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Monday, February 14, 2000 By Lori Shontz, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Correction/Clarification: (Published Feb. 15, 2000) Sasha Cohen of Costa Mesa, Calif., won the silver medal in the women’s senior division at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland during the weekend. Her finish was incorrectly reported in a story and headline in yesterday’s editions.
CLEVELAND -- Back home at the ice rink in Costa Mesa, Calif., everyone calls Sasha Cohen the China Doll.
Considering she stands 4 feet 9 and weighs 79 pounds, the nickname seems to be appropriate. But Cohen's coach, John Nicks, isn't quite sure.
"She looks fragile, but that's deceptive," he said. "She's not fragile at all. She's a very tough young lady. When she's out of control on Monday morning at 7 a.m., she takes the most appalling falls. I haven't seen her cry once."
Cohen, 15, showed how tough she was over the weekend at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Just a year after she finished second in the junior division, she moved up to the senior level, won the short program and finished second after a fall on a triple-toe-loop at the end of her long program.
Her most obvious attribute is her artistry -- none other than hard-to-please television analyst Dick Button has gushed over her line and the way she expresses the music. Nicks calls her "elegance personified."
But Cohen has another side, too.
She moved up after a sixth-place finish at the novice level. After she finished second at juniors in Salt Lake City, she was asked whether she was moving to senior, and she answered yes.
Nicks contradicted her, saying that decision hadn't been made yet. "She was obviously capable of going up to senior," he says now. "I just wanted her to understand that decision was going to be made only after consultation with her coach."
Apparently, Cohen and Nicks have such "discussions" frequently. Although Cohen was quiet and shy during her first appearances in front of the national media, Nicks emphasized that away from the cameras and tape recorders, Cohen is quite different.
"She's sometimes extremely difficult to coach because she has a mind of her own and is really challenging," he said. "I really earn my money when I give her lessons, but she is a very special, special young lady."
Cohen fell to second place after two mistakes in her long program -- she two-footed a triple lutz, and she fell on the triple-toe. Some observers thought that had Cohen landed the triple-toe, she would have won the competition ... or at least would have made Michelle Kwan's victory a little closer.
Cohen disagreed.
"I really don't think I would have won even if I had landed it," she said. "Michelle is a world and Olympic skater and very well known. She has a reputation."
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