Who would you rank as the current American ladies number 1: Gracie Gold or Ashley Wagner? | Golden Skate

Who would you rank as the current American ladies number 1: Gracie Gold or Ashley Wagner?

Mao88

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Who would you rank as the current American ladies number 1: Gracie Gold or Ashley Wagner?

In this new article by Phil Hersh, he states:-

At this point, Ashley Wagner is again – and clearly – the top woman in the United States. At the end of last season, Gold had edged ahead in my estimation, even if Wagner was placed ahead of her at nationals (1-to-2) and worlds (5-to-6).

Wagner’s solid second place at Skate America last week put behind her the shaky performances she had at the Grand Prix Final, nationals and worlds last season. She is the most reliable U.S. woman.

I would agree with Phil Hersh that Wagner is the most reliable at present. However, I do not agree with his assertion that she is "clearly – the top woman." I would say that they were more or less level pegging (as I think Golds best is on a par with Wagner's when they skate clean), but that the momentum is with Gracie Gold. She is improving in leaps and bounds, and under Frank Carroll, I think that the rate of improvement will increase markedly. The only factor that Gold really lacks at the moment is consistency in terms of putting a clean SP and FS together in the same competition. If she can find that consistency over the next few months, I think she can win the forthcoming U.S. National Championships and head into the Olympics as the clear U.S. number 1
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
In this new article by Phil Hersh, he states:-



I would agree with Phil Hersh that Wagner is the most reliable at present. However, I do not agree with his assertion that she is "clearly – the top woman." I would say that they were more or less level pegging, but that the momentum is with Gracie Gold. She is improving in leaps and bounds, and under Frank Carroll, I think that the rate of improvement will increase markedly. The only factor that Gold really lacks at the moment is consistency in terms of putting a clean SP and FS together in the same competition. If she can find that consistency over the next few months, I think she can win the forthcoming U.S. National Championships and head into the Olympics as the clear U.S. number 1

I think she is "clearly" the top woman right now, which is what his assessment is based on. It doesn't make sense to base his assessment on what could happen in the months to come. Right now, Ashley has the higher overall and free skate score and Gracie and her are virtually tied as far as SP scores.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
It's so fickle to base it off a competition. Ashley, for example, started last season strong and then fizzled. Gold was up and down last season. They were neck in neck at Worlds. It's really hard to say at this point.

Right now, I would rank Gold higher, but barely. Her jumps are better, her FS is also better than Ashley's R&J.
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
RIGHT NOW, it is Wagner.

BUT, Gold continues to nip at her heels. If Gold gets it together and begins competing well, Wagner's days at the top are done. But that hasn't happened yet, so AS OF NOW Wagner is still our best hope.
 

wordsworthgirl

Medalist
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Agreed with everyone above that Wagner at the moment is far above Gracie, both for consistency/competitiveness and for all-around skating (choreography, presentation).

Agree also that if Gracie becomes more consistent with her jumps and develops her style she will surpass Ashley.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Thank goodness we have three spots on our Olympic ladies' team! Who knows which one can do better at the Sochi Games, but it's great that (unless there's some awful occurrence, Heaven forbid) both will have a chance to make America look good there.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Wagner has the "help" of two National titles (whether or not the second one was deserved in some people's minds not counting lol) so unless she totally bombs I expect her to go into the Olympics as the #1 skater. She *might* make the team even with a really crappy skate (ala Evan in 2010) but they won't prop her up much further than they have to.
 

Eddie Lee

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 19, 2007
I vividly recall 207 Spokane Nationals where the Big 3 Junior ladies were Caroline Zhang, Marai Negasu, and Ashley Wagner. The Biggest Name of the 3 was Zhang, but Marai won the gold with Caroline and Ashley coming in 2nd & 3rd, respectively. Caroline Zhang took gold at the Jr. World Championship which followed shortly. Six years later and Ashley is the Top ranked of the Three. Kudos to her. My take is that Ashley is the most consistent and most experienced--Gracie the most gifted and exciting. Things will sort out in the next 100 days or so. I believe Ashley will come out of Nationals on top, unless Gracie skates a perfect short & long which she hasn't accomplished this season (and also proves herself in the remaining Grand Prix events). I'm thinking Zawadski might take the third spot. But there's also Gao, Marai, Cesario. And what about Rachel & Alissa? What about juniors moving to senors? A lot of sifting ahead of Sochi.
 

blue_idealist

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
right now, it is wagner.

