- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
Any Sasha updates?
- Thread starter kalle
- Start date
Any sasha updates?
Olympia,
Thank you for such a well thought out and elegantly written post. I, too, have admired and enjoyed both Michelle and Sasha.
No one can dispute the consistency of Michelle Kwan. She set a standard that probably will never be matched.
However, IMHO, no one can match the graceful, elegant skating of Sasha Cohen. Right from her first step on the ice at her first senior competition it was evident that she was "special". To this day, she has the most perfect posture I've seen in any lady figure skater.
Americans are so fortunate to have had these two ladies represent our country for such a long time.
Dizzy
Olympia,
Thank you for such a well thought out and elegantly written post. I, too, have admired and enjoyed both Michelle and Sasha.
No one can dispute the consistency of Michelle Kwan. She set a standard that probably will never be matched.
However, IMHO, no one can match the graceful, elegant skating of Sasha Cohen. Right from her first step on the ice at her first senior competition it was evident that she was "special". To this day, she has the most perfect posture I've seen in any lady figure skater.
Americans are so fortunate to have had these two ladies represent our country for such a long time.
Dizzy
Two great skaters
When I hear fans comparing skaters such as Kwan and Cohen, I think about Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. If you love movie musicals, you might prefer one of these two immortals, but you certainly wouldn't want to do without the other one. Imagine having all the great Fred and Ginger movies, say, but having to give up An American in Paris and Singin' in the Rain. Or the other way around! Aren't we fortunate that we get to enjoy both, and that we can have the fun of watching both Kwan and Cohen...or either one...or neither, depending on our preferences. Thank goodness they both graced skating--and hooray for YouTube!
When I hear fans comparing skaters such as Kwan and Cohen, I think about Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. If you love movie musicals, you might prefer one of these two immortals, but you certainly wouldn't want to do without the other one. Imagine having all the great Fred and Ginger movies, say, but having to give up An American in Paris and Singin' in the Rain. Or the other way around! Aren't we fortunate that we get to enjoy both, and that we can have the fun of watching both Kwan and Cohen...or either one...or neither, depending on our preferences. Thank goodness they both graced skating--and hooray for YouTube!
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
So agree. The one time to rewarded clean skating was Evan at worlds. He was the only skater who did 2 perfect programs. But in 9-10 cases, there is always an exuse for the big names to win.
Yes, she was almost crying before they announced her name. If you saw the warmup you would know why. She fell on almost every jump and look like a nervous wreck. She knew before the music started that she was not going to skate well.
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2004
But then at least she didn't do a Carolina and give up on everything and single every jump, she then came back with what four good clean triples? Given the poor warm up and the defeatist way she started the programme you've got to admire someone who give themselves a kick in the backside and fight for the rest of the programme.
Ant
Good point, Ant! :thumbsup: When you put it that way, it's not as bad -- the rest of the program was nice...
-Kypma
Yeah, in that case even I have to hand it to her. It easily could have been a disaster.
Ha, as for worlds I got the feeling she didn't even try.
Last edited:
Hence the disappointment! I get it the Olympic season is a tough year for elite athletes, all the pressure and build up expectations...But everyone was ready to hand Sasha a Worlds Title if she just went for it. I resented a lot of the talk about how poor Sasha was burned out etc, after Turin, but she went anyway. Just 4 years earlier, the Silver Medalist, a co-favorite at SLC, went on to deliver, what I considered at the time, her best competition. And you know her loss in 2002 was just as crushing as Sasha's in 2006. But Irina showed up in Nagano to win.
I'm glad several of you have cited Sasha's Olympic performance. To me it was remarkable. When I saw her miss one jump, and then two, my heart broke. When she pulled herself together and did the rest of the program with steadiness and expressiveness, I was cheering. She earned every molecule of silver on that medal, and though I'm sorry she wasn't able to feed off that victory to win Worlds later that year, I think she can be proud of herself nonetheless.
I don't know the reasons for her inconsistency. Does she not practice enough? Does she just lack the rock-steady temperament of a Katarina Witt? Whatever. Whatever she lacks in that direction, she's still prodigiously gifted, and watching her skate even with a fall or two is to me more rewarding than watching some businesslike skater who always stays on her feet but doesn't make the music sound new. (I'm not thinking of anyone in particular when I say that, mind you!)
