SENIOR LADIES Wagner skated to center ice and took her po-
sition. It was classic Wagner: Tall. Proud. Prepared. Te first half of her program, skated to Samson and Delilah, was clean and bold. But then back-to-back falls (triple Lutz, then triple loop) put her title in danger. Without a triple-triple in her program, the tension mounted as the judges’ scores were tabulated. Sitting in the kiss and cry, there was a look of
relief from Wagner as her free skate score of 121.27 was announced. When the math was complete, giv- ing her a total score of 188.84 and first place over Gold, Wagner simply covered her mouth. No cele- bration.
“I was very uncertain as to what was going to happen, waiting for these scores to come up,” Wagner said. “I knew the program as a whole was very solid, taking out the two falls, so I wasn’t sure what they [judges] were going to do with it. But I knew I skated a great short program, so I knew I was in a great position for the long program if I made a mistake.”
Te drama ended early during Nagasu’s
program, as she under-rotated three jumps. Her free skate score of 109.36 dropped her from third to seventh
(173.75). Zawadz-
ki earned the bronze, with Courtney Hicks gaining the pewter with two stellar programs.
From the eyes of Olympic champions Backstage, the drama was not lost on two Olympic champions, Tara Lipinski (1998) and Sar-
Gracie Gold floats on the ice during her event-best free skate.
ah Hughes (2002). Both were even younger than Gold when they were thrust into the spotlight. “I haven’t seen a ladies event so strong in a
long time,” said Lipinski, who at age 15 won the Olympic gold. “You look at the last two warm-ups, almost every girl skated well. It was really exciting!” Hughes, who was 16 when she won the
Olympic title, echoed the sentiments of the crowd. “I was so entertained,” Hughes said. “Te la-
dies were so good. Tey are really strong. I just couldn’t wait to see what jumps they were going to try next. It was really a great night of skating.” But soon, both Olympic champions’ thoughts turned to Gold. “She was terrific tonight. Her jumps were so
high, she’s so athletic,” Hughes said. “I had never seen her skate like that before. I feel really good that she’s now on the World Team, but there are so many good girls that it’s frustrating that we only have two [World Team spots] girls when we have so many great girls.” “Gracie,” Lipinski said, “I was so proud of her to come back. I think being in the underdog position is always a great position; all the pressure is off and you can really go out and prove yourself. “Te opposite happened for Ashley,” contin- ued Lipinski, who is Wagner’s mentor. “She had all the pressure and she needed to stand up. She did a good job. She didn’t fall apart and she held on to every jump." Wagner’s choreographer, Phillip Mills, said
Agnes Zawadzki claims her second consecutive U.S. bronze medal in Omaha.
Wagner was staring down two battles. “Nobody realizes how hard it is to repeat in a championship of any kind until you have to do it," Mills said. “Having had repeat champions in sin- gles pairs and dance, I tried to warn her. However it was even harder than I had explained. "I know had she not gotten salmonella [the
week prior to competition], she would have skat- ed like she did in the [2012] 'Black Swan' win.” Lipinski recalled the pressure all too well. “It’s all mental. It’s really a mental game. It’s
all about the pressure. All of these girls are amaz- ing. You watch the practices and they are all doing triple-triples, but it counts for those 4 minutes out there and you have to learn how to skate under pressure and really train yourself mentally to close everything else out.” If there’s a lesson to take away from this com- petition, it is just that: “Close everything else out.” For one 4-minute window in Omaha, Gold
did exactly that. “I stopped focusing on what was around me:
the crowd, the screaming, the other skaters, the pressure, the expectations,” Gold said. “I let it all go. I just pictured myself at my rink in Chicago and even the practices here – how I would skate if I was practicing. Just the feel of the knees, the feel of the ice, one thing at a time. I didn’t get over my head with thoughts or expectations. “I just went out there and skated like I know
how to skate.” SKATING 15
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