Still Waiting for Sasha Cohen

That she possesses breathtaking grace and astounding flexibility is undeniable. That she can float in the air and land with hardly a flutter and that she can spin like a blur are givens. She displayed bits of those qualities in winning at Skate Canada, Trophee Lalique and the Grand Prix Final this season, an enviable record.

But Cohen, 18, hasn't blended those elements thoroughly or often enough to have skated flawlessly twice at the same event -- much less three times, as will be required to win the world figure skating championship.

Not until she finds the strength of will and body to create those perfect performances will she get the affirmation she craves, that she can be the best in the world instead of merely embodying a world of promise.

"Twenty-four hours a day I think about this," said Tatiana Tarasova, the renowned Russian coach who accepted Cohen as a student last summer at her Connecticut rink. "Sasha works hard. She has a lot of questions for me. She wants to change. She wants to go up, and I think she's ready, but who knows?"

Because Cohen thought her skating wasn't improving after she finished fourth at the Salt Lake City Olympics and last year's World Championships, she dropped her longtime coach, John Nicks, and moved from Laguna Niguel to train with Tarasova. Her parents and sister moved too, although her father, Roger, often returns to California to attend to his law practice.

They made the move willingly, but the change of skating scenery hasn't led to that first faultless competition.

"It seems to be kind of out there," Cohen said. "It's something Tatiana and I have been working on. I've narrowed my focus to each element, but I'm still not there yet.

"I'm going to need it to happen at worlds, and that's going to mean a lot of hard work

The women's event begins today at the MCI Center with the qualifying round, worth 20% of the final score. The short program, worth 30%, is scheduled for Friday, with the long program finale on Saturday.