February 11, 2009|By Candus Thomson | Candus Thomson,candy.thomson@baltsun.com
Figure skater Sasha Cohen, who has been taking acting classes and touring with "Stars on Ice" since winning the silver medal in Turin in 2006, will decide in June whether to endure the rigorous training and Grand Prix circuit to try to win a spot on the U.S. team in January.
"The reason I am going back isn't because I need a gold medal or some other title," Cohen told the San Jose Mercury News. "I need that challenge in my life and that purpose. I think I still have one more in me and it feels incomplete."
Canadians, who played host to the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, hope they can break the hometown jinx that has prevented their athletes from winning gold. That will most likely come in hockey, where Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is expected to lead Canada's squad. Long-track speedskater Cindy Klassen, winner of five medals in Turin, is another favorite.
To visualize yourself standing on the podium and seeing your country's flag raised "is addicting," Benshoof said. But to just miss the bronze medal, as he did in Turin, "will haunt you for the rest of your life."
