Or so she said in the USOC teleconference yesterday per Chicago Tribune. Actually, put me on the side of the believers. I have no doubt that she can gut through three or four triples, and it didn't take more than that to win Nationals last year. I'm sure she could have skated the Grand Prix events but maybe would not have performed very well and was conserving herself for the big one - the U.S. Nationals.
The article mentioned that few of the other U.S. skaters (Alissa Czisny and Ashley Wagner, two who are most likely to be bumped from that last Olympic slot if Cohen skates well, considering their results this season) mentioned in their conferences that they were skeptical about Cohen's return. Well, ladies. This is U.S. Figure Skating, not the Grand Prix. And the U.S. federation has been banking on Cohen's comeback all season, to the point where there were rumors that Cohen was ready to withdraw from Skate America much earlier than she actually withdrew (not saying the late withdrawal was U.S. Figure Skating's decision, but I'm sure the event was much easier to market with Sasha Cohen than with Emily Hughes). I think Sasha Cohen is fully aware that she has as good a shot of making the Olympic team as Rachael Flatt does...that is to say, a very good shot. Reputation gets you far when it comes to Olympic slots. (That's not to say Cohen can't legitimately compete with the likes of Flatt, Czisny, Wagner, et al. We haven't seen her competition programs yet and they may very well be brilliant and very competitive on the international level).
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