Ashley Wagner

Ashley Wagner
Wagner in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Ashley Wagner
Country represented	United States
Born	(1991-05-16) May 16, 1991 (age 21) Heidelberg, Germany
Residence	Aliso Viejo, California
Height	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Coach	John Nicks
Former coach	Priscilla Hill Shirley Hughes
Choreographer	Irina Romanova Phillip Mills
Skating club	SC of Wilmington
Began skating	1996
World standing	12 (As of 29 April 2012 (2012 -04-29)[update])[1]
Season's bests	1 (2011–2012)[2] 17 (2010–2011)[3] 16 (2009–2010)[4] 16 (2008–2009)[5]
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	192.41 2012 Four Continents
Short program	64.07 2012 Four Continents
Free skate	128.34 2012 Four Continents
Medal record Competitor for  United States Ladies Figure skating Four Continents Championships Gold 2012 Colorado Springs Ladies' singles United States Figure Skating Championships Gold 2012 San Jose Ladies' singles Bronze 2010 Spokane Ladies' singles Bronze 2008 St. Paul Ladies' singles World Junior Championships Bronze 2009 Sofia Ladies singles Bronze 2007 Oberstdorf Ladies singles Junior Grand Prix Final Silver 2006–2007 Sofia Ladies' singles

Ashley Wagner (born May 16, 1991) is an American figure skater. She is the 2012 Four Continents champion, the 2012 U.S. champion and a two-time (2008 and 2010) U.S. bronze medalist. She is a two-time (2007 and 2009) World Junior bronze medalist. She placed fourth at the 2012 World Championships.

Personal life

Ashley Wagner is the first child and only daughter of LTC Eric Wagner, U.S. Army (Retired) and Melissa Wagner. A military brat, Wagner was born on a U.S. Army Base in Heidelberg, Germany, where her father was stationed at the time. Although she was born in Germany, she is a United States citizen, because her parents are U.S. citizens. Her father is a retired Army lieutenant colonel, and her mother is a retired fourth-grade teacher. Her younger brother Austin is also a skater and competes on the national level.

Because Wagner's father was in the military, her family moved seven times during Wagner's childhood. Besides Germany, she has lived in California, Alaska, Kansas, Washington State, and Virginia. Wagner currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia, but considers Seabeck, WA home.^[6] She previously attended Northern Virginia Community College via their online study program. Wagner attended West Potomac High School through the 2007/2008 school year. She had previously attended Whitman Middle School. Wagner was home schooled by her mother for half a year before entering Whitman Middle School but returned to public school because she missed it.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Skating career

Wagner performs at the 2011 Skate Canada.

Early career

Wagner began skating at age five in Eagle River, Alaska. She says that her mother told her she could choose between ballet or figure skating, but she "wasn't going to do anything in pink shoes."^[8] According to her mother, Wagner began to show promise early and won a gold medal at her first competition. In 1998, Wagner watched Tara Lipinski win the gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics on television. From that moment, she decided that she wanted to compete in the Olympics too.^[7][10]

In the 2002–2003 season, Wagner qualified for the U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships, which are the national championships of the United States for figure skaters at the juvenile and intermediate levels. Wagner placed 17th at the Intermediate level. The following season she tested up to the novice level. She won the silver medal at her regional competition, the first step to qualifying for the national championships, but placed 10th at her sectional competition and did not qualify for the 2004 National Championships.

Wagner qualified for her first U.S. Championships in the 2004–2005 season after placing first at both the Northwest Pacific Regionals and the Pacific Coast Sectionals. Competing on the novice level, she placed seventh at Nationals.^[7]

For the 2005–2006 season, Wagner moved up to the junior level. She won both the Northwest Pacific Regional and Pacific Coast Sectional competitions again to qualify for the National Championships. At the 2006 U.S. Nationals in St. Louis, Missouri, Wagner finished fourth on the junior level, earning the pewter medal. After the event, Wagner was named to the U.S. team for the Triglav Trophy in Slovenia, her first major international competition and where she made her international junior debut. There she landed six triple jumps, including a triple toe-triple toe combination, in her long program to move up from third in the short program to first overall.^[9]

