Who does that...? ME!
That’s who. Crazy people (like me).
Does that sound like something that reigning World Silver
Medalist Ashley Wagner would say? It does to me. But, alas, it’s not her quote.
Let me explain.
I’m what you might call a workout-at-home aficionado, and as
I result I know what exercise programs—and trainers—work me into a sweaty,
drippy pulp. Currently, that trainer is Jillian Michaels. And dear ol’ Jillian
has a DVD that’s been out a few years now called Ripped in 30 that I tend to use when I’m bored with the cardio
discs in her Body Revolution series.
And during one particularly grueling stretch of floor-based cardio (I HATE most
of her floor-based moves, so I know they must be good for me) she pairs up 30
seconds of mountain climbers with 30 seconds of what I think she calls
floor-jacks. Then she repeats the sequence. Ugh. UGH!
And in the middle of all this you hear her voice (because
you don’t dare look up at the screen if you know the moves by now) saying “Two
minutes... of cardio... in plank (position). Who does that? Who...does... that...?
"ME! That’s who.
Crazy people!
"And you bought
this DVD, you fool!” she then barks, as she is prone to do. I don't remember much she says after that; I’m
usually chuckling a little by this point because I get all my Jillian DVDs from
my local library, you see...
But I digress. I’ll get back on track now by explaining what
any of this has to do with Wagner. And I’ll start by throwing down a little research
I did in the past week:
+ In the post-World War II era (1946 to present),
30 different ladies have held the U.S. National title.
+ Of those 30 ladies, 24 have gone on to win World
and/or Olympic medals. (I’m not counting the Olympic team bronze won by USA
in 2014... only individual medals.)
+ The six that have not done so: Laurence Owen (1961 winner who perished
in the Sabena Flight 548 crash en route to Worlds; she finished 9th
at Worlds the previous year)... Lorraine
I hope it’s needless to say this, but I list these names as
a statement of history... not blame. Obviously
Owen’s story is tragic, and I suspect Hanlon’s might be more interesting than
anyone knows (go read her Wiki page to see what I mean). And the modern-day names... the ones
who contributed to the infamous “drought”? There’s at least a dozen different
things you could point to as explanation, including the rise of Japanese
singles skaters, injuries on the part of the U.S. team, “mental toughness” (or
lack thereof) on the part of the U.S. team, lack of competitive drive, skating
in the shadow of the Kwan Era, skating during
Kim Yu-Na and Mao Asada’s dominance... I’m not sure it matters.
Until a couple weeks ago, Wagner’s name was right in there
with the rest of them. First she was the “almost girl” because she couldn’t
quite claim that National title in her first four attempts (3rd in
her ’08 senior debut, then 4th in ’09, 3rd in ’10, and 6th
in ’11)... then something similar happened with the Worlds podium: four
attempts in four years, with the results being 4th, 5th,
7th, and 5th, respectively.
And then came Boston .
Sometime shortly after the final results were announced (and
yes, I do plan to do a more comprehensive review of those results/Worlds
itself), I said something on Twitter speculating about Gracie’s FS implosion—admittedly
a big exaggeration; I mean, we have seen
implosions in this sport and that wasn’t one of them. But I was thinking of
Gracie in 1st after the SP, and Ash in 4th... and yes, I
can see the outcome being reversed had Ashley been in the lead. (And I bet
Mirai Nagasu really can see it; she
herself fell from 1st in the SP to 7th overall in her
only other Worlds appearance.) I also
thought it worth noting that Gracie’s got a lot less experience from which to
draw. When Ashley was Gracie’s age at Worlds—in 2012—she finished 4th,
just as Gracie did. But that was after being 8th in the SP and rebounding
with the 3rd best FS of the event (with her Black Swan program).
That actually brings me back to my original point (love it
when that happens), which is this: Ashley Wagner is in a class by herself
now... a true exception to The Rule. I’ll go back to my research to explain:
+ Of those 24 post-WW2 champions who went on to
medal on the World and/or Olympic podium, 21 of them did so within 2 years of
winning the U.S.
title. Many got to the World podium the same year as their initial U.S. win;
several actually medaled at Worlds and/or Olympics before nabbing that title (see Carol Heiss, Nancy Kerrigan and
Sasha Cohen, to name a few).
+ Exception #1: Gretchen Merrill, who kept the U.S.
title from 1943-1948 but didn’t claim her only World medal—a bronze—until 1947.
In her case we’ll never know if she’d have medaled sooner... due to the war
there were no World Championships between 1940-46.
+ Exception #2: Janet Lynn, who first won the U.S.
title in 1969 but didn’t have a podium breakthrough on the world stage until three
years later—when she won bronze both at the Olympics and at Worlds. In her case, as you might already know, her
struggles with compulsory figures undercut her exceptional free skating. (Example:
Lynn was 5th in figures and 1st in the free skate at 1971
Worlds—remember, there was no SP until 1973—so with figures counting 60% of the
overall score, Lynn finished behind medalists Trixie Schuba, fellow American
Julie Lynn Holmes, and Karen Magnussen.)
+ Exception #3: Wagner. And in her case, there was no World War
interference and no figures holding her down. Just some powerful determination
keeping her together, over and over again.
It could be argued that Wagner is fortunate to be competing at
a time in the sport when women single skaters often continue at a world-class
level well into their 20s. And I guess she is. But the days of “going
professional” after one Olympic cycle (maybe
two, depending on the skater) are very seldom seen anymore. The opportunities
just aren’t there. So they keep going—maybe longer than their body is willing,
maybe longer than they have any real desire to. Are they “crazy people”, to
bring back the Jillian quote I used earlier? Not likely. They’re just people, trying
to (still) make something happen when the odds stack higher against them all
the time.
And that’s what makes Ashley’s accomplishment so much more
than simply “ending the medal drought” for the U.S.
women. Her victory is, quite literally, EXCEPTIONAL. All on its own.