But, gold continues to nip at her heels. If gold gets it together and begins competing well, wagner's days at the top are done. But that hasn't happened yet, so as of now wagner is still our best hope.

ita.
 

cinnamon

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 13, 2010
When Gracie will gain confidence and commitment as Ashley has now, she will go over her. The question is how soon it will be happened. And when it happens it will be truly exciting to watch figure skating. :)
 

LuisRollerArg

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
Ashley still has much room for improvement... in her short program she still can get more points to increase their levels in spins (her SP will break down 70's++), and Gracie has done it all on level 4 in sp.. Gracie certainly can not achieve the Ashley advantage in their PCS .. so it is more than clear, Ashley is number one for a long time now and surely!
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
To me it's clear Ashley is #1. Gracie is improving in some areas, but regressing in others. Specifically, her jump consistency is not there. Although I am not crazy about Ashley's programs this season, she has added a good number of points to her BV with the 3/3 which has allowed her to score in the 120's even with a few URs, two-footed landings, and low level spins.
 

mskater93

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 22, 2005
Gracie's jump consistency in competition has been lacking since she moved to Seniors. She's had more issues with SP than LP until SCI last weekend. I consider her competition at SCI a step in the right direction - yes, she made 3 mistakes in the LP, but she never gave up on the performance and still managed to finish on the podium (and still scored in the top 3 in the LP). She's been working with FrankC for ~ a month and I saw some marked improvements in her use of arms (until she fell on the Lz in the LP) and her approach to the programs. She looked a lot less tense starting both programs here than she has previously AND she seemed to be enjoying herself, even with mistakes which is AWESOME because at the end of the day, if you aren't enjoying it, why do it? Looking forward to seeing how the relationship between FrankC and Gracie progresses throughout this season and beyond...
 

kwanatic

Check out my YT channel, Bare Ice!
Record Breaker
Joined
May 19, 2011
Ashley is the clear #1 and will remain there until Gracie can beat out Ashley...consistently. Ashley has consistently bested Gracie at every competition. Gracie hasn't beaten her once which is one of the reasons I find this question very odd. Gracie may outscore Ashley in one segment of the competition but overall Ashley comes out on top. Gracie has the potential to be amazing but potential counts for zero in this sport. Everyone knows she can do the jumps in her sleep but if she can't do them when the pressure is on, they count for nothing.

Gracie is the more talented skater of the two (jumps, spins, speed) but Ashley is the superior competitor. She has the focus and mental toughness Gracie lacks. There's no guarantee Gracie will ever gain that mental toughness/focus. If/when she does she will probably be unstoppable...but as of now, Ashley's consistency and competitiveness trump Gracie's potential greatness.

I do think Gracie has made improvements under Frank so far, particularly in her presentation. She's a little less stiff, the samurai sword arms have calmed down a little bit, and she did look more relaxed in the SP. However, she was right back to regular old nervous Gracie in the FS. Only two of her jumping passes were clean (3L and 2A-2T-2T); every other jump was tight b/c she was nervous. The program slowly unraveled but she managed to barely hang on and not completely fall to pieces. I do think she kept the program up better (didn't go 100% blank in the face) which is good but overall, that was not a good performance by the standards she is being held to. That said she still scored very well and landed on the podium but this was a missed opportunity for Gracie.

Julia is a good example of a great competitor. She has that killer instinct needed to be a champion...she's always had it. Gracie doesn't have that killer instinct. We'll have to see if Frank can develop that for her. NHK will be very interesting...
 
Top