Sasha a double wow at Marshalls

Sasha debuted her new program and new dress at the Marshalls Challenge.

December 10, 2006

Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen was a double wow Sunday.

She won over the judges and the fans to win the Marshalls U.S. Figure Skating Challenge at Boston University. Sasha debuted a new program to “West Side Story” and then skated her popular “God Bless America” production in the final round.

Sasha showed off a new exhibition program for her first number, skating to a medley of “West Side Story” music, including “I Feel Pretty,” “Cool” and “Maria.”

The event was televised live on ABC and fans were able to vote three times during the competition – once for their favorite West Coast skater, then their favorite East Coast skater, and once for the final round. Fans got to vote for the winners through in-arena keypads, phone calls or the Internet. A panel of three judges also unanimously voted for Cohen over Johnny Weir, pairs Rena Inoue and John Baldwin and Kimmie Meissner. However, the judges votes did not count.

Sasha received 53 percent of the vote in the final round. Nobody else got near 50 percent. Weir, Sasha’s Olympic teammate and good friend, earned 33 percent.

“I love the fans, they're so sweet, they’re so supportive," Sasha said. "I think it's a huge reason that I'm here and I do these things."

"I'm still surprised that as many people voted for me as they did," Weir said. "Even though I got second, I was still pretty close to Sasha, and she's like the darling of American figure skating now."

Sasha beat a mixed field of eight entries -- four women skaters, two men, a pairs team and an ice dancing team. The top two skaters from each group advanced to the finals.

Sasha has yet to announce if she will compete at the 2007 Nationals. She has been busy with acting lessons, making her movie debut and appearing on TV shows, including an upcoming episode of CSI: NY.

But Sasha showed no rust Sunday, completing two solid routines in which she landed a double axel and triple Salchow in each.

She landed a double Axel and a triple Salchow and two split jumps during her “West Side Story” routine in the West Coast competition. Sasha’s spiral sequence hit just the right note with the crescendo of “Maria.”

She won more than half of the votes for the West Coast."I remember where I was in this event last year and I was not in good shape," Sasha said. "I was just making new programs, I was injured. And I got ready within a month. So I know how to get ready, that's not a problem."

The 2007 national championships will take place Jan. 21-28 in Spokane, Wash., and Sasha said she planned to decide soon on whether to attend.

The Marshalls Challenge is scheduled to be televised on ABC Sports on May 9 from 1-3 p.m. Please check your local listings.