I don't know the rules when it comes to waiting/watching, but if I were an elite skater and had the chance to watch or not, I'd watch the ones that skate after me. Ya know, a few death glares and close analisis in case they score higher than me
I thought skaters didn't watch their competitors skating during the competition.
Therefore I was so susprised to see Courtney Hicks watching all the girls, before she skated, in the short as well as the long program at TEB.
Did she? Was/is there video? (or were you at the arena and just saw her there)
First, I don't find her comment offensive, I find it annoying. Second, she's indeed uncapable of doing the content of Tuktamysheva/Radionova/Pogorilaya. What's offensive about that?
Ok, guys. It's that time. Make what you will of the following...
Here it is. Straight outta the conference call, the ENTIRE question, followed by Wagner's COMPLETE answer, IN CONTEXT:
And yes, I probably would watch the skaters after me. In fact, on many telecasts they show skaters behind the scenes watching those following them.
Thanks for providing this. It was a awkward question.
Oh my god, honestly, even though I'm not a huge fan of Ashley Wagner, she said nothing wrong about the Russian girls. I don't think what she said was "smack talk," it was merely an observation when comparing the last Olympic cycle to this upcoming one. Of course the Russians haven't had time to build a legacy yet, especially with the three heavy weights (Yuna, Mao and Caro) gone, it'll be only a matter of time before a true star emerges from this set of competitors.
Ashley has had a great deal of success with her skating and it shouldn't be minimized - whether you like her or not. While she isn't my favorite, she does deserve some respect for her accomplishments. To just make a flat statement that she has no technical ability is offensive (to me)
And yes, I probably would watch the skaters after me. In fact, on many telecasts they show skaters behind the scenes watching those following them.
Maybe it it was just me but the "all the Russians" comment didn't bug me all that much. I disagree but whatever. I probably keep better tabs on them than she does anyway What I found to be rude and an inaccurate statement was the insinuation that somehow the Russians have it so easy and everything is worked out perfectly for them. I've already discussed this and I'll just say I'd love to see how this went down in the audio if anyone can relay that info.
Some skaters watch the skaters that precede them; some don't. I believe Michelle would often stay in the dressing room till her time, not watching and , as much as possible, not listening.
Will see what I can do. Anything to clear the air at this point...too much misinfo going on.
I realize that the scenarios are not completely comparable b/c Wagner's comment was about members of her own discipline.
Just making note that expectations of different skaters are different depending on our own individual points of view.
(If YL really doesn't know who Josh is, I would not find fault with her -- but I would consider her lack of awareness to be somewhat strange.)
Will see what I can do. Anything to clear the air at this point...too much misinfo going on.
(about 3:42)
Q: (from Lynn): [actually, this is a follow-up to a previous question] ...And, just kind of a quick follow up, umm, your coach, uh, Rafael [Arutunian], uh, you know, always a very honest, uh, gentleman...and he says that sometimes you have...you don't really get as much ice time as you might like...uh, at your rink, you know, to work on all of these things [she's referring to jumps that Wagner mentioned working on in previous answer]. Umm, do you see that as a factor, you know, particularly going up against these, uh, Russians who...you know, have very good ice time?
A: (Wagner) I mean, I'm...I'm going up against, uh, a bunch of girls who have...uh, you know, an entire country giving them...uh, apartments (emphasis) and...uh, perfect ice time (emphasis)...and everything has really worked out perfectly (emphasis) for them...but...at the same time, you know what, my ice time might not be perfect, but I make the absolute best (emphasis) of what I have...Rafael...(laughs) Rafael loves to...let everybody know how difficult things can be (brief laugh) sometimes, but quite honestly, you know, if I have 2 hours on the ice and it's not exactly perfect training conditions, that's fine, it's the best I'm going to get that day and I have to just work with it. So it's not something that I think affects me all that much, because I'm just (???) kinda pushing through...uh, but...it would be nice to (laughs) live a day in the, in the Russians' shoes and, you know, have everything kind of perfectly set up so I can just focus on my training.
(Lynn says "Thank you", and they move on to the next question)