Sasha Cohen Confirms Comeback!!

Well guys, seems that Sasha Cohen's coming back to competitive skating for real. We still have to wait for the official announcement but I *think* it's probably true. Let's see whether we will see her in Vancouver! If she makes it, one more fierce competitor for Mao and Yuna!!!

Here's the link:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/olympics/chi-sasha-cohen-skate-america,0,2761023.story

Interestingly, her new coach will be Rafael Arutunian. A good choice, as Arutunian is the technical specialist and can help her stablize her jumps. He certainly should be partly credited for helping Mao to keep the 3A throughout her growth spurt and improve her 3-3s. Cohen's jumps tend to fall apart at times when she's at important competitions...

If Sasha makes it to the Olympics (I feel for one of the U.S. women - one less spot, the competition will be fierce), I wonder what will happen when Mao gets to meet with her former coach again? I heard that in Mao's book "Miracle Seventeen", their breakup wasn't very pleasant.

Oh wow...I guess the ice really is slippery! I dismissed any possible comebacks from her or Michelle as highly unlikely, but if one of the two did return to shuffle things up, it would have been Sasha, and looks like she's interested in doing so.

The Olympic season will be an exciting one, that's for sure!

Ok,let's see! I'm still doubting !

OMG and with Rafael, it is unbelieve, I hope it will be true, but she said that if she comeback, would be with her coach Nicks

Quote :

I heard that in Mao's book "Miracle Seventeen", their breakup wasn't very pleasant.

why? Was Rafael angry?

Hey! So that means I'll propably get to see Sasha at Skate America! And that means that it's one less chance for Rachael to get this grand prix and I more chance that Mao gets this grand prix!!! I pray because I want soooo much to have mao at Skate America! I want to see her live again

I had a dream about Sasha last night, and in it she was playing poker. I thought it was weird that I should suddenly have a dream about Sasha, but when I read the article this morning it all kinda made sense. She is taking a gamble with a comeback like this one, and especially because the U.S. only has two places for 2010 Vancouver.

BUT, how exciting is it to see Sasha skate competitively again?! I feel like dancing around just thinking about it She's still a favourite of mine.

PLEASE, Sasha, comfirm the comeback!

I will believe her comeback when I see her on the SA competition ice. Putting her name on the GP roster isn't enough.

Wow! This is interesting news!! With Rafael Artunian?

Well, there is still some time until skating season starts, so I am a little skeptical, but this is very interesting!!

bibi wrote:

Quote :

I heard that in Mao's book "Miracle Seventeen", their breakup wasn't very pleasant.

why? Was Rafael angry?

I wouldn't say it was "unpleasant" - but anytime a coach and a skater part ways in the middle of the season, it's got to be strange, right?

So this is what the Mao Asada, Miracle Seventeen book had to say - but do keep in mind that although I think the author is quite truthful, it is Team Mao's version of the story; I'm not sure what Rafael Artunian would say.

According to the book, Mao and the JSF people thought that Rafael would come to Japan to train with Mao before the 2008 4CC, since Japan is on the way to Korea, after all. However, he did not come, and then before 4CC, he said "I haven't been watching her practice, so I can't take responsibility." So Mao went to 4CC with a coach.

Mao won't say much about it, but she said "[He] didn't contact me at all. So when I heard [the news], I was surprised. I thought, 'Why couldn't he come [to Japan] for me?' I really felt that way strongly. Because I was waiting for him to come."

So perhaps it was just a miscommunication, but at any rate, after that, Mao felt kind of betrayed, and Mao's mother lost her trust in Rafael (she says something like this had happened before) and that was the end of things...

Have I mentioned this before? Maybe not. I've been meaning to add to the "Mao and TAT" thread, but ANYWAY - according to the book, after the split with Artunian, the JSF desperately was searching for a coach for Mao for Worlds.

And can you guess who agreed to do it?
YES, TAT said she would coach Mao for Worlds, if only Mao would come to Russia for two weeks to train!

Unfortunately, Mao sprained her ankle, so then she couldn't train at all. As a result, she didn't go to Russia, and TAT did not go with her to 2008 Worlds...

I will write more about "Mao and TAT" later! OH I just realized - that is kind of funny! Sasha used to train with TAT, and now she's Rafael's student. Mao used to train with Rafael, and now she's TAT's student! They've swapped coaches!!

I am waiting for more stories between Mao and TAT. Thanks a lot, Batsuchan! You always bring us a lot of information.

P.S. I still feel sorry about Mao's split with Rafael coz I always love to see their interaction in K&C especially in 07GPF.

Batsuchan wrote:

And can you guess who agreed to do it?
YES, TAT said she would coach Mao for Worlds, if only Mao would come to Russia for two weeks to train!

Unfortunately, Mao sprained her ankle, so then she couldn't train at all. As a result, she didn't go to Russia, and TAT did not go with her to 2008 Worlds...

I will write more about "Mao and TAT" later! OH I just realized - that is kind of funny! Sasha used to train with TAT, and now she's Rafael's student. Mao used to train with Rafael, and now she's TAT's student! They've swapped coaches!!

