Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

2006 Winter Olympics

Cohen: pumped!

Cohen's sparkling skating in the short program creates a super showdown with Irina Slutskaya.

By GARY SHELTON
Published February 22, 2006

TURIN, Italy - One face is cold, detached. There is a mystery behind the eyes, a slight curl to the lips. In the movies of a certain vintage, it is the stereotypical face of the Russian villain.

The other face is calm, determined. There is an intensity in the features, a newfound determination. In the novels of the recent past, it is the family face of the American protagonist.

And let's face it. If the Cold War was going to come back, isn't the middle of a sheet of ice the best place to start?

Women's figure skating returned to the 1960s Tuesday night, and just like that, it was America vs. Russia, spy vs. spy and Bullwinkle vs. Boris all over again. It was Mike Eruzione vs. Vladimir Myshkin, Bobby Fischer vs. Boris Spassky, and the entire '72 Russian basketball team vs. the Americans.

Most of all, it was Sasha vs. Irina.

And, golly, isn't it swell to have the rivalry back.

The women's figure skating competition is a two-woman race now, Cohen vs. Slutskaya, the smiling sprite against the secretive star, the pixie face against the poker face. Call it The Hunt for Gold February, and we've got a hit on our hands.

After Tuesday night's short program, Cohen leads Slutskaya by the thickness of an iron curtain. It was Slutskaya's finest Olympic program, and you can say the same for Cohen. It was Cohen's best stand against the pressure, and ditto Slutskaya.

Good stuff, in other words, at the skating rink. And you can thank Slutskaya for this. She has the more difficult role to play. As excellent as Cohen's performance was, she playing the typical "skated-within-myself-one-step-at-a-time" role as best-hope-of-her-country plucky skater. There is only so much you can do with the part.

Ah, but Slutskaya was the one who made this show the hit of the winter season. After all, Americans love a Russian villain. If we could, we would sell either Chad Hedrick or Shani Davis to Russia, just so the sides would be even. Instead, we will settle for Slutskaya: From Russia With None of Your Business.

Who knew this was Texas Hold'em on ice? Slutskaya treated questions as if they were a grand search for microfilm she had hidden in her skates. For example, skaters are invariably asked what they were thinking on the ice, a question that usually coaxes an answer of "I was just having fun!" or "I just wanted to do my best!" Most of the time, truth serum is not involved.

With Slutskaya, that Sputnik on Skates, the interview sessions went a little differently.

"Irina, what were you thinking out there?"

"I don't want to tell you what I'm thinking. If I tell, everyone will know, and everyone will do great. In the nationals, it's okay (to tell). Not at the Olympics. I don't want to tell my secrets."

"How did you get to the rink tonight?"

"Same way I always do."

"Were you nervous?"

"It's a competition. I don't want to tell you."

And on it went from there. She was the riddle wrapped in an enigma inside a mystery written in code with a combination lock attached. She was a bigger secret than Anastasia's PIN. Call her Irina: International Woman of Mystery.

The thing is, Slutskaya also can skate. She is 27 now, and neither she nor Russia has ever won a gold in the Ladies' Figure Skating program. She was going to be difficult enough to deal with without pounding her skate on the table like Khrushchev at the United Nations.

Perhaps Slutskaya is still miffed over losing the gold medal in Salt Lake City to Sarah Hughes. Her federation protested long and loud after that, if you will remember.

Or perhaps Slutskaya has spent enough years in the kiss and cry zone to think of herself as royalty. She has won seven European championships now, passing Katarina Witt and Sonja Henie.

Probably, though, Slutskaya is just trying to get into the head of Cohen, who has a history of being brittle on the big stage. You know that tougher, more mature Cohen we've heard about? This may be Slutskaya's way of saying "Let's see."

The rest of us are all for that, of course. And, really, what else are you going to look for during Thursday night's long program. If the American women are going to continue to march toward the medal podium, as they always seem to do in this event, then Cohen is the best shot.

Oh, don't get me wrong. There was nothing wrong with what either Kimmie Meissner or Emily Hughes did on Tuesday night. But even though both skaters had their finest performances, they wound up fifth and seventh for the night. In other words, they need some ripening.

Then there is Cohen, who has added a dash of linebacker since the last Olympics. Ask her coach, John Nix, who frankly looks like a linebacker coach. He'll tell you Cohen's practice sessions have been less about quality and more about intensity.

Cohen, too, seems to get it. Skating is not just about spins and sequins. It's about pressure and mental strength and measuring up to the moment.

"She is such a tough competitor," Cohen said. "I admire that. You know, it's not always about being the most talented. Sport rewards the tough people mentally and physically."

As she said it, Cohen looked every bit as rough-and-tumble as a 95-pound skater can manage. Oh, not really. What she looked like was Rocky the Squirrel. Which is fine, seeing as how Slutskaya is playing the part of Natasha Fatale.

I don't know about you, but Gary Francis Powers and I can't wait for Thursday.

[Last modified February 22, 2006, 01:04:18]