Any Sasha updates?

I have not heard much about Sasha lately, has there been any reports how her training is going?Only found this new link from the "Super Match" ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGL2qmtHXgg

This program is still her exhibition version of "Moonlight Sonata", I take it? The jumps looked okay, and I really like her variation on her flying camel combination spin -- the one where she went from a Bielmann to a haircutter, which I don't think I've seen before --, as well as her camel position in her closing combination spin, which is also unusual. Still, I would have thought her programs would have more than 2 (triple) jumps in them by now, seeing as TEB is only 2 months and a half away...

-Kypma

Quite lovely. Her quiet style suits her and the character of the music was there (Dreamy of a lost love). Now with whatever toe-off jump is required in the SP, I would say she will be on the podium.

Sasha mede me fall in love with her skate again.Her bielmann spin was better than ever!

Joesitz said:

Quite lovely. Her quiet style suits her and the character of the music was there (Dreamy of a lost love). Now with whatever toe-off jump is required in the SP, I would say she will be on the podium.

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The program was lovely, but it was clearly an exhibition; Sasha's skating is slow and her footwork rudimentary.

The only jumps Sasha did were a 3S and a 3T. With that jump repertoire, she won't finish anywhere near the podium at TEB, where she faces Kim, Asada, Nakano, Kostner and Zhang.

kandidy said:

Sasha mede me fall in love with her skate again.Her bielmann spin was better than ever!

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I agree, her spins looks very good and it looks like she is trying some new variations :thumbsup:

Now, I would really like to know how her other jumps looks and what combinations she is planning to do...guess, I will need to wait until TEB...

Kypma said:

This program is still her exhibition version of "Moonlight Sonata", I take it? The jumps looked okay, and I really like her variation on her flying camel combination spin -- the one where she went from a Bielmann to a haircutter, which I don't think I've seen before --, as well as her camel position in her closing combination spin, which is also unusual. Still, I would have thought her programs would have more than 2 (triple) jumps in them by now, seeing as TEB is only 2 months and a half away...

-Kypma

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I seem to recall she did a very similar variation in her Nutcracker debut: camel-catchfoot-haircutter type position, but she ended up dropping that last position. But I do like it and I like the other variations in her camel spin. Her layback spin is a pretty as ever. That performance was just yesterday? I wonder if she has her LP readied yet, I'd imagine it would be had to practice to two different versions.

Joesitz said:

Now with whatever toe-off jump is required in the SP, I would say she will be on the podium.

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No required triple jump in the SP, that is for Jr's. Sr Ladies are required a 2ax, combo with at least one triple jump, and solo triple proceeded by footwork.

MKFSfan said:

No required triple jump in the SP, that is for Jr's. Sr Ladies are required a 2ax, combo with at least one triple jump, and solo triple proceeded by footwork.

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Now with that "Solo" jump, is it named by the ISU before skaters start to learn their program? I was thinking of Sasha's 3Lutz as not the best jump for her.

chuckm said:

The program was lovely, but it was clearly an exhibition; Sasha's skating is slow and her footwork rudimentary.

The only jumps Sasha did were a 3S and a 3T. With that jump repertoire, she won't finish anywhere near the podium at TEB, where she faces Kim, Asada, Nakano, Kostner and Zhang.

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I understand, but with Rafael, I was thinking her toe-off jumps should have improved and those wobbling landings should be taken care. I didn't notice any wobbles in the clip for the loop and salchow.

Thanks for posting!!!!
Yes, she only tried her easiest triples, but they looked absolutely effortless. Of course this will not be her content in competition.

Her Belliman looks so much more stretched than it had been in 2006, nice. Her footwork was stunning.

Well, well. As it's only an exhibition piece, I think it's pointless to pick it apart, but the jumps she did do looked better than usually seen from her.

The only jumps Sasha did were a 3S and a 3T. With that jump repertoire, she won't finish anywhere near the podium at TEB, where she faces Kim, Asada, Nakano, Kostner and Zhang.

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obviously not, but I wouldn't expect her to do the full 6 or 7 jumps here, especially since the performance is not scored. I guess it would have wowed the crowd though.

Anyway, isn't it comparable to what the other skaters are doing? usually they do anywhere from 2-4 jumps (the guys tend to do more from what I've seen)

ETA: I watched Mao Asada's program and I counted 3

You can't compare what Mao did to what Sasha did. Mao has been competing steadily since 2006 and was the World silver medalist in 2007 and World Champion in 2008. Sasha has been doing nothing but exhibitions since March 2006 and just started training seriously less than 2 months ago.

Nice that Sasha has cleaned up her 3S and 3T. That'll keep her competitive with Laura Lepisto.

chuckm said:

You can't compare what Mao did to what Sasha did. Mao has been competing steadily since 2006 and was the World silver medalist in 2007 and World Champion in 2008. Sasha has been doing nothing but exhibitions since March 2006 and just started training seriously less than 2 months ago.

