SPOKANE – For almost everybody in Spokane Arena, Thursday night was about Sasha Cohen, a gifted Olympic silver medalist exhuming her career in hopes of bolstering a struggling American team.
But for 16-year-old Mirai Nagasu, it was about something completely different.
“I’m just here to show myself and everyone that I’m the future of the USA,” Nagasu said matter-of-factly.
Nagasu might be the future and Cohen the past, but after Thursday they also might be the present.
Both delighted the crowd and took the early lead in the race for the national title and two spots in next month’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C.
Nagasu scored 70.06 with what she called the best performance of her career to win the short program. Cohen, in her first competition since winning bronze at the ’06 world championship, looked as if she never left in finishing second with 69.63 points.
“It was a really, really special night for me,” Cohen, 25, said.
The performances set the stage for a Saturday freeskate where as many as four skaters will have a shot at an Olympic spot.
Rachael Flatt is third with 69.35 points. Ashley Wagner, who lived briefly in Tacoma as a youngster while her dad was stationed at Fort Lewis, fell on her triple lutz but is in fourth place with 62.55 points.
Even though Nagasu won the 2008 national title, she considers Thursday’s performance to be a breakthrough.
In previous competitions, Nagasu says she skated like she “was in outer space,” focusing more on nailing her elements than showing emotion through her facial expressions.
“She really is remarkable,” said Frank Carroll, Nagasu’s coach. “… But sometimes she leaves inside what she needs to let out.”
Her goal was to unleash her emotions in Spokane.
“That’s what I did and I’m glad I was rewarded for it,” Nagasu said.
Nagasu credits training with men’s world champion Evan Lysacek, who qualified for the Olympics last week, with helping her to improve.
“I try to follow his example,” she said.
Before she skated, Nagasu considered herself an underdog to make the Olympic team. “I just want to be the darkhorse and come up from behind.”
So much for that strategy.
Now, Nagasu said, she wants to elevate her performance to the point where she can help raise the profile of the U.S. women’s program.
“The U.S. is not at the top of figure skating right now,” Nagasu said, “and I think that is an embarrassment because of the rich history that the USA has.”
Flatt, one of the favorites to win an Olympic spot, was delighted with her score of 69.35 that gave her the lead for about 25 minutes.
“I’m happy with how things are going so far and how I’m dealing with the pressure,” Flatt said.
Alissa Czisny, the reigning national champ, fell on her first jump – a triple lutz – and finished in seventh place.
“I’m shocked,” Czisny said. “... But I’m going to fight for everything in the long program.”
THE OTHER COMEBACK
Cohen wasn’t the only Olympic silver medalist making a comeback Thursday.
Ice dancers Tanith Belbin, 25, and Ben Agosto, 28, are back at nationals a year after having to withdraw from the event because of Agosto’s back injury.
They won the previous five titles and hope to reclaim the title on their way back to the Olympics.
Their primary competition will be Meryl Davis, 23, and Charlie White, 22, who won the national title last year and went on to finish fourth at worlds while Belbin and Agosto returned to win silver.
On Thursday, Davis and White won the compulsory dance – all 15 pairs performed the Golden Waltz – with 45.42 points. Belbin and Agosto were second with 45.02 points.
The top American teams pulled away from the rest of the field. Kim Navarro, 28, and Brent Bommentre, 25, finished a distant third with 37.60 points.
The original dance is tonight and the finals are Saturday afternoon. Three pairs will be awarded spots on the Olympic team Saturday night.
Compulsory dance has traditionally been a weakness for Davis and White, so they were thrilled to finish first.
“We definitely put extra time and effort into the Golden Waltz so that we could come out prepared,” White said, “and nobody would be able to say, ‘Oh, they have a great opening in free dance but their compulsory was weak.’”
Belbin and Agosto welcome the challenge.
“Having Meryl and Charlie be such a great strong team ... is very exciting and also very motivating,” Agosto said. “It pushes us. We know we have to keep working equally if not harder.”
Belbin says she doesn’t feel like the team favored to win, even though few others would agree.
“I think we always feel like underdogs (because) we haven’t reached that top spot yet,” said Belbin, who has four world championship medals, but none are gold. “We haven’t been ranked No. 1 in the world. We always feel like we are pushing for that. ... We need to go all out in the competition if we are going to come out on top.”
She sees the event as the final Olympic practice.
“If we are not going to go, excuse my language, balls out here, it’s too late,” Belbin said. “If we go full out here and have bobbles, that’s better than holding out and being clean.”
Craig Hill: 253-597-8497
craig.hill@thenewstribune.com
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