FIGURE SKATING

COHEN DAZZLES IN LADIES’ SHORT PROGRAM Sasha Cohen saved the best for last. With American flags waving and chants of “USA! USA!” rocking the arena, the U.S. champion dazzled the judges with a sassy, sensational short program and slipped past world champion Irina Slutskaya of Russia by a slim .03 points.

Cohen’s spectacular spirals and crisp footwork had the crowd clapping to the beat of “Dark Eyes,” a Russian folk tune. She even flashed some attitude as she concluded a solid evening of skating that will wrap up with Thursday night’s free skate. Cohen got the marks she felt she deserved – and the United States has yet another women’s gold in sight.

Americans have won three of the last four Olympic titles, and if Cohen, a two-time world silver medalist, is this dynamic in the finale, she could add another title. That would break Russia’s stranglehold on figure skating golds at these games. No country has swept all four events, and the Russians already own three – pairs, men’s, and dance.

Japan’s Shizuka Arakawa and Fumie Suguri were third and fourth, and American Kimmie Meissner was fifth. Emily Hughes, added to the U.S. team nine days ago when Michelle Kwan withdrew with a groin injury, wasn’t intimidated in her first major international event. The 17-year-old sister of 2002 gold medalist Sarah Hughes – who was in the audience – was in seventh place.

BOBSLED

ROHBOCK BREAKS THROUGH FOR AMERICAN SLIDERS Blasting down the Alps in a shiny, dark American convertible, Shauna Rohbock won a silver medal in women’s two-man bobsled, ending an 0-for-Olympics stay for the U.S. sliding teams. With roommate Valerie Fleming providing the push and applying the brakes, Rohbock completed her four runs just .71 seconds behind Germany’s Sandra Kiriasis and Anja Schneiderheinze and ahead of Italy’s Gerde Weissensteiner and Jennifer Isacco.

Rohbock, bumped from an Olympic ride four years ago, finally ended a U.S. winless streak that was chilling the Americans every bit as much as the biting winds.

The Americans were shutout in the first six events on the 19-curve track, which had proved treacherous for many countries and thorny to the U.S. luge, skeleton and bobsled squads. But Rohbock and Fleming busted through the ice for America. As they crossed the finish line, the pair pumped their fists and Rohbock pounded both hands on the front of USA-1 in celebration.

NORDIC COMBINED

GOTTWALD SNAGS AUSTRIA’S EIGHT GOLD IN TURIN Felix Gottwald used a powerful sprint to rally to victory in the Nordic combined sprint yesterday, giving Austria its record eighth gold medal of the Turin Games – a bright spot for a country caught in the middle of a doping scandal.

Gottwald earned his second gold medal of these Olympics and sixth career medal by making up a deficit of nearly a minute from the morning’s jumping portion of the event. His winning time of 18 minutes, 29 seconds was 5.4 seconds ahead of silver medalist Magnus Moan of Norway. Germany’s Georg Hettich took the bronze after having the best jump earlier in the day.

American Todd Lodwick was ninth and teammate Johnny Spillane was 10th.

BIATHLON

GERMANS RECLAIM RELAY CROWN Germany won the men’s 4×7.5km biathlon relay when star Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen got very little help from his friends. Bjoerndalen gave the Norwegians a fifth-place finish by skiing a brilliant final leg for the pre-race favorites, but could not make up for his teammates’ poor performances.

The Americans took ninth, led by Jay Hakkinen, who dispatched his demons from his epic collapse in the 10km race by giving the United States the lead after the first of four legs. The Germans – Ricco Gross, Michael Roesch, Sven Fischer, and Michael Greis – covered the San Sicario course in 1 hour, 21 minutes, 51.5 seconds for their fourth Olympic gold in the event to go with wins in 1992, ’94, and ’98. Russia was 20.9 seconds back, and France edged Sweden for the bronze in a photo finish when Carl Johan Bergman stumbled near the finish line, allowing Raphael Poiree’s skis to cross just ahead of his.

Bjoerndalen, whose time of 19 minutes, 15.5 seconds was by far the fastest in the field, had visions of winning five gold medals after sweeping all four races at Salt Lake City in 2002 – but has managed only two silvers so far with one race left.

FREESTYLE SKIING

COOK’S COMEBACK FALLS SHORT Emily Cook’s inspiring comeback story ended a day earlier than she’d hoped after another disappointing outing for the American freestyle team on the Olympic aerials course. Both Cook and Jana Lindsey, the only other American entered, failed to qualify for tonight’s finals. That left Jeret “Speedy” Peterson as the only one of six U.S. aerialists, men or women, to advance to the finals. The men’s medal round is Thursday.

Cook qualified for the 2002 Olympics, only to break both feet about a month before the games. Doctors said she’d never walk normally again, but she set out to make another run at the Olympics. She made it to Turin, but her first Olympic jump was a near disaster. She bent forward on the landing, nearly did the splits, then tumbled forward toward the bottom of the hill. She was ranked 22nd of 23 jumpers after the first round and even with a solid second jump, she only improved to 19th.

– Associated Press