I don't know the reasons for her inconsistency. Does she not practice enough? Does she just lack the rock-steady temperament of a Katarina Witt? Whatever. Whatever she lacks in that direction, she's still prodigiously gifted, and watching her skate even with a fall or two is to me more rewarding than watching some businesslike skater who always stays on her feet but doesn't make the music sound new. (I'm not thinking of anyone in particular when I say that, mind you!)
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
I so agree. That was the only time I really got mad at Sasha. A world title is nothing to sneeze at, and she could have it in the palm of her hand. If she did not want it bad enough she should not have competed.
if it were one simple answer, Sasha would've figured it out by now! I am by no means an expert, but it always seemed to me in the LPs a few things happened. When needing to rely on muscle memory and endurance, the weak spots of Sasha's skating would do her in. As we know, Sasha is a better edge jumper. I imagine her iffy edge technique for entering the lutz, flip and toe were tougher when she got tired. What would bother me most is how she could land a jump on an inside edge. I also thought sometimes the fact she always went for her jumps (hardly ever had a popped jump) and those lovely pointed toes would work against her success of landing the jumps if she didn't get enough height or power off the ice. SO, maybe conditioning did play a factor, but I bet it was more about solid basic skating skills and technique on certain jumps. She'd hit her 3z/2t and 3f/2t quite regularly when placed at the beginning of the programs (exception is Oly). From all the big events she's done, I can only think of one messed up combo in the SP ('05 Nats) and one fall in SP ('03 Worlds), out of what...6 Nats, 5 Worlds and 2 Olys (13 major events)? Not bad at all! For LPs, she didn't actually fall at 2 Nats ('02 and '06) or at 2 Worlds ('04 an '05) but had a botched jump or two those.
I'm sure the mental aspect is another part she deals with, probably knowing she has faltered and loses concentration, and there were times she came out of the gate looking scared to lose ('04 Nats/Worlds, '06 Olys especially) when she was in 1st after the SP. I imagine knowing she HAD to be clean against some of the most consistent skaters of her time put her on the defense from the get go. She had to go up against Michelle and Irina, so mistakes were more damaging and glaring. These days, clean programs are a rarity, so if Sasha can routinely land 5 triple LPs again, she'll be like the rest of the field.
I believe she is training in Lake Arrowhead, CA. There hasn't been any news of training other than she was landing all her jumps and attemping 3/3 in practice, while on the road with SOI. No updates have been posted on her website. Do we even know for sure what music she will be skating to, other than the Icenetwork bio? Has it been confirmed? For that matter, who is she working with for choreography? Nicolai? I'm curious.
Perhaps, she is being coy. I hope she suprises all of us and shows up at TEB strong and ready to compete. She needs the jumps, she has everything else!
Perhaps, she is being coy. I hope she suprises all of us and shows up at TEB strong and ready to compete. She needs the jumps, she has everything else!
There was a rumor that Sasha was seen at Ice House working with Morosoz earlier on this month, but AFAIK nothing was ever confirmed. We know she was battling tendonitis the latter part of SOI, so wondering if that has healed or if it affected getting back to Olympic level training with RA. I think she is slated to skate at Sun Valley next week, so that should be very telling, if she's there, how she skates, does she do more triples than a toe and salchow...
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2008
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2009
I think the question was whether the choices have been confirmed by other sources apart icenetwork; not what they are. Obviously from the fact that she knew of the source, she'd seen her choices...
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
I hope some video is posted of her skating there, but I don't expect it to tell much. She will probably just do the same salchow and toe loop in "moonlight" and "don't stop the music"
MKFS fan, I'm very grateful for your detailed analysis of Sasha's jumps. My appreciation of figure skating comes from years of viewing and reading, not from any skating experience, so when someone takes the time to give specifics like that, it's really helpful. I wouldn't even have known enough to ask the questions that you answered. For years I'd heard that people like Michelle were more "textbook" than Sasha in terms of ankles-and-below. Now I understand that statement better.
I love your point about how Sasha hardly ever "pops" jumps. It speaks to her determination, and I hope that will stand her in good stead this season. She's a wonderful artist who could end up with a very respectable world showing this year, if she can stay the course and regain her peak performance skills.
I love your point about how Sasha hardly ever "pops" jumps. It speaks to her determination, and I hope that will stand her in good stead this season. She's a wonderful artist who could end up with a very respectable world showing this year, if she can stay the course and regain her peak performance skills.
Similar threads