In the 2006–2007 season, Wagner made her Junior Grand Prix debut. She won both the Junior Grand Prix event in Courchevel, France, and the event in The Hague, Netherlands. Her wins qualified her for the Junior Grand Prix Final in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she won the silver medal behind fellow American Caroline Zhang, with a final score of 142.01. At the 2007 U.S. Nationals in Spokane, Washington, Wagner placed third behind Mirai Nagasu and Caroline Zhang, earning herself a spot on the World Junior Championships team. Her bronze medal at the 2007 Nationals was the first time she had placed in the top three at the national championships.^[8] At the 2007 Junior Worlds in Oberstdorf, Germany, she landed seven triple jumps in her long program and earned an overall personal best of 157.15. She finished with the bronze medal behind Zhang and Nagasu, completing the first-ever American sweep of the World Junior podium.^[11]

2007–2008 season

Wagner moved up to the senior level both nationally and internationally for the 2007–2008 season. She made her senior international debut at the 2007 Skate Canada International in Quebec City, Quebec, where she placed fifth overall with a score of 150.06. Two weeks later, Wagner won her first senior international medal at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard in Paris, France. She placed third behind reigning World silver medalist Mao Asada and reigning U.S. National Champion Kimmie Meissner with a score of 158.63. She finished second in the long program ahead of Meissner and only lost to Meissner in the final standings by 0.11 points. During her fall Grand Prix events, Wagner attempted the triple Lutz-triple loop combination for the first time in competition, but it was downgraded by the technical callers because her attempts were not fully rotated. Discussing her first year on the Grand Prix, Wagner said, "Competing on the Grand Prix has forced my skating to mature. I'm a senior lady now, and I need to perform like one."^[10]

In January 2008, Wagner competed on the senior level for the first time at the 2008 U.S. Nationals in St. Paul, Minnesota. She placed second in the short program behind Mirai Nagasu after landing a triple Lutz-triple loop combination.^[12][13] In the free skate, she placed second again, this time behind Rachael Flatt, after landing seven triples including another triple Lutz-triple loop combination. She finished with the bronze medal overall behind Nagasu and Flatt. Because Nagasu, Flatt, and pewter-medalist Caroline Zhang were too young to compete at an ISU Senior Championship event, Wagner was the only medal winner to be named to the Four Continents and World Championships teams.^[14] Because of her third place finish at the 2008 Nationals, Wagner earned a bye to the 2009 U.S. Nationals.

At the 2008 Four Continents in Goyang, South Korea, Wagner finished twelfth in the short program (47.29), fifth in the free skate (105.17), and eighth overall with a final score of 152.46.^[15][16]

At the 2008 World Championships in Goteburg, Sweden, Wagner finished sixteenth with a final score of 137.40. She finished eleventh in the short program (51.49) and fifteenth in the long program (85.91). She fell once in her free skate.^[17]

2008–2009 season

Wagner performs her short program at the 2008 NHK Trophy.

Wagner won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Junior Championships.

For the 2008–2009 Grand Prix of figure skating season, Wagner was assigned to compete at 2008 Cup of China where she finished fourth. Her next event was the 2008 NHK Trophy, where she again finished fourth. In the process she set new personal bests in the short program and her combined score.

She won the pewter medal at the 2009 U.S. Nationals and represented the United States at the 2009 Junior Worlds in Sofia, Bulgaria where she placed 3rd.

2009–2010 season

For the 2009–2010 Grand Prix of figure skating season, Wagner was assigned to compete at the 2009 Rostelecom Cup, at that event she won the silver medal. In the process she set new personal best scores in her long program and her combined score. She won the bronze medal at the 2009 NHK Trophy, and qualified for the 2009-2010 Grand Prix Final. At the 2009-2010 Grand Prix Final, Wagner finished in last position after the short program with 54.26 points. She turned in a solid performance in the free skate to earn 107.81 points and place fourth. Overall, she finished fourth with 162.07 points.

At the 2010 U.S. Nationals, Wagner won her second bronze medal. She was placed on the team to the 2010 Junior Worlds, but withdrew from the team before the event.^[18]

Around this time Wagner started her own YouTube channel. She is also an avid user of Twitter and Facebook.

