USA's teens don't fall short early

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TORINO -- Though only 21, Sasha Cohen referred to herself as the grandma of the U.S. team after finishing first in the short program Tuesday night. The USA's kids -- Kimmie Meissner, 16, and Emily Hughes, 17 -- certainly held their own as well, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively, entering Thursday's decisive free skate.

Only a few years separate Cohen and her younger teammates, but in figure skating four and five years seem like decades. When Cohen sat at her news conference afterward, she did so with an ice pack on her upper right leg. "Ice is maintenance," she said. "You get to be my age and already six or seven years competing at this level, you gotta take care of your body. You know, it's not brand-new."

For Meissner and Hughes, this is all brand-new. Veterans may hold the top three spots at the moment, but three of the top seven from the short program are teenagers, including Georgia's Elene Gedevanishvili, 16 and in sixth place.

The top three after the short program are Cohen, a two-time silver medalist; Russia's Irina Slutskaya, 27, the reigning world champion; and Japan's Shizuka Arakawa, 24, a former world champion.

But based on recent history, the kids have a chance. The last three Olympic champions were Sarah Hughes, 16, Tara Lipinski, 15, and Oksana Baiul, 16.

One of Meissner's more engaging qualities is that she acts her age everywhere except on the ice. Skating second Tuesday night, she whizzed into the Palavela and showed no signs of butterflies.

"We always say you can't win with a short program but you can lose with it," said Meissner's coach, Pam Gregory.

A medal is still a possibility, given the tight race. After all, Evan Lysacek jumped from 10th place to fourth in the men's competition.

So how did she remain so calm, given the enormousness of the moment? "I kind of listened to the crowd and the music and put myself back in Delaware," said Meissner, a 5-3 high school junior from Bel Air, Md., who trains at the University of Delaware.

Just like the kid next door or your babysitter, Meissner used the word "excited" five times in about 50 seconds, including one "super excited." There were also 61/2 giggles, according to the unofficial count.

Though she said she was "kind of a little stumbly in my footwork," she attributed it to her excitement rather than her nerves.

"I definitely wanted to do a clean short, and so I feel like I get an A for that, and now for the long I'm just going to try to do a clean long," she said.

Speaking of grades, Hughes was busy last week with school and worried about her SATs. The high school junior from Long Island, N.Y., had been preparing to take an SAT prep course when she got the call to replace Michelle Kwan, who withdrew because of injury. She thinks being called in as an alternate at the 11th hour might is why she entered Tuesday with little pressure.

Of course, she's used to weighty expectations, given that her sister, Sarah, won the gold in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. High in the upper level, the Hughes family rooted for Emily as they held a huge white sign that read, "Hughes Gotta Believe." They also had the same sign in Salt Lake City in 2002 and also sat in the rafters there as well the night Sarah unexpectedly won her gold.

"Watching her in Salt Lake was so great," Emily said. "I watched her work so hard. It was a dream come true. Now that I'm actually on the ice, I know how she feels, and I guess now she knows how I feel, so it is a little different."

Though few expect she will medal, given her inexperience, Hughes has a role model who has taught her otherwise. In 2002, Sarah finished third in the U.S. championships, the same as Emily did this year.

"I just want to go out there for long program and hopefully skate my personal best," she said. "And hopefully do as well as I did today, and you never know. This is the Olympics. Unexpected things happen."

Later in the evening, Sarah accompanied her sister to the draw for the free skate. As the two left the room together, both wearing red jackets, the door was still open. Though the grandmas hold the top spots, come Thursday you never know what kid might walk in.

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