Spotlight on Cohen as figure skating begins

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Kimmie Meissner led early in the women's short program. She's not considered a favorite to medal .

With Kwan dropping out, U.S. medal hopes rest on champion's shoulders

TURIN, Italy - American Kimmie Meissner was in first place as the second group of skaters finished competing in the women's short program figure skating event today, scoring 59.40.

There are 29 competitors broken up into five groups. Meissner skated second in the first group. Teammate Emily Hughes is fourth in the third group, the 15th skater to take the ice. America's best hope for a medal, Sasha Cohen, skates last. In between the groups there is a short warmup skate for the next group.

Canadian Joannie Rochette was second with 55.85. Susanna Poykio of Finland was third with 53.74.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” is practically the Olympic anthem for women’s figure skating. And it’s pretty much up to Cohen to keep the music playing.

Since Peggy Fleming won gold in 1968 at Grenoble, a U.S. woman has been on every Olympic podium. Americans have won five golds — including three of the last four — four silvers and four bronzes.

Cohen won her first U.S. championship last month. She’s a two-time world silver medalist and, after Michelle Kwan’s withdrawal with a groin injury, she’s the only likely American contender in this event.

That’s no slight against Meissner or Hughes, Kwan’s replacement. The teenagers simply don’t have the international experience necessary to upset the likes of Cohen, Russia’s Irina Slutskaya and Elena Sokolova, local favorite Carolina Kostner, and the impressive Japanese.

“I want to have a great time out there and enjoy it, give it my all and go home feeling great about the whole experience,” Cohen said Monday. “I’m not putting any pressure on myself to win or to be perfect. It’s about enjoying the process.”

The second part of the event, the free skate, is Thursday. Medals are determined by combining a skater's scores in both events.

Cohen didn’t do much during practice earlier in the week, sticking to some footwork and spins and consulting with coach John Nicks. That was in direct contrast to the energized workouts by Japan’s Fumie Suguri, Shizuka Arakawa and Miki Ando.

Ando, the only woman to land a quadruple jump in competition, worked on a quad salchow. Arakawa landed a few triples, did some stunning spirals, and her run-through was almost medal quality. Suguri was smooth in landing everything during her short program practice.

“I hope that my program will really match the Olympic slogan of passion lives here,” Suguri said. “I would like to be able to express that.”

Like Cohen, Slutskaya spent much of her session marking sight lines for her jumps and spins. But unlike Cohen, who spent a few minutes before a packed-in media throng in the mixed zone, the world champion declined interviews.

“Maybe somebody is thinking I’m a favorite, but it’s the Olympic Games and you never know who can win because it’s a competition,” Slutskaya said earlier this month. She was the 2002 Olympic silver medalist behind Sarah Hughes — Emily Hughes’ older sister.

“I don’t hear this, and I don’t talk with people who always tell me, ‘You will be first,’ because it will be hard to hear. I just want to do my best.”

Kostner, the world bronze medalist and perhaps the skater feeling the most pressure, also didn’t do interviews.

The biggest adjustment for the 16-year-old Meissner has been living in an apartment and learning how to maneuver a hand-held shower.

“It’s hard. It’s a lot different from my regular home,” she said, laughing. “The shower’s different. It’s just like a tub with a hose. (The water) goes everywhere. I take all my towels and put them down, and then I have no more towels.”

Hughes, 17, has gotten some advice from her gold medal-winning sister, who is in Turin with the rest of the family.

“I have some nerves, but it’s the kind of nervousness that makes me want to do well,” she said. “I always considered Sarah to be a great competitor and if you’re comparing me to her like that, that’s a big compliment.

“We talk about everything. She is my sister.”

If any American can replicate the feats of Kristi Yamaguchi (1992), Tara Lipinski (1998) and Sarah Hughes, it will be Cohen.

“For me, when I get to the venue and have the people and the audience, my performance boosts up,” said Cohen, who was fourth at Salt Lake City. “I skate at a much higher level. I’m one of those people that feel like I can feed off the energy and be better. I love to perform.”

The Associated Press