With longtime skater Michelle Kwan out of the Olympic picture, three U.S. women figure skaters will take to the ice Tuesday night in the short program: Sasha Cohen, Emily Hughes and Kimmie Meissner.
But NBC analyst Dick Button said only Cohen, a veteran at 21, will feel the weight of expectations.
“Sasha is older, more sophisticated and more educated,” Button said. “This is a much tougher Olympics for her than it is for Emily Hughes. Kimmie and Emily are loaded with energy, their eyes are open, and they’re not worried about whether they’re going to win. The pressure is much greater for Sasha Cohen.”
Considering she is the signature American skater in the Olympics’ marquee event, Cohen has garnered little time thus far on NBC. That’s the skater’s preference, not the network’s.
“She’s been pretty businesslike since she got here,” said NBC analyst Scott Hamilton, a gold medalist at the 1984 Olympics. “I think she’s really concerned more about performing than about being dominant in the headlines.”
Hughes was 13 when older sister Sarah won Olympic gold at Salt Lake City in 2002, and she’s been thrust into action since Kwan dropped out. Meissner is the least known of the three and the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic team.
Here’s a look at them and the rest of the gold medal contenders leading up to Tuesday’s short program and Thursday’s long program.
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Sasha Cohen, 21, U.S.
Short-program personal best:
World-record 71.12 in 2003
Skinny: The sport’s foremost ballerina, with flexibility that allows her to create eye-catching positions. She’s made three coaching changes since the 2002 Olympics.
Off-the-ice factoid: Her favorite singer is Justin Timberlake.
Medal odds, 1-5: World silver medalist the past two seasons, Cohen can compete for gold if she completes clean short and long programs for the first time in her career. Frittered away chance at 2004 world title and 2002 Olympic medal.
Fumie Suguri, 25, Japan
Short-program personal best: 62.02 in 2004
Skinny: A short-program skater who frequently cannot keep her act together in the extra 70 seconds of the free skate. Leaves airy impression with feathery jumps and elegant stroking.
Off-the-ice factoid: As the daughter of an airline pilot, Suguri learned to skate in Alaska, where her father was stationed.
Medal odds, 9-2: Wins gold for honesty after admitting she feels pressure because of Japan’s poor showing so far in the 2006 Olympics.
Kimmie Meissner, 16, U.S.
Short-program personal best: 56.10 in 2005
Skinny: She’s a jumping machine. Artistic impression based on youthful enthusiasm.
Off-the-ice factoid: Her favorite song is “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers.
Medal odds, 25-1: Has barely improved since impressive debut at 2005 U.S. championships. No longer doing the lone element, triple axel jump, that separated her from the pack.
Emily Hughes, 17, U.S.
Short-program personal best: 51.42 in 2005
Skinny: Lacks experience to pull stunner like sister Sarah at 2002 Games. Reworked her free skate after stumbling to third-place finish at U.S. championships.
Off-the-ice factoid: She shares a dress designer with
Slutskaya, and she brought with her from New York a dress that was made for the Russia skater.
Medal odds, 50-1: First global championship on senior level. Happy to be here as a late replacement for the injured Kwan.
Carolina Kostner, 19, Italy
Short-program personal best: 60.82 in 2005
Skinny: Long-limbed young woman with a fawnlike quality to her movements. One of few contenders to plan triple-triple as combination jump in short program.
Off-the-ice factoid: She speaks Italian, German, English, French and Ladinic, a dialect that’s local to her home region.
Medal odds, 3-1: Kostner came undone skating in front of Italian fans on this rink at the European championships but acts more comfortable with her hometown heroine role now.
Irina Slutskaya, 27, Russia
Short-program personal best: 70.22 in 2005
Skinny: Powerful, athletic skater with rafter-rattling lutz and flip jumps. Known for ability to do Biellmann spin on both legs. Rare skater to have spent entire career of 22 years with same coach.
Off-the-ice factoid:
She skates to pay for her mother’s three-times-a-week kidney dialysis.
Medal odds, 1-9: Judges are always generous with artistic marks for the two-time world champion. Only a big mistake on a short-program jump could knock her from contention for gold medal.
