Olympic figure skater Ashley Wagner will represent the United States in the women’s free skate at Sochi 2014 after her memorable short program performance.

Ashley Wagner Advances At Sochi

Wagner, 22, placed fourth in the short program with her routine to Pink Floyd's “Shine On You Crazy Diamond." During the performance, Wagner suffered a two-footed, under rotated jump, which saw her receive deductions from the judges. Waiting to hear her score with her coaches and teammates, she was surprised to learn she’d been awarded only 63.10 points.

Explaining her surprise, Wagner admitted her disappointment but maintained that she did everything necessary for herself and for her team.

"I know roughly when I skate a good program where the score should end up," she told USA Today. "So yeah, to score that low was very disappointing for me. But honestly, this performance was more for myself and mentally getting beyond this past couple of weeks. And I wanted to do everything I could to help out this team, and I really feel I delivered on that part."

Wagner placed behind Russia’s Yulia Lipnitskaya, Italy’s Carolina Kostner, and Japan’s Mao Asada. In fifth place, was Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond. They’ll now all move on to the free skate.

Despite placing in the middle of the pack, Wagner proved she was meant to skate at Sochi 2014. Some had doubted the figure skater after she took fourth at Nationals, making her way to the Olympics on past merit. With her performance, she proved to her critics – and to herself – that she was supposed to be there.

Chelsea Regan

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