Nice that Sasha has cleaned up her 3S and 3T. That'll keep her competitive with Laura Lepisto.

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But my point is, what they are performing in exhibitions really is little indication of what they would do/attempt in competition. This goes for all skaters. There are fewer jumps, the tricks are watered down, etc. The only exception would be if a skater chose to do her short program in an exhibition, for example.

Yes, Cohen has been absent for three years while everyone else has stayed in the game (and others have come up during that point). Yes, she's going to have it really tough coming from behind and trying to catch up. But my point is this: Until we actually see her compete, there's no telling what will happen or what she's currently capable of. If she stays healthy, she's nothing more than a wildcard in this race. Only after her first competition will she actually be able to be placed somewhere in the pack. Anything up to that point is pure guesswork. 2006 is a loooong time ago in skating years.

Look, I doubt her ability to make a successful return as much as you do. But let's view this from all angles. We don't know if or how Cohen does jumps other than 3S, 3T or 2A.

chuckm said:

You can't compare what Mao did to what Sasha did. Mao has been competing steadily since 2006 and was the World silver medalist in 2007 and World Champion in 2008. Sasha has been doing nothing but exhibitions since March 2006 and just started training seriously less than 2 months ago.

Nice that Sasha has cleaned up her 3S and 3T. That'll keep her competitive with Laura Lepisto.

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I think it is not fair to juge her just yet..did she not work with Kwan's ex coach at some point already last year?We have not seen her competitive programs yet and it is not like any of the top female skaters are landing more than 2-3 triples in their exhibitions..

Remember that Sasha also had to spend time off her foot for at least a month because of her tendonitis. She's looking really good. We'll see where her jumps are once competition starts.

Wow Sasha! I can't wait to see this program in full. IMO she has improved this program tremendously in every way. Her edges, jumps, spirals, loved her new spin and more importantly she looked confident and strong, she looks like a champion.

demarinis5 said:

Wow Sasha! I can't wait to see this program in full. IMO she has improved this program tremendously in every way. Her edges, jumps, spirals, loved her new spin and more importantly she looked confident and strong, she looks like a champion.

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Thrilling isn't it? Can't wait to see the competition version on a full-size rink!

OMG, as with Evgeni, I'm choked up, full of goosebumps, in awe.

Ludwig van Beethoven has always been my favorite composer of all-time, with Moonlight Sonata & the Ninth Symphony "Ode to Joy" being my all-time favs. And to see Sasha skating to this leaves me humbled, she more than makes up for my favorite Oksana Baiul never having skated to either number (despite my pleas, lol). If there is one skater that can *truly* do justice to this music, it is Sasha Cohen. Like Oksana, she entrances, bewtiches, transcends. She is magic...

P.S. Just wanted to let everybody know that I found the entire Super Match over on www.youtube.com

Here are all the women that participated (btw each woman only did 2 triple jumps apiece, i.e. toe & salchow, except Sarah Meier, she only did a 2Axel):

Sasha Cohen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGL2qmtHXgg

Joannie Rochette
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2rb5Mlx1A0

Sarah Meier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_nnA22qIlg

This is just a nice prelude to the real thing only a few months away!

But she is also SLOW.

I don't care how slow she is, nobody - Yu Na Kim, Mao Asada, Joannie Rochette, Caroline Zhang and the like - presents elements as beautifully as Sasha Cohen. It's really a shame that the things she does don't seem to get as much credit out on the ice as they should. It really is all the small things that add up in Cohen's skating.

What stands out most is her landing positions. Is this even judged? It seems like once a skater's blade hits the ice - in a fully rotated position of course - and some semblance of an edge is held, the jump can be given full credit and in some cases high grades of execution. In my mind, the triple toe and triple salchow she does in this program are worth far more than any triple axel by Mao Asada. One needs only to compare the landing positions. Sasha's back is fully upright; the knee deeply bent, with a nice crease between the thigh and the upper body and the free leg parallel to the ice. I shouldn't single out Mao Asada, as most of the top skaters don't have great landing positions these days, but hers serves as the best example. She's high up on the landing leg, the free leg hovers just above the ice, the arms droop, and the whole position is over almost before you get a chance to see it. I simply don't understand skaters getting positive GOE's on jumps landed in this manner. Yu Na Kim and several others are just as guilty. I was always taught that the relation between the upper body and the landing leg should be such that you could hold a sheet of paper between in the crease between the two.

I'm always perplexed when I compare practice videos of Mirai Nagasu with those of her competitive programs. When doing jumps in isolation she has probably the most beautiful landing positions of any skater currently competing, and yet in competition that seems to be totally forgotten.

I guess was a rather long rant about landing positions, but my main point is simply that most skaters lack this level of finish in their competitive programs, or exhibition programs for that matter. Landings of jumps, the exits from spins and all of that just don't seem to make a difference. These are the details that seem to be lost in the current incarnation of the sport. I more than welcome her back to competitive skating.