Cohen's practice sessions updates?

[fairly4]

for me--it isn't a comeback for her-
a true comeback has to be from injury before the beginning of competition and not because or her (stated Injury) as it may.
sasha to me is being sasha -as i stated earlier past couple years-sasha was on the olympic team when she left in 2007--read through double talke.
i would be very surprised if they left her off the team.
why--no national champ has been left of the team -except for those during world war 1 and world war 2 when they didn't have olympics
also no world medalist has been left off the olympic team and the fact they
built up wagners scores by finishing 4th after gpf and zhang when she did it in 2007 her scores wasn't built up. stayed same.

i personnally believe the only reason sasha left is the usfsa told her back in 2007 if she left a spot on the olympic team was hers. sorry--but she skated well, but overmarked a bit i would have given her a 63 and rachel a 63, mirai a 68.
ashley a 56.
unless mirai and rachel skates clean --no matter what sasha does-she is on team.

[janetfan]

This just seems perverse to me. If it's such a snooze, name another skater who's made a comeback to Olympic-year competition after four years away from all competition!

Did you see Sasha in SOI the past few years? There's a big difference between show Sasha and competition Sasha. She can't get by on spirals, Charlottes and salchows at Nats (or the Olympics, for pete's sake)! Even her body is different (at least 15 pounds different, in my estimation!).

Sasha is a competitor at heart, IMHO. Not a killer champion in the sense of Kwan or Plushenko - but one who's more alive on the edge in that electric atmosphere than anywhere else. She's said (as quoted in other threads) that she's back for that thrill. Frankly, I think perhaps she also needed this attempt to keep her name and career alive.

You are in a very tiny group if you think Sasha is an obvious contender for the OGM against Yu Na (not to mention the other top prospects)! I mean, anything can happen, but it would be a total stunner. Her age alone puts her at a disadvantage, let alone her rustiness, her inexperience with recent COP changes, the judges' not having seen her for years...

It's not even likely (although far more possible) that she can beat Rachael and Mirai, both razor-sharp from competing during the past four years when Sasha was doing 1 and 2-triple programs, living on a bus/in hotels/without access to good gyms, and eating like a normal person! Rachael is no Sasha, but OTOH she's well schooled in COP and her FP has beaten Yu Na's! Mirai is a huge talent that may be peaking at just the right time. Ashley is also a big talent who's shown herself capable of winning the FP. Nationals is anything but a walkover for Sasha. She got great press for showing up prepared and doing a strong SP ... and all that will evaporate tomorrow night if she doesn't make the Olympic team! Maybe for you that doesn't count as taking a risk. I disagree!!!

I don't mean to be grouchy, but when you shrink the challenge she's undertaken, you shrink both her and her competition, and that's not sporting. Me, I'm just watching in amazement at this young lady's willpower, talent, and readiness to let everything she's already achieved be redefined in the light of 7 -- or 10, or 14 -- minutes on slippery ice.

Thankyou for telling it like it is

[i love to skate]

This just seems perverse to me. If it's such a snooze, name another skater who's made a comeback to Olympic-year competition after four years away from all competition!

Witt, Boitano, G/G, Plushenko, T/D, etc.

[Spun Silver]

Witt, Boitano, G/G, Plushenko, T/D, etc.

Oops. Thanks! Of course S/Z are another case. My point still stands. I'm sure every one of those cases was accompanied by enormous speculation, doubt, unthinkable work and pain, and risk of both failure and injury (since older bones and joints are more fragile).

MKFSFan: I understand about fatigue and touchiness, especially at this time of the skating quadrennium - hope it was a successful fundraiser!

Sasha at this moment is a different skater physically than the one I saw the past three years in COI and SOI and, whatever she was improving in SOI, it did not require her to be anything near competition shape. She regularly called the SOI life "fun." What she's doing now, and the way she got in her present fighting trim, is something very other than fun.

Well - you're more knowledgeable than I and I sure hope you're right in your opinion that she can beat the young 'uns. I wish I didn't have such strong Olympic memories of teenagers skimming away with gold. We'll see soon. Meanwhile:
GOOOOOOOO S A S H A ! ! ! ! !

