- Joined
- May 19, 2011
We shall see about Wagner (and everyone else for that matter). The odds are stacked immensely against her and I agree with those who all but say she is finished. However, if anyone has the resolve to turn things around, it is her. We see what she did in 2012, so if she puts her mind to it, who knows what can happen. But another thing working against her is time. Athletes only have a limited window at which they can put out their highest performance. Age and mileage (the number of years skated), so to speak. Even the most reliable of cars eventually shows its age and begins to break down.
The most recent case study, of course, is Czisny.
I do agree and I won't count her out yet. The only difference is back in 2012 there was a much bigger gap in the field in terms of competition: Yu-Na was gone; Mao was still struggling to get her jumps back; Carolina was doing TES-lite programs...I don't think any of the top ladies did anything harder than a 3T-3T that year. That was the year the podium was open to her. Had she knocked both programs out of the park she may have placed 2nd or even 1st.
Fast forward to 2014 and it's a completely different story. Not only are there 3-3s in every program, there are even two in some. I'm not even sure a solid 3F-3T would solve all of her problems at this point...it would definitely help but I don't think a clean Ashley with a 3F-3T will beat Julia, Adelina or Gracie if they skate clean or nearly clean--just look at worlds from last year. I feel like the judges will leave them room to make a mistake. Ashley doesn't have that luxury anymore.:disapp: