Figure skating champion Ashley Wagner does not regret blasting the judges who cut short her Olympic dream on January 5.
“What you see is what you get with me and I pride myself on being honest and open,” Wagner revealed during a Wednesday, January 10, appearance on Today. “I found out that my Olympic dreams had come to an end and I think that I was just heartbroken. Devastated. I had worked 22 years for that moment and I had put out something that I felt so proud of.”
As previously reported, the 26-year-old athlete publicly expressed her anger after placing fourth at the U.S. Figure Skating Championship last week. “I’m furious. I am absolutely furious,” she told reporters of her scores. “I delivered when I really needed to. I want to be on that Olympic team and I’m really mad that I’m in this position again.”
Though Wagner said she didn’t feel singled out by the judges, she does have questions. “I scored lower on the second mark in my short program than I did in a competition that I was injured at,” she said. “Those are the things that I’m confused about, but the technical side I think was totally fair and I ended up where I ended up.”
Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu and Karen Chen will represent the United States in PyeongChang, South Korea, next month. Wagner is the first alternate if one of the top three women drops out.
“At the end of the day, based on the selection criteria, they absolutely made the right call with this team,” Wagner told Today. “I think that these girls earned their spots and I am so excited to take a step back.”
The Virginia-born athlete previously earned a bronze medal while competing in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
