LOS ANGELES — Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen, the two grande dames of American figure skating, have not ruled out comebacks for next year’s Vancouver Olympics, though neither has competed for three years.
Kwan, 28, said Wednesday it is still possible she’ll compete for her fourth Olympic team and has resumed skating. She indicated to the Associated Press that it’s a longshot she would make a bid to compete in Vancouver.
“I just want to see how fit I can get,” she said.
She made the 2006 team but withdrew because of injuries and had hip surgery later that year.
“It’s hard to determine where I’ll be physically in the next four months,” Kwan said.
While Kwan has her doubts, Cohen, 24, sounds determined to make a comeback after winning silver at the Turin Olympics.
“It’s something I’m deciding in June,” Cohen said in a phone interview Thursday from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., where she’s doing a show for Stars on Ice. “It’s something I really want to do. I’m feeling really good right now.”
Since Turin, she took a break from skating to try acting, including a cameo appearance in “Blades of Glory,” and continued doing ice shows. After her current stint is over, she’ll start training for Vancouver.
“It was really a good decision to take time off,” Cohen said.
The door is open for both skaters, as the highest-ranked American is Carolina Zhang (eighth). However, two Americans must place in the top 13 here to ensure three Olympic spots.
John Henderson, The Denver Post
