2018 Olympics: Is Ashley Wagner ready to secure her Olympics spot at Nationals next week?
I sat with her during the USOC Team event in Times Square, NY a few weeks ago.
Fighting back tears, Ashley Wagner, 26, withdrew from competition for the first time in her career at the Bridgestone Skate America event last month, in Lake Placid, N.Y. Suffering from an ankle infection in her right foot, she found she couldn’t go on two minutes into her performance, going over to the judges’ table to explain her decision to withdraw.
A foot infection forced her shock withdrawal from Skate America which has thrown her Olympic hopes up in the air. But with Nationals coming up, she is focusing on getting healthy in order to turn things around and make it to her second Olympic games, this time in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
We’ll see how the program change will affect Wagner’s chances at Nationals, coming up next week, airing on NBC Jan 3-7.
A team bronze medalist at the Sochi Olympics, the three-time U.S. champion has a strong chance of making the USA team, most especially with figure skating darling Gracie Gold out of contention, dealing with mental health issues and an eating disorder.
I sat down with Wagner when the entire USOC team was in New York City for the TeamUSA event in Times Square. Here’s what she had to say about preparing to potentially compete at the Olympics.
You’re one of the older competitors. How does that feel?
“People are so swift to give female athletes an expiration date. And I think it’s ridiculous. I think that If you train hard, you have a plan, you’re focused, and you know what you want to do, age should be totally irrelevant. Of course there’s a certain age where things are just more difficult, but 26 is not my physical peak. I am not done skating just because I’m ten years older than the people I’m competing against. I have longevity in this sport because I’m smart and I am calculating and I have really taken my time to get to this point in my career. But I have no regrets.”
This is your second Olympics. What is your approach this time around?
“It’s a long season and I’ll compete about four times, hopefully, before the Olympic Games. So I’ll get the practice in that I need mentally in competition. But physically, it’s all about timing. And not necessarily going out with guns blazing, but going out prepared, and then just building it all from there.”
How, as a veteran, is it physically harder?
“I think that endurance definitely is a little bit more difficult. And my programs are just as technically competitive as the 15 year old girls, 16 year old girls that I’m competing against. To be able to push through that, I definitely feel a difference from when I was 16, but everyone feels different than when they were 16! So for me, I think that it’s more just training smart and being efficient on the ice and not just wasting my energy with hours and hours and hours on the ice.”
How is this Olympics different than your first time around, in Sochi?
“The Olympics is still such an incredible dream of mine. But now I know it’s just a competition. It’s literally just another competition. It’s no different from the World Championships. And instead of turning it into this big beast, I’m just really focusing on getting my programs prepared so that when I get there, I can go into battle mode.
“I will never forget how I felt making it onto that Olympics team. While it was such an honor, that’s not the Olympic experience that I want. I owe myself a comfortable, secure night’s rest before they announce the Olympic team and I want to make it in a way that I’m proud of.”
What was your favorite personal Olympic moment?
“Tara Lipinski winning Olympic gold. That’s the whole reason why I wanted to go to the Olympics. That moment, which changed my life. I’d have to say Cheryl [Davis] and Charlie [White] winning their Olympics gold. They’re like older siblings to me and I grew up with them. And watching them have that moment was so special to me.“
Going into this final Olympic season, what is your greatest strength?
“My biggest strength is that I’m at the point in my career now when I realize that it’s just figure skating. And honestly, once you realize that it’s just a sport, you’re kind of set free of it. And it takes a lot to get to that point and it takes even more to really believe it. But at the end of the day, I know how to prepare myself and I know how to feel and I make that happen. It’s just figure skating and I can pretty much take anything that life throws at me.”
Ashley Wagner is competing for one of the three spots up for grabs to represent Team USA at the 2018 Winter Olympics next week. Nationals takes place starting January 3, and will be televised on NBC.