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Kwan, Cohen fans remain supportive Posted: Friday February 22, 2002 3:16 AM
BIG BEAR CITY, Calif. (AP) -- Fans in Michelle Kwan's home rink gasped when she fell, and hometown supporters of Sasha Cohen encouraged her to return to the Olympics in four years. Kwan, who was the heavy favorite to win gold after winning silver in 1998, fell and bobbled a jump, finishing with the bronze. Cohen also fell, and came in fourth. About 200 Kwan fans watched at Ice Castles training center in Lake Arrowhead. When the final standings were announced, there were both boos and loud cheers as the crowd balanced their hopes for Kwan with support for her U.S. teammate, Sarah Hughes, who took home gold. "I feel bad for Michelle. My heart aches for her," said Glenda Silvis of Crestline. "We're still proud of her. She's still our hometown girl." Many said they were comfortable with the judges' decision. "I thought that it was right," said Larry Cummings, general manager of the center where Kwan had trained for years. "She'd probably tell you the same thing, that if she'd hit that jump, she'd have the gold medal." Meanwhile in Newport Beach, about 30 Sasha Cohen fans waited for the tape-delayed broadcast of the competition to begin on NBC. Many of the parents knew before that Cohen had finished fourth, but they didn't want to kill the excitement swirling at the party. After the competition concluded, Cohen's closest friend took the call she had been waiting for all night. "Four more years, you can do it," said 17-year-old Christie Baca, who talked with the disappointed Cohen on her cell phone. "When I told her four more years, she replied 'Maybe, we'll see.'" "She needs a couple of weeks to reconsider. It's frustrating to fall when your jump has been consistent during practice."
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