Sasha Cohen brings drama in Figure Skating 2010

By Maggie Hendricks

The United States is used to having a star in the ladies' figure skating field. After all, we are the country who produced Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Tonya vs. Nancy and Michelle Kwan.

Don't count on that this time around.

Though 2006 Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen has a shot at making the U.S. team, the rest of the field lacks serious international credentials. Reigning U.S. champion Alissa Czisny took 11th at the 2009 World Championships. Rachel Flatt and Ashley Wagner both have had shining moments internationally, but lack consistency.

With just two spots available for these women, there will be even less of an opportunity for the American women to medal in Vancouver.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't tune into the U.S. championships -- the competition that helps decide the spots on the team -- this weekend. There will still be plenty of drama, with Cohen at the center.


After winning a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Cohen retired from figure skating. She spent time in college, dabbled in acting and even was a guest judge on "Project Runway." But that wasn't enough for her.

    "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.

The biggest question of this weekend's competition is how will the layoff from skating affect Cohen? Her first public practice was strong, but will she able to wow us with her jumps and contortionist spins when the pressure is on? She has been known to crumble under pressure. At the 2006 Olympics, she was in the lead going into the free skate, but fell and lost her shot on the gold.

If Cohen gets one of the berths, the other one is up for grabs. All of the challengers are young and haven't skated in the Olympics. Czisny, the defending national champion, is the closest thing to a favorite, but Wagner and Flatt have the ability to be close on her heels, er, blades. 

Don't forget about Rachel Flatt in long program

Posted by Bonnie D. Ford

SPOKANE, Wash. -- It may have gone largely unnoticed in the uproar over Sasha Cohen's return to the big stage, but Rachael Flatt earned a personal-best score (69.35) in the short program. She was the only one of the top three skaters who landed a triple-triple combination jump, and got high marks on many of her components as well. Her coach, Tom Zakrajsek, noted something else.

"Rachael has been competing with Mirai [Nagasu, who leads after the short program] since novice [division] and juniors, and her scores are usually six or seven or eight points lower on the short program," said Zakrajsek, who coaches at the famous Broadmoor club in Colorado Springs. "For her to be within a point is great."

Flatt, 17, will skate her long program, set to the music of Rachmaninoff, sandwiched between Cohen and Nagasu on Saturday night and try to elbow her way from third place into the top two. She was hitting on all cylinders with that program at last November's Skate America and earned a higher score than world champion Yu-Na Kim, who had a subpar night. The effort lifted Flatt to a silver medal at the Grand Prix series event. Zakrajsek said he expects an even higher level from her this time around.

"If you remember, she had a spin that didn't count [at Skate America]," the coach said. "We've taken care of that.

"A lot of people are saying that Rachael always skates clean, but she's not just going for a clean skate. She's going for a performance that's going to be memorable and make an impact."

Flatt returned to the ice at Spokane Arena twice Friday, once for practice and once to be honored as one of 10 exceptional scholar-athletes by the U.S. Figure Skating Federation. Flatt, a senior at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, is a member of the National Honor Society and has won numerous other academic distinctions; she is also active in charity work for cancer research and literacy.