From the mouths of the pros. The 2018 Winter Olympics are right around the corner and the competition is already heating up. Us Weekly caught up with former U.S. figure skating champions Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir on the red carpet at the 75th Golden Globes on Sunday, January 7, where they discussed the recent outburst of Olympic hopeful Ashley Wagner after she failed to qualify for the PyeongChang games.
“I think it was heartbreaking to watch her not make the team. She’s wanted this for so long … she had a beautiful skate but she ended up in fourth,” 35-year-old Lipinski who won gold at the 1998 games in Nagano, told Us of skater Wagner, who recently made headlines for her comments after she failed to qualify for Team USA. “Unfortunately, only three girls can go and I think the right decision was made.”
Weir, 33, also weighed in on Wagner’s claims of unfairness. “No, the judges weren’t unfair. They judged what they saw,” he said. “You know, every four years it’s the Olympic trials. Every four years three people’s hearts are broken and three people’s dreams come true. So it’s a really hard situation, but you have to be elegant in defeat as well as victory. She could have been a little bit more stately about it.”
Weir, who competed in the 2006 and 2010 Olympics but did not medal, continued: “There’s a way to say you’re unhappy with the score. And I mean people definitely rose up on social media against her, which I think was a bit harsh. But you know, calm down. The top three deserve to be on the team.”
As previously reported, Wagner, 26, questioned the judges and expressed her displeasure in an interview after the U.S. figure skating championships on Friday, January 5, after failing to place in the top three spots to earn a place on the Olympic team heading to the winter games.
“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 like I did at this competition, as solid as I skated, and to get those scores, I am furious,” she told reporters. “And I think deservedly so.”
Later that same night, Wagner took to Twitter to defend her comments. “As an athlete, I’m allowed to be mad. As a senior competitor with over 10 years of experience, I’m allowed to question things. At the end of the day, I laid out my best and I’m going home proud! Congrats to the lovely ladies of the team, you’ve got me in your cheering squad now!”
Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu and Karen Chen will represent the United States in PyeongChang, South Korea. To learn more, visit teamusa.org. The Winter Olympics will air live starting Thursday, February 8.
