Cohen maintains composure

The weight of expectation is on her shoulders but Sasha Cohen is keeping her head.

The American is on top of the pack after the first round of the women's figure skating at the Winter Olympics but knows that with a miniscule 0.3 point lead, the gold medal is as far away as it has ever been.

"We are separated by so little that anyone could win," Cohen said, after nudging ahead of Russia's Slutskaya.

"The free programme is going to be like starting over, like tonight didn't really count. It's back to square one."

Cohen has never won a major international tournament and has long played bridesmaid to nine-times U.S. champion Michelle Kwan.

But with Kwan out of the Turin Games with a groin injury, America's hopes now lie with Cohen.

"Everybody really wants an Olympic gold medal," said the 5-foot-2 (1.58-metre), 21-year-old Californian.

"I want it but I'm not going to let it be my main focus.

"Sure, I think about it at least once every day -- I think everybody thinks it would be so nice to take one of those home -- but my main focus is to enjoy this."

Sitting calmly with her coach John Nicks, Cohen came across as much older than her peers, offering up philosophical reasons as to why the Olympics are not the be all and end all.

"Everybody on the street can say 'I want an Olympic gold' or 'I want $1 billion' but what makes a difference is what you do day by day, minute by minute," said the twice world silver medallist.

"I used to get ahead of myself but ... you can't live in the past, you can't live in the future. But the present can have an effect on the future," the part-time model added.

Cohen said she had matured and learned to control her nerves since the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, where she was primed for a podium spot but finished a disappointing fourth after stumbling in her long programme.

With age comes wisdom, yes, but with age also comes age.

Cohen had to pack ice on her leg after Tuesday's performance to keep her muscles in shape for the final on Thursday.

"Ice is maintenance. You need that at my age," Cohen said.

"After six or seven years at senior level, you have to take care of your body. It isn't brand new."

Sasha Cohen has opted to stick to her winning formula.

A day after squeezing into the lead past Russian favourite Irina Slutskaya in the women's short programme, Cohen decided to skip training at the Palavela rink.

It was the second day running the 21-year-old Californian did not turn up for a scheduled practice session.

As the move did her no harm on Tuesday, when she chose to have a lie in while most of her rivals were going through their paces, Cohen was again nowhere to be seen.

"She has trained very hard, stamina is not a problem with her," Cohen's coach John Nicks told reporters. "We just thought it would be a better strategy to rest a bit."

Cohen was the last of 29 skaters to take to the ice on Tuesday and her dazzling routine allowed her to nudge ahead of Slutskaya by just 0.03 of a point.

The late night outing seemed to have also taken its toll on the U.S. champion, who has never won a major international event.

"She didn't sleep very well last night. She was tired," said Nicks.

"We thought it would be better for her to be rested... and try to be energised for (Thursday) night."

Cohen had to pack ice around her knee following her performance but Nicks said it was only a precautionary measure.

"She has occasional muscle problems and uses a lot of ice as a lot of athletes do," he said.

"She had a few aches and pains as we all do as we get older ... there is nothing to worry about."