Ashley Wagner said a U.S. Figure Skating selection committee “absolutely made the right call” leaving her off the Olympic team, but she stands by her critical comments of judging from Friday night.
Wagner spoke on TODAY on Wednesday morning, four days after the three-time U.S. champion was left off the PyeongChang Olympic team.
Wagner, the 2016 World silver medalist, finished fourth at nationals, the last event to decide the three-woman Olympic team.
Four years ago, Wagner also finished fourth and was put on the Olympic team over third-place Mirai Nagasu.
This year’s Olympic team is U.S. champion Bradie Tennell, silver medalist Nagasu and bronze medalist Karen Chen.
Wagner also said Wednesday that she’s training for an upcoming competition, presumably the Four Continents Championships in Taiwan in two weeks.
Here are some of Wagner’s comments from Friday, followed by video of her TODAY interview Wednesday:
“I’m furious. I am absolutely furious. I know when I go and I lay it down, and I absolutely left one jump on the table. But for me to put out two programs that I did at this competition, as solid as I skated, and to get those scores, I am furious, and I think deservedly so. I am a performer, and that second mark is just not there.
“I am absolutely OK with [judges] being strict on my [jump] rotations. That’s what I think that U.S. Figure Skating should demand of their judges, but you know it needs to be across the board. I don’t necessarily feel like it’s been that way at this event, so we’ll see how things pan out.
“Even though I’m mad about my score, that [free] program was such an experience for me. I skated with heart. I took a program that’s a month old, and I delivered something that was solid and something I’m proud of. It definitely can use a little bit more legwork, but that’s because it’s a month old. It was the right call, and I have no doubt in my mind that ‘La La Land’ was the program that was going to get me where I wanted to be.
“At this point it’s up to the selection committee to see what I have done this season. I don’t like this position that I’m in. You can always say that I put myself in this spot, but I think I had some help getting there.”
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