Skater of the Decade: Sasha Cohen

Sasha, you helped push the IJS towards rewarding bendy-girls like you. You could capture the gold during the Grand Prix season and maximize your points with your Gumby-like limbs. You were also proclaimed as the next great American skater, but when Nationals and Worlds came around it didn't quite pan out. Despite racking up the points for those spirals and spins, the jumps didn't also seem stable or focused on while entering the jump.

You hit the senior stage with a fabulous 2nd place finish at the 2000 U.S. Nationals when Dick Button was touting "baby ballerinas." You were too young for worlds that year and injuries held back your international senior debut until the 2002 Olympics. It takes a certain amount of gusto to debut at the Olympics, and you came in fourth!

Then came 2006 and the next Olympics in Torino. You battled the flu and won the U.S. title, wearing a gold dress and skated to Nino Rota's Romeo & Juliet beautifully. Shaun White, snowboarding's Flying Tomato, said he wanted to leave the Games with a medal and date with you. You crushed the competition in the short program. Then came the long.... a fall on the opening jump and hands down on the next. You battled through the rest of the program and skated away with a silver.

You toured and gave acting a whirl. (The jock-strap scene in Blades of Glory, what range you demonstrated!) Without ever winning many major titles, you were still the most recognizable name on the remaining professional champions' tours. However, you always said you planned to be back competing for 2010.

Finally, this season you entered Grand Prix events and then withdrew before each one. Your silver medal from Torino provides a bye to Nationals every year. Will we see you in Spokane?