Ashley Wagner Is Not Impressed: Olympic Figure Skater Copies McKayla Maroney After Seeing Scores (VIDEO)
Ashley Wagner was not impressed with her scores for figure skating in the 2014 Sochi Olympics— in fact, she was downright angry. The 22-year-old skater was deeply disappointed in her scores for the women's team short program competition Saturday, even cursing to her coach on camera after seeing the judges' outcome.
Ashley Wagner was initially happy after completing her figure skating routine: she jumped, twirled and danced to Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond," and was visibly excited while waiting for the results beside her coach and team. However, her face fell when she saw her scores— Wagner received a 32.16 technical score and a 30.94 component score for a total of 63.10— and she mouthed "bulls---" to her coach.
"It wasn't really what I was hoping for," she told NBC afterwards of the fourth-place finish. "I know what the program is capable of and I know where the scores should be when I skate very well so I'll just take a look at the protocols."
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The protocols for the International Judging System reward high-risk moves such as the triple lutz, but punish small mistakes. In Wagner's case, she came behind Japan's Mao Asada, who fell down on the ice during her routine. The American skater felt her efforts should have been rewarded much better than they were.
"I know roughly when I skate a good program where the score should end up," she explained. "So to score that low was very disappointing. I was hoping to score around somewhere close to my personal best (69.26)."
This isn't the first time the figure skater has struggled on the ice; in the national championships in Boston last month she finished fourth. When her disappointment showed on her face this time, though, many made comparisons to McKayla Maroney, the gymnast who seemed sour at receiving a silver medal in the last summer Olympics.
Various Internet memes later, Wagner said that she is looking forward to another chance to prove herself.
"I know what I'm capable of and what this program is capable of," she said. "I don't agree with the marks, but that's what the individual event is for."
