Ladies' event will be battle of unknowns
By Bonnie DeSimoneAn intriguing two-part, home-ice, early-season showdown between figure skating rivals Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen fizzled when Kwan withdrew from a pair of events earlier this month with a hip injury.
Cohen won the Campbell's International Figure Skating Classic in St. Paul handily in Kwan's absence. She looked poised, sharp, in tune with the sport's new scoring system and ready to shed her old reputation as a phenomenally gifted skater who couldn't quite dot the "i" in "champion.''
But now she, too, has pulled out of this weekend's Skate America competition in Atlantic City, N.J., leaving the ladies' field bereft of star power.
The two-time World Championships silver medalist has been grounded because of pain in her left hip, abdomen and lower back resulting from a fall in practice last week, according to a U.S. Figure Skating Association release. Her coach, John Nicks, said Cohen was unable to do a complete run-through of her program Monday, a sign she should not compete this weekend.
That leaves a field of relative unknowns to carve up the ice in the first event of the International Skating Union's Grand Prix Series, an important prelude to the main act in an Olympic season. There's $1.35 million in prize money at stake in the series that also includes competitions in Canada, France, Russia, China and Japan, leading up to the December final in Japan. Skaters compete in two events to qualify for the final.
The United States will field the maximum three entries at the Turin Games in men's, ladies' and ice dancing competitions and should contend for medals in all three. With two entries in pairs, the country's 11 total skating entries at the Olympics are tied with Russia for world-best.
Cohen had the most impressive ré of any woman in the event. Three less-established American teenagers will try to fill the void. Emily Hughes, 16, younger sister of 2002 gold medalist Sarah Hughes, finished sixth at the U.S. national championships last year and sixth in St. Paul earlier this month. Californian Bebe Liang, 17, was fifth at the 2005 nationals and has several top-10 finishes internationally, and 18-year-old Alissa Czisny, Cohen's last-minute replacement, finished fifth in the Campbell's Classic and seventh at last year's nationals.
Hungary's Julia Sebestyen, a consistent performer who has placed in the top 20 at worlds the last seven years running, won the 2004 European championships and was eighth at the 2002 Olympics, is the most accomplished woman left standing. Yoshie Onda of Japan was fifth at last year's worlds and 17th at the 2002 Salt Lake Games.
The men's field includes two top Americans: 2002 Olympic bronze medalist and two-time World Championships runner-up Timothy Goebel, 25, who has said he will retire from competition after this season, and surprise '05 World Championships bronze medalist Evan Lysacek, 20.
Another 20-year-old, Dennis Phan, the U.S. 2003 junior champion, is aiming for his first complete season at the senior level after missing last year's nationals and world junior championships due to injury.
France's Brian Joubert, last season's world silver medalist; Sergei Davydov of Belarus, who finished seventh; and Kevin Van Der Perren of Belgium should be Goebel's and Lysacek's top rivals.
Reigning world silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, the most successful ice dancers to compete for the U.S. in 20 years, lead the dance ranks. Belbin, a Canadian citizen, is still trying to get a boost from U.S. lawmakers to get her American citizenship accelerated so the duo can compete in Turin.
Rena Inoue and John Baldwin Jr. are the top U.S. tandem in the pairs competition. The Chinese team of Dan and Hao Zhang, who are not related, were third at the 2005 worlds and 11th at the 2002 Olympics.
Bonnie DeSimone is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to ESPN.com.
