Cohen finds groove again with Turin looming

Sasha Cohen wants to improve on her fourth-place finish at the 2002 Olympics. AP

NEW YORK (AP) -- Everything in Sasha Cohen's life is starting to come together.

The 19-year-old figure skater is living in New York and on her own for the first time, though her mom and dad are close by. She enjoyed a breakthrough season last year that included her first medal at the world championships. She and coach Robin Wagner have a full season, not just a few weeks, to work together.

And the Turin Olympics are coming up fast, only 16 months away.

"Every year I've been growing, figuring out what I needed to do," Cohen said. "This is the first year it came together and it's like, 'OK, nothing's changing. I have a feel, I've been here before."'

Good thing, because her season gets off to a fast start Friday night in St. Paul, Minn., at the International Figure Skating Classic. The invitational has drawn a who's who of skaters, including fellow Americans Michelle Kwan and Jenny Kirk, world champion Shizuka Arakawa and Miki Ando, the junior world champ and first woman to do a quadruple jump in competition.

"I have high expectations for myself every year," Cohen said. "But I think this year, I'm not just hoping. I know exactly what it takes."

Cohen established herself as a skater to be reckoned with back in 2000, when she almost beat Kwan at her first U.S. Figure Skating Championships as a senior. Just 15 then, Cohen already had the power and athleticism to pull off the tough tricks, and the delicate grace and beauty of a ballerina.

But she never quite reached her full potential over the next few years and, most of the time, it was her own inconsistency holding her back. She had chances to medal, if not win, at the Salt Lake City Olympics and the 2002 world championships, only to falter in the free skate and wind up fourth both times.

She seemed to find new resolve last year, winning all three Grand Prix events she entered and beating Kwan for the first time, at an invitational. But she finished second at the Grand Prix finals with a sloppy, lackluster performance. Then, just two weeks before nationals, she decided to train with Wagner, who had coached Sarah Hughes to Olympic gold in 2002.

The partnership immediately clicked, and Cohen beat Kwan in the short program at nationals. Though she wound up second to Kwan after botching two jumps in her free skate, she rebounded with a silver medal at worlds, the first of her career. Kwan finished third.

"That was really great," Cohen said. "It meant a lot to me to finally be on the podium and medal at a world championships."

It also gave her new confidence for this all-important year before an Olympics.

"It's like, 'Wow, it's finally here. It's coming.' All the preparations are under way," she said. "Everything I do, I have the Olympics in mind."

Well, maybe not everything.

Cohen has always been headstrong -- her battles of will with former coach John Nicks were a running joke -- and she surprised Wagner by deciding to stay in Connecticut and skate on her own for a month after she got back from a vacation at the end of the summer.

Then Cohen and Wagner lost more time when Cohen had an adverse reaction to some medication.

"We're a little behind the 8-ball," Wagner said. "We're not exactly where we'd hoped to be, but we're on track. I think she's understanding how I expect her to train, understanding the game plan for her. Obviously, my main goal is to have her ready in January and in March."

Wagner hoped to work on triple-triple jump combinations as well as a quad, but there hasn't been time. It takes dozens of hours of practice and hundreds of repetitions before a skater has perfected a jump enough to do it with confidence in competition.

So Cohen's programs -- her short is to Dark Eyes and her free skate is from The Nutcracker -- are likely to look a lot different in a few months than they do now.

"I'm looking to make them more difficult as the season progresses," Wagner said. "They're good solid programs, but I would prefer to call them skeletons."

Cohen and Wagner will have lots of time to work on them. Instead of loading up on Grand Prix events as she's done in the past, Cohen is only doing Skate America and the Cup of China.

She also has a Skate Fest in New York on Nov. 20. The free clinics give recreational skaters on-ice instruction, and earlier ones in Houston and Chicago drew more than 600 people.

"This is the year to keep improving, keep pushing it and know exactly what you need," Cohen said. "There's going to be a lot of experimentation in there. I think this is going to be a big learning year for me."