Cohen Says Goal Is to Qualify for 2010 Winter Olympics

Describing herself as rejuvenated and in fantastic shape, Sasha Cohen said she is ready to compete with the best skaters in the world and work toward a medal at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C., when she returns to competitive skating this fall.

Cohen, 24, whose only on-ice appearances since 2006 have been with noncompetitive skating tours, has applied for spots in the International Skating Union's grand prix series, which includes Skate America in Lake Placid, N.Y., in mid-November.

Her ultimate goal, she said, is to win one of the two available women's slots on what would be her third Olympic team at the U.S. championships in Spokane, Wash., next January.

"I know I would regret it so much if I didn't come back and challenge myself and see what I could do," Cohen said. "This is what I really want to do, and a fear of failure won't stop me."

Cohen, considered one of the most artistically proficient skaters of all time, immediately restores some credibility to the flagging U.S. women's program, which failed to win a world championship medal for the third straight year. The relatively poor performance of U.S. women Alyssa Czisny and Rachael Flatt at the March world championships earned the U.S. women's squad only two places, instead of the customary three, at the Olympic Games.

The last U.S. women's world medal came in 2006 -- when Cohen claimed the bronze and Kimmie Meissner won gold.

Cohen's former rival Michelle Kwan, considered by some the greatest female skater ever, also is pondering a return to the sport after leaving competitive skating before the 2006 Winter Games, but her agent, Shep Goldberg, said yesterday in an e-mail that she had not yet made a decision.

Cohen said she returned to serious training last summer and is now "very close to [executing] triple-triples," extremely difficult combination jumps that would be expected from an Olympic medal contender. Other than tendinitis in her ankle, she said, she is healthy.

When Cohen is not touring, she has been training under Rafael Arutunian -- Kwan's old coach -- in Lake Arrowhead, Calif. After attending acting school and exploring other interests for two years, she said she rediscovered her love for the sport.

"I felt very burnt out in 2006 and I took a break and realized how special skating was to me," she said. "Coming back this year, I feel very fresh . . . I'm so excited to be back and to do this again."

Cohen won one national title and a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. At the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, she finished fourth.

"I'm sure I'm going to get a lot more nervous as the months go by, but at this point I'm just really excited to have this purpose in my life again," Cohen said.