Cohen is aiming for the top -- again
ATLANTA -- She has been chasing ghosts for so long now that it's easy to forget that Michelle Kwan still has people chasing her. Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes may have come and gone, but one Alexandra, a.k.a. Sasha, Cohen still is breathing down her neck. And this time, she just might catch her.
"I'm having the same kind of fun I had when I was 8 years old and I was sliding all over the place," exulted Cohen, after she'd outpointed the seven-time women's champion in last night's short program at the US Figure Skating Championships at Philips Arena.
All she needs to do now is skate the long program of her dreams in prime time tomorrow and Cohen can end Kwan's six-year reign as America's ice queen and bring her promise to full flower.
Not that anyone's betting the ice castle on that. Cohen has made a habit of falling out of contention when the medals are on the line, most notably at the Olympics in Salt Lake and at the last two world championships.
And Kwan, who hasn't lost at nationals since Lipinski beat her in 1997, turns into a tigress when behind. "Are you the underdog now?" she was asked, after seven of the nine judges had gone Cohen's way. "I guess so," she said. "I'm in second place."
Right on her shoulder is Jennifer Kirk of Newton and the Skating Club of Boston, who skated a vibrant and jazzy program to "Chicago," hitting her opening triple-triple combination.
"That's the first time I've landed that in the short program," said the 19-year-old Kirk, who'd be the first Boston-area women's champ since Nancy Kerrigan (1993) if she wins tomorrow. "I'm very pleased with myself."
If Kwan wins, she'll reach a place where only one American woman (Maribel Vinson, who won nine titles between 1928-37) has ever been.
None of Kwan's rivals has won even one crown, but the 19-year-old Cohen has come close, finishing second in 2000 and 2002. What may make the difference this time is a new coach -- Robin Wagner, who directed Hughes to the Olympic gold medal two years ago.
With Hughes now off the ice and studying at Yale, Wagner was available. And when Tatiana Tarasova decided to return to Russia and look after her health, Cohen needed a new tutor. When she and Wagner hooked up just before Christmas, they clicked right away. "I've had a lot of joy brought back to my skating," Cohen said.
Last night before the music began, she took a deep breath, reminded herself to "stay in the now," and attacked her program with power and verve, nailing everything. "To do it here with a new coach in front of the whole country . . ." she mused.
Not that Kwan wasn't. She has a new mentor, too -- Rafael Arutunian, a former Armenian coach and competitor. And Kwan hadn't competed since she won her fifth world title in Washington last spring. "Even though I've done this program before, it's different pressure," she said.
After she nearly spun out of her opening double axel, Kwan settled in and laid down a solid, if deliberate, effort. "The axel was a wake-up call," she said. "OK, Michelle, hello. No more of those kind of jumps."
Not if she wants to keep her crown. In the short program, second is as good as first. Tomorrow night, second is second. Kwan hasn't been there since dot.commers were billionaires.
