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Sasha Cohen Profile |
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Birth Date: October 26, 1984
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Birth Place: Los Angeles, California, USA
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Birth Name: Alexandra Pauline Cohen
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Height: 5'1½"
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Biography |
Sasha Cohen was born on October 26,
1984, in Westwood, California. Her mother, Galina, is a
ballerina who emigrated from Ukraine; it's thanks to her
that Sasha has her nickname ("Sasha" is a common Slavic
shortening of Alexander or Alexandra) and can speak fluent
Russian. Rounding out Sasha's immediate family is her father
Roger Cohen and her younger sister Natasha, an aspiring
pianist.
Sasha's first competitive sport was gymnastics, which she
practiced as a very young girl; she eventually made it to
level five. When Sasha was 7, she switched to figure
skating, to which she applied herself with thousands of
hours of hard work and training throughout the 1990s. As
early as the age of 12, she began to compete in the
Southwest Pacific Regionals and Pacific Coast Sectionals,
consistently placing in the top five. By 1999, she had
placed first in both these competitions, won the Gardena
Winter Trophy, and placed second at the US Junior National
Championships.
Sasha first came to national prominence the following year,
when she won the silver medal at the US National
Championships. A back injury kept Sasha from competing in
the National Championships in 2001, but she was back in
2002, winning another silver and qualifying for the 2002
Olympics in Salt Lake City.
At the Olympics, her first major international competition,
she just missed a medal, placing fourth. During the opening
ceremonies, she was among the athletes who sat beside George
W. Bush, and even made headlines when she asked the
President to say "hi" to her mother on her cell phone.
In the summer of 2002, Sasha graduated from Futures High
School with a straight-A record. She left California and her
coach John Nicks for Simsbury, Connecticut to train with
Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova.
In 2003, Sasha won the Grand Prix Final, earning her first
international title, and she placed fourth overall at the
2003 World Championships. The 2002-2003 season was her best
yet.
The next year was more uneven. Sasha came on strong early in
the season, but falls in the ABC Winter Challenge and the
Grand Prix cost her. In early 2004, she moved to Hackensack,
New Jersey, to train with Robin Wagner, who had coached
Sarah Hughes to the Olympic gold in 2002. Sasha's
performances picked up again, and she won silver at both the
National and World Championships; she also won the 2004
Marshalls World Challenge with a flawless seven-triple free
skate.
A flare-up of Sasha's back injury marred her 2004-2005
season, forcing her to withdraw from Grand Prix events and
causing a disappointing third-place finish at the 2004
Marshalls World Cup. In December 2004, Sasha returned to
California and her friends and family, and was once again
coached by John Nicks.
Sasha's record for 2005 includes second-place finishes in
the US National Championships, the World Championships, and
the Marshalls US Figure Skating Challenge. She is planning
to compete in the 2005 Grand Prix in Tokyo, as well as the
2006 Olympics in Torino, and the 2006 World Championships in
Calgary.
Sasha continues to make Orange County, California her base;
she recently bought a house near the beach and she has also
written an autobiography, Fire on Ice: Autobiography of a
Champion Figure Skater (2005). |
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Other
Information |
Was voted the "Hottest Woman in Sports" in 2003
2003 Grand Prix Final Champion
Used to be a gymnast before she became a figure skater
Handed her cell phone to President Bush during the 2002
Olympic Opening ceremonies to say "Hi" to her mom.
She has a younger sister, Natalia (a.k.a. "Natasha")
2004 & 2005 World silver medalist
2000, 2002-2005 U.S. National silver medalist
Graduated from Futures High School with straight As (2002)
Her mother Galina is from the Ukraine
2006 U.S. national figure skating champ.
2006 Olympic figure skating silver medalist
2006 Olympic Silver Medalist
2006 World figure skating bronze medalist |
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