Hey Sasha, it's time to come out of hiding


Updated: 2006-02-20 14:08

Hey, Sasha Cohen -- where ya been?

Not at the opening ceremonies. Not at her own media day. Not even getting seduced into the spotlight by snowboarder Shaun White, no matter how he tried.

Sorry, Sash, but the Garbo act has got to go. It's showtime.

U.S. figure skater Sasha Cohen skates during a practice session at the Palavela skating venue at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, February 12, 2006. [Reuters]

The women's figure skating competition begins Tuesday night and Cohen, the U.S. champion, is a strong contender. World champion Irina Slutskaya of Russia is the skater to beat, and Cohen takes the ice after her, which could be a bit of an advantage.

Best of all for Cohen: She goes 29th and last, which means she'll get to hide out as long as possible.

Even without headliner Michelle Kwan, NBC is hoping the women can deliver the big ratings that have been missing from these Winter Olympics.

If not, maybe folks can tune in to see speedskaters Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis continue the testiest relationship between Americans on ice since Tonya and Nancy.

Hedrick's drive for five gold medals has been reduced to a plea for three, with Davis involved in both misses -- he won the 1,000 meters and begged off the team pursuit, dooming the United States' chances. Next up is the 1,500, an event Davis held the world record in until Hedrick broke it a few months ago.

NBC is riding the figure skating and speedskating angles so hard that only the women's bobsled finals and the start of women's aerials will be on its 3 1/2 -hour broadcast. Aerials were only added after bad weather forced it to be postponed Sunday.

The big television event Tuesday afternoon is live coverage of U.S. men's hockey team playing Russia. The Americans need at least a tie to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals. The game will be on USA, with MSNBC showing the other five games, all of which will affect the matchups in the next round.

Irina Slutskaya of Russia performs on her way to second place in the women's free skating event in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Tokyo, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2005. [AP]

Also during the day, NBC will show the finals of the Nordic combined sprint, plus some ski jumping and cross country. Curling and the biathlon men's relay finals will be on cable.

Four years ago, Cohen was the spunky, fresh-faced member of the U.S. team who handed President Bush her cell phone so he could say hi to her mom during the opening ceremonies.

She finished fourth in Salt Lake City and has been near the top at most national and world championships ever since. She finally struck gold at last month's nationals, only to see that the big news of the night was Kwan getting a chance to compete in Turin.

Kwan came to Italy and tried, but couldn't. That opened a spot for Emily Hughes, the younger sister of 2002 gold medalist Sarah Hughes.

Whether Cohen felt squeezed out of the media's glare or simply wanted to avoid the attention is hard to say. She certainly hasn't given any answers the last week, not even chiming in when White said he hoped his halfpipe gold medal would get the 21-year-old cover girl to notice him. He said it in every interview over the next several days.

As of Sunday, the only time Cohen had spoken to reporters during the Olympics was at a news conference the day after she arrived. Then she went to train 90 miles away from Turin.

Figure skater Michelle Kwan of the U.S. wipes a tear from her eye during a media conference after pulling out of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, February 12, 2006.[Reuters]

A media availability was scheduled at her practice rink for Wednesday, then changed to Thursday. When reporters showed up, they were told she wasn't available -- even though the early arrivers saw her on the ice and she walked by them on her way out of the building.

With the U.S. Olympics team so far lacking in headliners -- at least, for good reasons -- Cohen's waiting game could pay off. Her story hasn't been oversaturated and, with Kwan's career likely over, she's in position to become the new face of U.S. figure skating.

"I'm definitely feeling great now," Cohen said a week ago Sunday. "I was proud of myself at nationals to be able to come through, skate well, finish with a strong program, without having practiced at all that week. It showed me how much I had in me and that I'm stronger than I think I am. That gives me a lot of confidence."

Kimmie Meissner, who finished behind Cohen at nationals, is the third American in the field. The 16-year-old practiced at the same remote rink as Cohen and watched videos of former Olympic champions.

"It is so inspiring because you can really feel what they are feeling," she said.

Hughes has a pretty good idea since she was in the stands when her big sis won four years ago. Considering she was expecting to watch on TV this time, she's just happy to be here.

"This is the Olympics, what every skater dreams about," she said. "It's amazing to skate across the Olympic rings."

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