[MKFSfan]

I think sometimes the teens skate away because they are able to come in under the radar and shine without the pressure (ala Sarah 2002). I don't think this is the case with Rachael and Mirai (although Rachael has shown she can perform under pressure) since Sasha or no Sasha, this is an Olympic year and they are both in the mix for the most likely perceived only one spot (assuming Sasha gets the other). I know Sasha doesn't have the reputation for skating clean, but she has never had a melt down when it counts, and that is a big thing-she CAN compete when the stakes are high and be in the hunt, just doesn't have the steel competitive nerves of a Michelle, Tara, etc. And we all know she has ALL the tools needed to be successful, she just needs to connect the dots!

The fundraiser was a huge success, thanks for asking-mini-golf at the Crowne Plaza brings a good turn-out for a great cause!

[R.D.]

The SP was always Cohen's strong suit, and Thursday night proved that it still is.

The LP was always her nemesis. I saw a practice report that read that she didn't do too well. Nagasu and Flatt are going to come in really strong and I have to put them as the favorites for the Olympic team at this point. But then again, anything can happen "in the moment".

[janetfan]

The SP was always Cohen's strong suit, and Thursday night proved that it still is.

The LP was always her nemesis. I saw a practice report that read that she didn't do too well. Nagasu and Flatt are going to come in really strong and I have to put them as the favorites for the Olympic team at this point. But then again, anything can happen "in the moment".

I still don't count Ashley out of it but agree Sasha will be feeling the pressure again tonight.

Rachael seems a good bet to win the LP so it could be a battle for the second spot.

I can hardly wait to see it.

[Spun Silver]

I can easily believe she's got all the tools, and I can strongly hope that over the past four years she's developed a new inner strength that will get her through the FP. The only thing I'm worried about is whether her body will do the job. She sure looks like a Bionic Woman, though!

I have to do something else for the next 6 hours. My nerves are jangling!

[janetfan]

Witt, Boitano, G/G, Plushenko, T/D, etc.

Yes, but they did it with several warmup competitons before hitting the big show.

I think Spun made a good point and for Sasha to come to Natls with no previous events due to injuries is pretty amazing.

We will see how she does tonight. One thing for sure is that she has created some interest in skating here in the USA and that is a good thing.

Go Sasha - win or lose tonight you

[R.D.]

I still don't count Ashley out of it but agree Sasha will be feeling the pressure again tonight.

Rachael seems a good bet to win the LP so it could be a battle for the second spot.

I can hardly wait to see it.

I hardly think it will be a slam dunk for Flatt. Nagasu could give her a run for her money (like in the SP) and win her 2nd title in three years.

Like I said in the LP thread, Wagner is in a position to put pressure on these three with a phenomenal skate. If she misses, though, she's done.

[R.D.]

I have to do something else for the next 6 hours. My nerves are jangling!

Listen to some music, that's what I'm doing

[i love to skate]

Yes, but they did it with several warmup competitons before hitting the big show.

All the poster asked for was other examples of skaters who made comebacks in Olympic years. Torvill and Dean's first competition was British Nationals, Witt's first competition was Nationals, Plushenko only had one competition before Nationals as did Boitano and I think G/G. Lots of others have done the same thing Sasha is doing.

[kandidy]

From twitter

Sasha Cohen was the only no-show in the final 2 groups of the 20-minute warmup this morning. I assume she's conserving energy for later today.The other five skaters in the top 6 after the short prpgram all made the practice

Sasha Cohen skips final practice session Sat am. Scott Hamilton: "rest more important when you are a seasoned veteran than getting up very early when you are going to skate a long program at 7:30 pm" (10 hours after practice)

[Tinymavy15]

i keep fearing the worst. Somehow I cannot picture she skating clean enough to make the team, but I hate that thought.

Last minuite prediction:
A clean Ashley wins the freeskate, a good Mirai wins the event.
Olympic team : Mirai and Ashley.
Racheal holds onto 3rd, Sasha drops to fourth.

[Spun Silver]

Listen to some music, that's what I'm doing

Yup! Bach cantatas are calming me down.

From BWV 93 (We nur den lieben Gott lasst walten):

He knows the right and happy hour,
He knows when it is needed;
when He has found us true to Him,
and sees no pretense,
then God comes, before we go wrong,
and bestows His goodness on us.