked pretty good out there. It will be exciting to see what she can do.”

The entire skating world is waiting to see what Cohen, one of the sport’s biggest stars, can do after nearly four years away. She has not competed since winning the bronze medal at the 2006 world championships. Earlier that year, she won a silver medal at the Turin Olympics.

Now, at 25, Cohen is looking lithe and fit as she tries to make her third Olympic team. On her way to lunch after Wednesday’s practice, she said she was happy to be on the cusp of competition.

“It’s great to get on the ice,” she said, while smoothing her dark hair that was pulled into a ponytail. “It felt good because I’d been doing some training in a cold arena by myself. It’s so much easier when you have the energy of everyone else.”

Cohen said she walked into the Spokane Arena on Wednesday for her first official run-through in four years, and it felt like home. The loading dock that led into the arena was familiar, and so was the locker room. She had performed here last January with the Stars on Ice tour.

“It felt very comfortable,” she said.

Still, a great amount of pressure awaits her Thursday, when the short program will be held. The long program will be Saturday. There, Cohen will have an Olympic berth and her reputation on the line.

The United States is sending two female singles skaters to the Vancouver Games. To earn a spot, Cohen will compete against a group of younger skaters — including Rachael Flatt, who is 17 and a two-time runner-up at the nationals, and Mirai Nagasu, who is 16 and the 2008 national champion.

By the looks of her first run-through here, Cohen appeared ready — not rusty. She has obvious muscle definition in her back and stick-thick arms. Her face was stone serious.

As she performed to the music “España,” by Pascual Marquina, Cohen skated smoothly, but fell on her triple flip. She stumbled several more times during the rest of her practice, but landed her double axel and each of her triple jumps at least once.

Cohen also showed off her trademark grace and flexibility, contorting herself into positions other competitors can only dream of. Her spirals were as pretty as ever. Her spins were just as lovely.

“If you would have asked me about her before the practice, I would have said, Eh, she’s been gone too long,” said Brian Orser, Gao’s coach and a former Olympic medalist for Canada. “But after seeing her, I think she was great. In some ways, she’s better than before. Her speed and her jumps, like her double axel, are better. I saw a beautiful triple flip. I think she’s back in the hunt.”

Cohen’s coach, John Nicks, acknowledged that he once was skeptical of Cohen making a legitimate comeback.

In late December, he said, Cohen struggled with tendinitis in her right calf, the injury that had caused her to pull out of both of her Grand Prix assignments last fall. Her training suffered.

Since then, there had been speculation that Cohen would not even show up here. Even a few of her competitors expressed those doubts. To that, Nicks scoffed.

“I thought that was strange,” he said, saying that Cohen’s determination to return to competition had never waned. “She was going to come here. She wanted to come here.”

He added, “She’s practiced intensely, harder I think than she’s ever done before.”

Nicks, though, knows — all too well — that Cohen faces a formidable challenge. The United States Figure Skating committee that chooses the Olympic team will take performances at the past several major events into consideration when making its decision. So, a top-two finish here is crucial.

To make the Olympic team, Nicks said, Cohen must do one thing: Stay on her feet.

History has shown, however, that Cohen has had trouble with that. At nationals, the Olympics and the world championships — when it counts the most — she has had problems putting together two clean programs.

Nicks acknowledged that, then shook his head.

“It’s a substantial challenge, but I’ve always felt that she has the ability to do it,” Nicks said. “Perhaps the words are sooner than later. I hope it’s sooner.”