SASHA COHEN
Name: Sasha Cohen
Born: 26 October 1984
Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen (born October 26, 1984) is an American figure
skater. She is the 2006 U.S. National Champion, 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion,
and 2006 Olympic silver medalist.
Cohen was born in Westwood, California, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Her
mother, Galina Feldman, is a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine and a former ballet
dancer; her father, Roger Cohen, is a Jewish American business consultant who is
an attorney with Dorsey & Whitney LLP. Sasha attended Aliso Niguel High
School in Aliso Viejo, California and graduated from Futures High School in
Mission Viejo, California in 2002. Her sister, Natalia ("Natasha"), began
college at Barnard College in August 2006.
In 2005, she published her autobiography, Fire on Ice.
Cohen understands Russian.
A gymnast from an early age, Cohen switched to figure skating when she was seven
years old, but it wasn't until she was 10 that she began to take the sport
seriously.
Cohen rose to prominence in the skating community during the 2000 United States
Figure Skating Championships. Just up from juniors, Cohen dropped from first
place after the short program to second after the free skating and qualified for
the world team. Too young for the World Figure Skating Championships, a loophole
at the time would have allowed her to compete in senior worlds if she medaled at
the World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Cohen did not medal at world
juniors and so did not go to senior worlds.
Cohen did not compete at the 2001 Nationals due to a stress fracture in her back,
but took back her silver medal at the 2002 Nationals, earning her a trip to the
Olympics. Cohen competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah,
finishing 4th. Her best season was 2003-2004, when she took gold at three Grand
Prix events and silver at both the U.S. National Championships and the World
Championships. Cohen placed 2nd at the 2005 U.S. National Championships in
Portland and the World Championships in Moscow, Russia. She withdrew from the
2005 Grand Prix events due to a recurring back injury.
Cohen started her Olympic season by placing 1st at the Campbell's International
Figure Skating Challenge. Soon after she withdrew from Skate America due to a
hip injury. She took 2nd place at Trophée Eric Bompard, where she fell on a
triple Salchow during her free skate. In 2006, Cohen overcame the flu to capture
her first U.S. National Championship. With this victory Cohen automatically
secured her place on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2006 Winter Olympics, a spot
made official on January 14 of that year by the United States Figure Skating
Association.
At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Cohen was in 1st after the short program,
leading Russia's Irina Slutskaya by a mere .03 points. In the final free skate,
Cohen fell on her first jump, a triple Lutz, and had her hands down on her
second jump, the triple flip. She completed the rest of her elements, including
five triples. Cohen finished with an Olympic silver medal, her first Olympic
medal. The Olympic gold medalist, Shizuka Arakawa of Japan, won by 7.98 points
over Cohen.
A month later at the 2006 World Championships in Calgary, Canada, Cohen was in 1st
place after the short program. Completing only one jump combination and falling
on the triple Salchow, she placed fourth in the free skate and won the bronze
medal, finishing almost ten points behind her teammate, gold medalist Kimmie
Meissner. Cohen displayed strong artistry in her free skate and picked up level
fours on all her spins and her spiral sequence. Her program component score of
61.35 was the highest of the night.
Name: Sasha Cohen
Born: 26 October 1984
Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen (born October 26, 1984) is an American figure
skater. She is the 2006 U.S. National Champion, 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion,
and 2006 Olympic silver medalist.
Cohen was born in Westwood, California, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Her
mother, Galina Feldman, is a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine and a former ballet
dancer; her father, Roger Cohen, is a Jewish American business consultant who is
an attorney with Dorsey & Whitney LLP. Sasha attended Aliso Niguel High
School in Aliso Viejo, California and graduated from Futures High School in
Mission Viejo, California in 2002. Her sister, Natalia ("Natasha"), began
college at Barnard College in August 2006.
In 2005, she published her autobiography, Fire on Ice.
Cohen understands Russian.
A gymnast from an early age, Cohen switched to figure skating when she was seven
years old, but it wasn't until she was 10 that she began to take the sport
seriously.
Cohen rose to prominence in the skating community during the 2000 United States
Figure Skating Championships. Just up from juniors, Cohen dropped from first
place after the short program to second after the free skating and qualified for
the world team. Too young for the World Figure Skating Championships, a loophole
at the time would have allowed her to compete in senior worlds if she medaled at
the World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Cohen did not medal at world
juniors and so did not go to senior worlds.
Cohen did not compete at the 2001 Nationals due to a stress fracture in her back,
but took back her silver medal at the 2002 Nationals, earning her a trip to the
Olympics. Cohen competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah,
finishing 4th. Her best season was 2003-2004, when she took gold at three Grand
Prix events and silver at both the U.S. National Championships and the World
Championships. Cohen placed 2nd at the 2005 U.S. National Championships in
Portland and the World Championships in Moscow, Russia. She withdrew from the
2005 Grand Prix events due to a recurring back injury.
Cohen started her Olympic season by placing 1st at the Campbell's International
Figure Skating Challenge. Soon after she withdrew from Skate America due to a
hip injury. She took 2nd place at Trophée Eric Bompard, where she fell on a
triple Salchow during her free skate. In 2006, Cohen overcame the flu to capture
her first U.S. National Championship. With this victory Cohen automatically
secured her place on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2006 Winter Olympics, a spot
made official on January 14 of that year by the United States Figure Skating
Association.
At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Cohen was in 1st after the short program,
leading Russia's Irina Slutskaya by a mere .03 points. In the final free skate,
Cohen fell on her first jump, a triple Lutz, and had her hands down on her
second jump, the triple flip. She completed the rest of her elements, including
five triples. Cohen finished with an Olympic silver medal, her first Olympic
medal. The Olympic gold medalist, Shizuka Arakawa of Japan, won by 7.98 points
over Cohen.
A month later at the 2006 World Championships in Calgary, Canada, Cohen was in 1st
place after the short program. Completing only one jump combination and falling
on the triple Salchow, she placed fourth in the free skate and won the bronze
medal, finishing almost ten points behind her teammate, gold medalist Kimmie
Meissner. Cohen displayed strong artistry in her free skate and picked up level
fours on all her spins and her spiral sequence. Her program component score of
61.35 was the highest of the night.