LADIES
and seniors the next. She’s the youngest winner since Tara Lipinski, in 1997. “Te truth is that I prepare for every skate
and every competition the same way,” Medvedeva said through a translator. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a big skate like tonight or a smaller performance; it’s important to set my mind. Te truth is, I think what really helped was this arena and the fans. It was probably the biggest audience I’ve ever faced, and I heard a lot of shout-outs in Russian support- ing me. I realized that some of these people came to watch me specially.” For Wagner, at 24, she’s finding her best skat-
ing in a sport that more belongs to the Medvedevas of the world: “the Russian babies,” as Wagner sar- castically calls them. Embedded in her mid-20s, she’s going toe-to-toe (and blade-to-blade) with teenage ice geniuses. It’s a newfound success that she credits coach
Rafael Arutunian for implementing: Friday, the day before the free skate, Wagner did laps and laps around the practice rink with bottles of water in her hands as weights. She didn’t do a runthrough of her program. She is simply trusting her guide — and it’s working.
“I earned this silver medal. I went out there. I
Wagner basks in the moment after performing her riveting free skate.
her neck. “It feels absolutely phenomenal to go up against a strong field; I’m so proud of myself. I’m so glad I could accomplish something like this in the States.”
Te ladies were center stage — and the main attraction — throughout. Saturday night TD Garden was nearly packed, with few seats open in the arena, more than 15,000 in attendance. Te building shook after the free skates of Medvedeva, Wagner and — earlier in the night — Nagasu. And while Gold’s four days in Boston didn’t end the way she wanted them to, she proved — having been the leader after the short program — that she can deliver on the world stage, as well. Her free skate disappointment is now fuel for a fire that will burn until the Grand Prix starts this coming fall and beyond. “I still have hopes for 2018 and the podium, but it definitely wasn’t my day,” a dejected Gold said. “With the way that the rest of the world is progressing and getting so much better, I just feel like I’m not with them.” She was with them, however, for much of the competition. Te Russian ladies have made triple-tripling a must, and now skating less than perfectly is no longer an option. What won the competition for Medvedeva was the beauty of her skate, though the transformative genius of Wagner — as well as Pogorilaya — was riveting, as well. Medvedeva pointed to a raucous TD Garden
crowd — many of them waving unfurled Russian flags and shouting out, “EHV-GEN-YAH! EHV- GEN-YAH!” — as what spurred her to the bril- liance she found. At 16, she’s the first skater in history to win the World Junior Championships one year (2015)
SKATING 17
did my job. I took it for myself. I knew that there had been a bunch of phenomenal skates and I put that out of my mind and I did what I needed to do,” Wagner said. “It’s something that I did, and not something everyone else didn’t do. Tat’s so sweet.” Sweet is much better than the bittersweet Ashley tasted in 2014. It’s official: She and Gracie can give the Russians a run for their figure skating money. But who ups the ante next?
Gracie Gold performs her “The Firebird” routine in front of a packed house at the TD Garden.
Mirai Nagasu turns in a sterling free skate en route to a 10th-place finish.
JAY ADEFF/U.S FIGURE SKATING
BJAY ADEFF/U.S FIGURE SKATING
JAY ADEFF/U.S FIGURE SKATING
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