Column: Ashley Wagner’s heart is in ‘La La Land’, and so are her hopes of an Olympic medal
To stay true to herself, to fully commit to a free skating program that could put her in contention for a medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics, three-time U.S. champion Ashley Wagner had to tune out the noise around her and listen to her heart.
Wagner, who contributed to the team bronze medal won by the U.S. at the 2014 Sochi Games and finished seventh in the women’s singles event, had enjoyed her greatest career success performing her long program to music from “Moulin Rouge.”
That routine lifted her to a silver-medal finish at the 2016 world championships, making her the first American woman to win a medal at the Olympics or world championships since 2006. It was familiar, safe. She used it for several seasons and was performing it last month when pain from an infected ankle led her to withdraw from Skate America, a significant competition in the buildup to the Winter Games.
After taking a week off the ice to allow her ankle to heal she scrapped the “Moulin Rouge” program and switched to one she had practiced last summer, to music from “La La Land.” With the U.S. championships coming up next week in San Jose — where the U.S. Olympic figure skating team will be announced — it’s late to make so dramatic a change. But Wagner, who trains at Lakewood Ice, needed an emotional punch to propel her through her final pursuit of an Olympic medal.
“As the season went on I realized that I had kind of made that decision listening to other people, not listening to my inner voice,” she said of using the “Moulin Rouge” music. “I tried to convince myself it was the right thing, but mentally it’s really hard to skate a program four years in a row and feel invested in it.
“I think ‘La La Land’ has the potential for me to do something really special. What’s most important for me with my skating is that I believe in what I’m doing, and if I am 100 percent sold on my story, I can make it happen. That’s what ‘La La Land’ has finally given me.”
Wagner, 26, added some instrumentation to make the “La La Land” program “much bigger and more exciting,” befitting her vision of an Olympic routine. “Sometimes you need to step away from something to realize it’s exactly what you need,” she said Tuesday during a conference call with reporters. “In an Olympic season it’s easy to lose sight of what you really want and what you really need because of the chaos of the season.”
Even if she’s at her best, Wagner will have a tough time beating the dazzling, young Russian and Japanese women who dominate the sport. Her personal-best score of 215.39 is about 25 short of the standard set by 18-year-old Russian Evgenia Medvedeva, about eight short of the total amassed by 15-year-old Russian phenom Alina Zagitova in winning the recent Grand Prix final, and five short of Satoko Miyahara’s total in winning the Japanese championships. Wagner said her programs can measure up to anyone’s but she must prove it under pressure.
Wagner is likely to be the favorite at the U.S. championships, with two-time winner Gracie Gold out of the competition while undergoing treatment for anxiety, depression and an eating disorder. Defending champion Karen Chen has struggled this season, finishing eighth and seventh in two major events. Mirai Nagasu of Arcadia, two-time national runner-up Polina Edmunds, and 19-year-old Bradie Tennell, a surprise bronze medalist at Skate America, also are contenders for the three women’s Olympic berths.
Wagner knows she faces enormous challenges. “I haven’t had a good season at all,” she said. “This it for me. Make it or break it. I either get onto the team or I don’t. I’m going in to this nationals and going in to be national champion. … It’s so frustrating as an athlete to train as hard as I do every day and then go out to competition and kind of freeze. I want to show people that I’m a serious athlete and a serious contender for the Olympics.”
Her decision to skate to “La La Land” was the right one if it gives her the psychological boost she needs. “I feel dramatically better since Skate America, mentally, emotionally, and most important, physically,” she said. “The whole reason why I’m doing this is I think if I do skate my best, I can win a medal.”
Follow Helene Elliott on Twitter @helenenothelen
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