Spokane is just a few days away

January 14, 2010

Hello everyone.

Thank you for visiting SashaCohen.com.

Since the last time I updated my journal, my new webmaster at Figure Skaters Online and I put together a completely new Web site. Hopefully everyone enjoys it. FSO does a lot of sites that I love so I am really happy to be working with them again.

I want to thank Jim and Gloria Fair for their years of hard work on SashaCohen.com. Both of them were a great part of my team, helping me at times with more than just my site. Everything Jim and Gloria did for me over the years is really appreciated. I have a lot to thank them for.

The 2010 U.S. Championships kick off today in Spokane, Wash., with the men's and pairs competition. On Tuesday, I am traveling to Spokane to compete at nationals for the first time since I won in 2006. I definitely have butterflies about competing again. I'm excited about the challenge. I'm a little nervous, of course, but really excited to be back in the competitive atmosphere.

When I made my decision to return to competitive skating last spring, I had no idea that nationals would be my first competition back. I had planned to do two Grand Prix events but I was injured for both of them. It was so disappointing not to be able to compete after training so well. The injuries really tested me. It would have been easy to change my mind and walk away then, but struggling with that disappointment  showed me that I really do want to compete.

People are always asking me why I decided to come back after three years away. Some people think it's because I want an Olympic gold medal. Of course I do, but it is more than that. I would love to win the Olympics, but I came back because I missed the challenge. When you're on tour, it's not the same as training for something like nationals or the Olympics. It doesn't push you in the same way. I missed that feeling.

I'm really confident heading into nationals. I've had struggles getting to this point but that's part of the process that I love so much. This comeback has been about the journey, not the destination. While it would be amazing to win and make my third Olympic team, my main goal is to just do the best that I am able to do. I know if I do the best that I can do, I will leave Spokane with no regrets — that's what I really want more than anything.

Thank you so much for your support, especially throughout the past few months. I really appreciate the encouragement. I will write another journal after nationals to let you know what happened but I hope you'll watch on NBC and Universal Sports.

Enjoy my new site.

Sasha Cohen

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