2010–2011 season

A racing heartbeat which had long bothered Wagner became more frequent during the summer before the 2010–11 season. She also began to suffer violent full-body muscle spasms which her coach Priscilla Hill said were "some of the most horrific things I've ever seen."^[19] She saw a number of physicians who were unable to determine the cause. Finally, chiropractor and muscle specialist Steve Mathews revealed that tension in her neck muscles was causing a vertebrae to be pushed out of place and squeeze various nerves; a physical therapy program reduced the problems.^[19]

Wagner had practiced her new long program only about six times before she competed at 2010 NHK Trophy where she finished 5th.^[19] At 2010 Cup of Russia she won the bronze medal. At the end of the season, Wagner decided to quit her part-time job at a jeans store and use some of the money she had been saving for college to move across the country to be coached by John Nicks in California.^[20]

2011–2012 season

Wagner began the 2011–12 season at the 2011 Skate Canada International. She placed second in the short program and third in the freeskate to win the bronze medal overall. At the 2011 NHK Trophy, Wagner placed fifth in the short program and third in the freeskate to finish 4th overall. At the 2012 U.S. Nationals, she ranked third in the short program. She was first in the free program and won her first national title.

After her US Championship win, Wagner was assigned to both the 2012 Four Continents Championships and the 2012 World Championships. At Four Continents, she placed second in the short program after two-footing a planned triple flip-triple toe combination and successfully landing her triple loop and double axel. She placed first in a free skate which included six triples and won the gold medal ahead of two time world champion Mao Asada. Her scores at the Four Continents event were the highest overall for a world lady all season and her free program score was the second highest of the season behind Carolina Kostner's gold medal winning free skate at the 2012 World Championships. At the World Championships, Wagner was eighth in the short program after stepping out of her triple flip. In the free skate she placed third with a seven triple program that included a triple flip-double toe-double loop combination, a triple lutz, and a double axel-triple toe combination. She placed 4th overall and secured two spots for U.S. ladies at the 2013 Worlds.

2012–2013 season

Wagner is assigned to 2012 Skate America and 2012 Trophee Eric Bompard.

Coaching changes

Because Wagner's family moved around a lot, she has worked with several coaches, including Tonya Harding's former coach Dody Teachman. In January 2002, Wagner began training with Shirley Hughes in Alexandria, Virginia.^[21][22] Jill Shipstad-Thomas choreographs her competitive programs.^[8][9]

In June 2008, Wagner announced that she would be leaving her longtime coach Shirley Hughes to begin working with Priscilla Hill in Wilmington, Delaware.^[21]

In June 2011, Wagner announced that she would be moving to Aliso Viejo, California to train with John Nicks and Phillip Mills at the Aliso Viejo Ice Palace.^[22][23][24]

Skating technique

Unlike most skaters, Wagner spins and jumps clockwise. She has landed double axel-triple toe loop, triple flip-triple toe loop, and triple lutz-triple loop combinations in competition.

Programs

Wagner performs her exhibition Fever at the 2008 NHK Trophy.

Competitive highlights

Wagner at the 2009 NHK Trophy medal ceremony

Detailed results

Ladies podium at the 2008 U.S. Championships. From left to right: Rachael Flatt (silver), Mirai Nagasu (gold), Ashley Wagner (bronze), Caroline Zhang (pewter).

(Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. Pewter medals for fourth-place finishes awarded only at U.S. national and regional events.)

• QR = Qualifying round; SP = Short program; FS = Free skating

References

• 2004 Pacific Coast Sectional Championships at the United States Figure Skating Association
• 2004 Northwest Pacific Regional Championships at the United States Figure Skating Association
• 2005 Pacific Coast Sectional Championships at the United States Figure Skating Association
• 2005 Northwest Pacific Regional Championships at the United States Figure Skating Association
• 2006 Pacific Coast Sectional Championships at the United States Figure Skating Association
• 2006 Northwest Pacific Regional Championships at the United States Figure Skating Association
• Ashley Wagner at the International Skating Union
• Ashley Wagner at the United States Figure Skating Association

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ashley Wagner

• Official website
• Ashley Wagner at the United States Olympic Committee