Sasha Cohen is an American figure skater with an accomplished career.

For those who follow the sport of figure skating, the name Sasha Cohen means something extraordinary. In spite of her accomplishments, however, many of us may be wondering, Who is Sasha Cohen?

 

Family

 

Sasha Cohen was born Alexandra Pauline Cohen on October 26, 1984. She and her sister Natalia were raised in California by their parents. Her father, Roger Cohen, is a Jewish-American businessman; her mother, Galina Feldman, is a Jewish Ukrainian and former ballerina who immigrated to the United States. Sasha took gymnastics as a young girl, but she switched to figure skating at age seven and has never looked back.

 

Skating

 

In 2000, Sasha took part in the United States National Figure Skating Championship, also known as the Nationals. This was her first competition after moving up from the junior level. In spite of this being her first experience above the juniors, Sasha was in first place after her short program. After falling to second during her free skate, Sasha went home with a silver medal. The world of figure skating knew she was someone to watch.

 

She missed the 2001 Nationals due to a fracture. But when she returned in 2002, she again took home the silver. This gave her a spot on the Olympic team, and so she competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, placing fourth.

 

During the 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 seasons, Sasha won silvers at the US and World Championships. At the Nationals in 2006, Sasha won her first gold, in spite of being sick with the flu. This assured her a spot on the Olympic team for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. In Turin, she held the top spot after her short program, but ended up with a silver after the free skate. The gold medal was won by Japanese skater Shizuka Arakawa.

 

After the Olympics, Sasha toured with Champions on Ice and will skate as a headliner for the Stars on Ice tour in 2007/2008. She has not given up her amateur status, and announced that she plans to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC.

 

Sasha is known for her flexibility on the ice, which is due to her history in gymnastics. She uses this flexibility to add creative positions to her spins, and is known especially for the I spin, which she performs while holding one leg straight up in the air in a complete split.

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Acting

 

Apart from skating, Sasha has started an acting career. She has done numerous commercials, and episodes of CSI: NY, Las Vegas, and Project Runway. She also appeared as herself in the movie Blades of Glory and had a role in Bratz: The Movie.

 

Sasha Cohen is still a very young woman, and I’m sure she will continue to have an impressive skating career. Watch for her at the 2010 Olympics.