Really interesting. If Tat did indeed showed up at 2008 Worlds as Mao's coach on a 2 week notice...that would've exactly matched Shizuka's situation back in 2004! (as if there weren't enough parallels between Mao and Shiz already)

bibi wrote:

Hey! So that means I'll propably get to see Sasha at Skate America! And that means that it's one less chance for Rachael to get this grand prix and I more chance that Mao gets this grand prix!!! I pray because I want soooo much to have mao at Skate America! I want to see her live again

with that, but I don´t believe Mao will get SA, yuna must to want this, then usa don´t will want yuna+mao & Sasha or Rachel, but she may be will be in SC, and training in Russia and with Tatiana may be Cup of Russia

OMG!! This is awesome news!
I so was hoping for Sasha to comeback <3 She is such a quality skater, I love her spirals and spins and wow - this girl is spicy!
She surely is and was an enrichment for figure skating, hence I'm so glad she'll be back!
Hope she'll regain her jumps and furthermore, a little more consistency! She tended to be rather flawed...
And I also hope she'll get a spot for Worlds and Olympics and even if she fails, it'll be just a joy to see her back

Oh I never knew Mao sprained her ankle before 08 Worlds! That's one of her traits I love most. she Never brings up those kind of things in front of the media. like how they were delayed at the airport this year before Worlds.

Is the quick reply thingy upgraded? If yes, thanks a lot, admins!!!

Back to the original topic. I hope Cohen IS returning for the Olympics...She wouldn't have said anything to the press if she wasn't serious about it. The news mention that she is only in the stages of preparation these days. Her official practices will not start until June. There is no guarantee about anything yet. We may have a better idea of her comeback possibly by the end of May and early June. We don't know if she'll even make it to the OLY team. Caroline Zhang and Rachel Flatt will give her a run for her money on the technical scores.

As a figure skating fan, I welcome the news as it'll spice things up a bit for Vancouver. Let the battle between the women and the girls begin! Just kidding (grins).

I think SC's best possible (and plausible) finish at the Olympics is 5th place. Zhang and Flatt have equal or even better chances for that goal. Does that make much difference who has the best possibility for 5th place at Olympics?

If the USFS gives up any hope for medals and places their priority on drawing public attentions and viewers, it's pretty rational to choose Cohen over youger skaters. Compared to crowing Czisny with 3 triples FS, it's not so difficult task. The COP has proved to have limitless ways to manipulate scores and favor certain skaters.

Of course, world team selection needs more considerations. Who has the best possibility for 5th place at worlds is very important.

Okay, here's another article by Hersh:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/olympics_blog/2009/05/sasha-c.html
(includes a small interview with Sasha Cohen)

Gosh, it's so difficult to discern sarcasm/humour v.s. pure arrogance at times in articles. His first line in the article already puts me off. But, anyway, back to Sasha Cohen.

Hersh brings up an interesting phenomenon that Sasha Cohen's comeback news attracted more interested from the Japanese community than the Korean community.

We've had asian skaters dominating the ladies figure skating field for some time now and this interview with Cohen reminds me just how different the asian culture is from the north american culture. Cohen seems soooo confident and vocal - to the point that I wonder if she's a bit tooooo optimistic with her chances of making the OLY team, least to say the olympic podium. If the quotes are not edited too much, they show that Cohen seems to take the possibility of her making the OLY team for granted, or at least she is feeling pretty confident about it. In fact, when asked about her competitors, she seem to immediate associate them with the ones in the international field, NOT within U.S..

PCs aside, I don't think she is really as competitive as she think she is in her jumps. Yes, both Mao and Yuna have been having problems with their jumps lately; Mao arguably more. Even if Cohen finds encouragement in Rochette's achievement at worlds, she has yet to prove that she has the same solid and consistent technical skills that Rochette has. But well, she's famous for how determined she could be when seh set her heart on something. If there is anything we can be sure about after reading this interview, it's Cohen's strong determination to compete again.

I don't know how I feel about Sasha's Q & A from Hersh's article. On one hand, I'm really happy to see how confident and excited she is about the whole comeback thing and I think this new attitude will really help her in the upcoming season. On the other hand, I'm not sure if dismissing Caroline and Rachael and all the other young U.S. skaters as possible competition is a wise move. I mean, Rachael's basically a jumping machine. And jumps count, no matter how the scores are manipulated.

About snowdrops24's point about Sasha being "confident and vocal" about her chances: I don't really think it's an Asian culture vs. North American culture thing as much as it is a Sasha Cohen thing. If you've seen many interviews of Sasha and read her autobiography (which I did and loved), you would see that she's vocal about pretty much everything. She's so talkative and bubbly and enthusiastic, which is why I find her so likeable. As for being confident, well, I'm not sure Sasha's as confident about her chances as she is making it seem she is. Maybe it's a way to reassure her fans?

At the end of the day, fans of Sasha are just going to be content with seeing her skate in competition again. I don't think I care if she ends up coming 1st or 28th at the Olympics (if she makes it there, that is.) I just want to see those magical spirals again!

chineseteacup wrote:

I don't know how I feel about Sasha's Q & A from Hersh's article. On one hand, I'm really happy to see how confident and excited she is about the whole comeback thing and I think this new attitude will really help her in the upcoming season. On the other hand, I'm not sure if dismissing Caroline and Rachael and all the other young U.S. skaters as possible competition is a wise move. I mean, Rachael's basically a jumping machine. And jumps count, no matter how the scores are manipulated.

