10 Questions for Sasha Cohen

The Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, are just five weeks away, and figure skater Sasha Cohen is a top pick for a medal in the most glamorous event at the Games. First, though, the 21-year-old has to qualify for the U.S. team at next week's U.S. championships; only the first three finishers earn tickets to Torino. Cohen talked to TIME's Alice Park about skating, modeling and living by the beach.

YOU'RE A BORN AND BRED CALIFORNIA GIRL. HOW DOES SOMEONE WHO LIVES BY THE BEACH GET INTO ICE SKATING? Actually, a lot of élite figure skaters come from this area because there are a lot of great coaches and facilities here.

SOME SKATERS SAY QUALIFYING FOR THE OLYMPIC TEAM IS MORE NERVE-RACKING THAN COMPETING AT THE OLYMPICS. DO YOU AGREE? No, I don't. Nationals is one of the biggest events of the year, but it can't compare to the Olympics. At the Olympics there is 10 times as much media attention--and athletes from all over the world from every different sport. People stop and pay attention to the athletes for two weeks.

DOES THE MERE MENTION OF THE WORD OLYMPICS MAKE YOUR PALMS SWEAT? Sometimes it does, but right now I'm in a good place, just focusing on Nationals. You have to keep your perspective and do your best. I love competing. You practice every day at the rink, and it's just you, so it's nice when you're able to show that off to the world, especially when you skate well. That's the most gratifying feeling. You just want to keep getting back out there and performing.

AT YOUR PREVIOUS OLYMPICS, IN 2002, PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH SAT NEXT TO YOU DURING THE OPENING CEREMONIES. WAS THAT A TOTAL SURPRISE? I knew he was going to be sitting there because the Secret Service was planning a space for him. So I called my mom on my cell phone, and she didn't believe me. So when he was sitting next to me, I thought I'd better call her back. I asked him to say hi to my mom to prove he was there, and he was really great and nice and talked to her for a couple of minutes. My mom said she nearly fell off her chair, she was so excited.

AT THOSE OLYMPICS, YOU FINISHED FOURTH, JUST SHY OF A MEDAL. HOW DISAPPOINTED WERE YOU? I was definitely disappointed going home with no medal. I was disappointed in not skating a perfect performance. At the time, I was devastated, crushed that it didn't turn out how I wanted. I wanted to win. I didn't want to be fourth, third or second. But it was my first major international event, so I learned a lot from it.

YOU'VE MADE SOME BIG CHANGES SINCE 2002, MOVING FROM CALIFORNIA TO THE EAST COAST AND THEN BACK AGAIN. WHY THE CROSS-COUNTRY TREKS? I was frustrated with my skating and wanted a change. And when I was training in New York [with Robin Wagner, coach of Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes], things just weren't working out. I tried it for six months and in the end felt like I needed to take charge of my skating again. So I came back home to California.

THERE'S A NEW SCORING SYSTEM NOW. DO YOU THINK IT'S BETTER THAN THE OLD ONE? I think it's better for the reason that the skater and everyone else understands what's going on. There is a breakdown of what is rewarded and deducted for. It gives credit for all areas of skating and not just the jumps.