Bush Speaks To Olympic Athletes Mom

Olympic figure skating hopeful Sasha Cohen said today that during a conversation with President Bush, she gave her cell phone to the president for a talk to her mother.

Cohen, from Laguna Niguel, California, is competing in the women´s figure skating at the Olympics. She finished second in the US championships last month behind four-time World champion Michelle Kwan.

The 17-year-old Cohen said she was talking to her mother on the cell phone as the president visited with US athletes last night in Salt Lake City. She passed the phone to Bush, and asked him to say hello:

With a smile, Bush obliged, saying: “This is the president speaking.” He talked with Cohen´s mother for about one minute.

Cohen said it was an exciting experience, and that the president did not know of her background before she introduced herself. Then he asked about her skating, where she was from and other things about the Olympics. Cohen was returning home to California today to continue training. She´ll return to returning to Salt Lake City for the women´s figure skating competition that doesn´t begin for ten

more days.