About snowdrops24's point about Sasha being "confident and vocal" about her chances: I don't really think it's an Asian culture vs. North American culture thing as much as it is a Sasha Cohen thing. If you've seen many interviews of Sasha and read her autobiography (which I did and loved), you would see that she's vocal about pretty much everything. She's so talkative and bubbly and enthusiastic, which is why I find her so likeable. As for being confident, well, I'm not sure Sasha's as confident about her chances as she is making it seem she is. Maybe it's a way to reassure her fans?

At the end of the day, fans of Sasha are just going to be content with seeing her skate in competition again. I don't think I care if she ends up coming 1st or 28th at the Olympics (if she makes it there, that is.) I just want to see those magical spirals again!

YES!!!! No one can beat Sasha in her spirals it's just perfection!

polosatik wrote:

YES!!!! No one can beat Sasha in her spirals it's just perfection!

I used it think it was just because she timed her spirals to the music but after comparing her spirals to the spirals we've been seeing from the current skaters, I realised that NOBODY can (to quote Peggy Flemming) "touch Sasha on her spiral sequence." It's breath-taking, awe-inspiring and absolutely heart-stopping.

And I miss watching Sasha do the Charlotte on the ice. No one does Charlotte spirals anymore. They all go for the Biellmann, on the ground that it receives more points. What about beauty? What about inspiration?

Not to mention her perfect Russian split.

And now I'm afraid I've over-stepped my boundaries on Mao-chan's forum. Anyone who sees this would surely think they were on a Sasha fan site instead! :lol!

Edit: I just realised this was my 100th post. I shall celebrate by doing a dance:

chineseteacup wrote:

polosatik wrote:

YES!!!! No one can beat Sasha in her spirals it's just perfection!

I used it think it was just because she timed her spirals to the music but after comparing her spirals to the spirals we've been seeing from the current skaters, I realised that NOBODY can (to quote Peggy Flemming) "touch Sasha on her spiral sequence." It's breath-taking, awe-inspiring and absolutely heart-stopping.

And I miss watching Sasha do the Charlotte on the ice. No one does Charlotte spirals anymore. They all go for the Biellmann, on the ground that it receives more points. What about beauty? What about inspiration?

Not to mention her perfect Russian split.

And now I'm afraid I've over-stepped my boundaries on Mao-chan's forum. Anyone who sees this would surely think they were on a Sasha fan site instead!

I think we're both Mao and Sasha fans! Nothing's wrong with it! Russian split-ummmm I miss it so much! And I agree about spirals postions, this ISU rules just killing the beauty, all spiral positions from different skaters are pretty the same! I want Mao to do a charlotte spiral or a russian split, with her awesome flexibility it would be gorgeous!

...^ Congratulations!

*whispers* You don't think we'll get kicked off the forum for being over-enthusiastic about Sasha, do you? I am still a huge Mao fan. It's just that all this talk of a comeback for Sasha is so exciting!

Do you have a favourite program of Sasha's? My SP favourite would have to be the Dark Eyes one she did at the Olympics, while my LP favourite is the Malaguena, which she performed in that beautiful yellow dress with the black collar.

I can be so pathetically sentimental

chineseteacup wrote:

*whispers* You don't think we'll get kicked off the forum for being over-enthusiastic about Sasha, do you? I am still a huge Mao fan. It's just that all this talk of a comeback for Sasha is so exciting!

Do you have a favourite program of Sasha's? My SP favourite would have to be the Dark Eyes one she did at the Olympics, while my LP favourite is the Malaguena, which she performed in that beautiful yellow dress with the black collar.

I can be so pathetically sentimental

I don't think so I'm a huge Mao fan! But I can have my second favourites, can I? Yes, my fav sp is also Dark eyes, but malaguena is also a short program! My favourite free program of Sasha is Rachmaninoff

polosatik wrote:

Yes, my fav sp is also Dark eyes, but malaguena is also a short program! My favourite free program of Sasha is Rachmaninoff

The Malaguena SP was phenomenal! I'm not too bothered about whether she can even make the Olys team, but I am certainly hoping this will make the Olympic season a lot more interesting.

There's been such a strong insistence that Sasha or Michelle's comeback will "spur" interest back in FS in the States, but I completely doubt that, to be honest...

chineseteacup wrote:

*whispers* You don't think we'll get kicked off the forum for being over-enthusiastic about Sasha, do you? I am still a huge Mao fan. It's just that all this talk of a comeback for Sasha is so exciting!

Do you have a favourite program of Sasha's? My SP favourite would have to be the Dark Eyes one she did at the Olympics, while my LP favourite is the Malaguena, which she performed in that beautiful yellow dress with the black collar.

I can be so pathetically sentimental

I don't think she has a LP w/ the Malaguena music. As you mention about the yellow dress. I think that is her SP too, not LP.