Cohen hopes for 'magical' return

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Figure skater Sasha Cohen yearns for one last turn at the Olympics. To get the chance, the Torino Games silver medalist must pass her first competitive test in nearly four years.

Cohen, known for her flexibility and grace on the ice, will be battling for one of two U.S. Olympic spots at January's U.S. nationals in her first competition since she won bronze at the March 2006 world championships.

"I would love to go to the U.S. nationals, skate two clean programs, win the national championship, go to Vancouver, skate my best again and get a medal there," Cohen told Reuters in a recent interview when asked about her dream scenario.

"I think anything is possible."

Tendinitis in her right calf kept Cohen out of the two events she planned to use as preparation for the nationals in Spokane, Washington -- the Paris Grand Prix in October and November's Skate America.

Cohen, 25, said there was no cause for panic since she had laid the foundations of her comeback during a rigorous summer working with new coach Rafael Arutunian.

She left competitive skating after her 2006 successes.

"I really just needed a little time to do other things. I pushed so long my whole life doing one thing, and then you lose a little bit of perspective and things can get a little stale and you get a little bit burned out on one thing," she said.

"Taking the time to explore other things and take a break really rekindled that fire I have for Olympic competition."

OLYMPIC INSPIRATION
The Californian tried her hand at acting, entertainment journalism, modeling and designing while continuing to perform on ice in skating tours.

Then came the Beijing Games and a return of Olympic fever.

"The Summer Olympics was so inspirational, so motivating and I realized how much skating is a part of my life and this would be the last opportunity that I would have," said Cohen, who would become the oldest women's figure skating winner in 90 years if she took gold in Vancouver in February.

"There's nothing like the Olympics. It's magical, it's incredible, it's intense."

Cohen, looking trim in a leopard-print shirt, said fans and judges would see a different person.

"Definitely. I think my life experience over the last four years has changed me as a person.

"I'm coming back to skating, with the passion bringing me back rather than having been in it since I was seven years old," she said. "I think that should definitely come across."

Cohen said she thought skating had changed.

"I think it's a little bit younger right now, and it's changing so much," said Cohen, who often found herself a runner-up to compatriot Michelle Kwan early in her career but now sees no set order in the sport's hierarchy.

Including Cohen's 2006 national title, taken with nine-times champion Kwan sidelined by injury, there have been five different U.S. champions for the last five years. Americans have failed to win a medal in the last three world championships.

"This season has been crazy so far, with how the skaters have ranked in the different grands prix. It's interesting. The only thing you can really count on is change. It's really exciting. There's a lot of possibility right now."

HIGHER JUMPS
Cohen said she was less flexible now but was stronger and a better jumper.

"He's (Arutunian) really pushed me to be a better edge skater, a better technical jumper, to work on my spins more and a different mentality.

"I definitely think my jumping has improved. I've been working on triple triples. I feel like my jumps are higher now than they were last time around in 2006 and now it's just about getting them consistent in a program and to perform that."

Her biggest challenge was to stay patient, she said, knowing she must hone her fitness and build toward the nationals.

"I had to limit my time to 45 minutes on the ice and spend two hours every day in physical therapy, stretching and doing Epsom salt baths, icing and heat, too, to rehabilitate the muscles," she said about her tendinitis.

Cohen said training for competition was arduous but the lessons learned from touring had helped her.

"When we're skating with Stars on Ice we have to be in eight or nine numbers and you're in your skates for most of the show and you're doing quick change and you have to be go-go-go and learn to skate seven shows in a row with 12-hour bus rides every night and skate even if you have the 'flu.

"It teaches you a lot of different things. You have to do it no matter what. It just develops a different side of you."

Cohen recounted the spate of injuries she overcame to win Turin silver, including a pair of pulled groin muscles that required therapy three times a day. "I wasn't practicing and I couldn't do anything in practice the whole month before."

Given that experience, Cohen was optimistic about getting ready for the nationals and her push for the Olympics.

"Ultimately, I feel confident that I'm prepared and I'll have a great skate."