Sasha & Michelle

Ever since both Sasha, and Michelle retired, they have teased the public (not intentionally, I'm sure), about possibly returning to competitive skating for the 2010 olympics. I'm sure many of you are aware of this, but for those of you who are not, they have both been quoted about returning in the past few days.

Michelle A reporter caught up with Michelle at a Lakers game a few days ago. She told him that she is training, and trying to get into "olympic shape" again. This has been reported on many sites, but here is where I read it:
http://www.xanga.com/kwantifiable?nextdate=1%2f11%2f2009+11%3a52%3a2.400&direction=n

Sasha Sasha was quoted in an article about her, and yoga:

She'll decide this summer about trying out for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. An end to her retirement would be good news for the USA, whose young cast of female skaters seemed destined to mediocrity behind the dominating Asian and Canadian skaters.

Strength of mind and body

"I am training right now to see if I can get back to the place I want to be," she says. "I just don't want to rush my decision."

Here is the link to the article:
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=103945

How do you guys feel about Sasha and Michelle? Think they will come back? Think they won't? Do you want them to come back?

I would personally LOVE for them to come back. I haven't been holding my breath at all for them to come back, but I do have a [/i]little[i] more hope for this now. They are my favorite skaters of all time, next to Mao. I would love to see them compete against Mao, and all the other skaters out there right now. They haven't competed against many of them before. It would be very interresting to see this.

However, I think if they are going to come back, they should have done it THIS season. It would give them a much more reasonable time frame to get their competitive chops back, and time to compete the with the field of skaters they will be facing at the olympics. Not to mention, the difficulties bar in figure skating has been lifted somewhat since they were on the scene. Plus, fans like me don't want to just see them come back in as late as they possibly can, then probably be gone within just a few short months.

They would have to come back just as good, if not better than they were when they retired. And Sasha would have to have improved her consistany, and confidence. Maybe the time off has done her some good. Even if they are in prime condition, I would still bet on Mao beating them

I'd want to see them come back and represent the U.S. They're better than the recent crop of American ladies that have been coming and going, and they are superbly charismatic--perhaps the most charismatic of all the women in the sport right now.

I'm not sure either of them will have the jumping skills needed to place top-3 at the 2010 Olympics, but I would like to see them try. Sasha always had breath-taking spins and spirals...and Michelle Kwan, while I was never a huge fan of hers, is honestly one of the best overall performers who is also consistent in landing her jumps. Her passion and expressiveness can draw in any spectator. Even if they don't get a medal, they would be a pleasure to watch.

Seeing Sasha Cohen skate competitively again is a dream of mine. I love her EX programs, but I miss seeing the way she "checks" out of her jumps so much. Sasha is such a U.S. favourite that even with her two year absence from the sport, she'll more likely be cheered on by the public than any of the current skaters.

I agree to a certain extent with what the article said about the "destined to mediocrity". None of the current skaters have the whole package like Sasha had (excepting the occasional mishaps with the jumps). Rachael Flatt has gorgeous jumps, but the rest of her programs leaves me completely uninspired. Caroline Zhang has Sasha's extension and flexibility, and watching the Pearl is a crowd favourite, but the way she "kicks" into her jumps is most unappealing and just turns me off. Alissa Czisny, again, beautiful everything but lacks the inspiration Sasha had. Ashley Wagner - well, I haven't actually watched one complete program of Ashley's to date so I can't really comment.

Mirai Nagasu is the U.S.'s biggest hope, IMHO. I'm hoping that she'll deal with her growth-spurt and injuries during the off-season so she'll be back into shape before the next season.

Personally, I think Michelle's just too old for the sport, and her skating style is outdated. What used to pass for brilliant skating and 6.0s does not necessarily translate into a 200+ score because flexibility has become such an important trait in the modern skater. Michelle is wonderful, to be sure, but the flexibility's missing so I really don't think she can compete with those who can contort their bodies into pretzels and donuts and pearls. In fact, even Sasha's famed flexibility is nothing extraordinary compared with what we're seeing nowadays. Her spiral positions are still unbeatable, but in terms of layback spins and Biellmanns, they're just the usual fare. Which doesn't make them any less beautiful, though

Another problem I'm finding with Sasha's skating is the jumping. She wasn't a consistent jumper to begin with (but had the most exquisite jumps when she did pull them off) and from what I'm seeing in her current EX programs, the only jump she can pull off is the triple salchow, and not even with a 100% success rate. What are the chances that she can get her other triple jumps back in time for the new season? Also, with the younger U.S. skaters pulling out triple-triple and triple-double-double combos, she's gonna have a hard time outscoring them. What is good is that Sasha has a tendency to over-rotate her jumps, which should fare well under the new system.

I've blabbed on quite a bit here, haven't I? All in all, I so desperately want Sasha to be there for the 2010 Olympics, for old times' sake if not anything else. I've never been a major fan of Michelle's skating, but I know she has a massive fan base and it would make a lot of people very happy if she were to come back too.

It would be great to see a return of the U.S.'s "golden years" in figure-skating!