Want to get inside the mind of an elite Olympic medalist? I'm Figure Skater Ashley Wagner, and I'm Six Months Out from Going for Gold. Ask Me Anything!

As the men are doing more and more difficult jumps, do you think it is important for the ladies to keep up and start adding 3A's and even quads to their programs? If so, do you plan on bringing any of those jumps to your programs for the Olympic season? Or are you going to focus mainly on doing elements which you know you can to get good GOE's on?

Hey, here is the thing. At a certain point physics comes into play with what the human body is capable of doing. I think with the younger women coming up in the sport, triple axels and quads are definitely something that is on the horizon. We all know what happens when someone matures and physically that just makes it very very tough on the body, but you see awesome chicks like Mirai Nagasu going for the triple axel so it is definitely possible! My recipe for success this time around is clean and secure. I am going for intricate entrances and exits into my main elements to help boost my GOE and mentally it will help me feel more secure competing.

Have you watched Yuri on Ice?

Victor Nikiforov heart eyes

If you had to perform a pairs routine with someone, who would you pick?

Nope. I don't trust men enough. LOL jk but probably I would pick Jason Momoa, he look's strong and brave and I like looking at him so thats a perk as well.

Awww, what about Max Aaron? Fun to see him lifting you at Skate For Hope and WTT.

Love Maxy, he is one of my favs in this sport we are really great friends!

Hey Ashley! I follow figure skating almost obsessively - I was just wondering that moment when you land a jump, where do you feel the impact the most (and does it hurt)? Is it the knee?

Wow great question I never really think of that these days. I guess your feet since thats the moment of impact? IDK it happens so fast its hard to say where you feel it most. Everywhere these days for me lol.

Would it be possible to grab some "ice flakes" left after doing let's say sit spin, and throw them in the air as it was snow?

Are you choreographing a program RIGHT NOW!? Lol its possible and not a bad idea. Cue dramatic ice throw

Some Sheryl Crow... Tomorrow Never Dies... Ice snow thrown in the air at the very end in the spotlight... Oh I would love to see something outside of the box like that. And who else than the sassiest figure skater could do that :)

One single tear sliding down my face.

How do you not get dizzy from all the spins?? And also, I hope you get gold! That's awesome!

So I've been spinning for 21 years at this point, I wish I could explain the inner workings of your ear canal and balance and all that fun stuff, but I am no doctor I'm going to stick to skating. Basically I'm used to it by now and practice practice practice.

Hi Ashley, what happened to the cat (that isn't your cat) that kept on invading your home? He was adorable XD

He is my neighbors cat and he stops by every day to play with Dex. I just find it hilarious that he chills in my house all day.

Thanks for the questions everyone! Stay sassy, classy and a little bad assy, idk thats the best I've got right now! Byeeeeee

Hi Ashley, thanks for doing this AMA! Might be a generic question, but what was the moment you decided, "yes, I'm really going to be an Olympic level athlete?" Was it a slow progression or a definitive moment?

It was a slow progression. I watched Tara Lipinski in '98 win Olympic gold and knew I wanted to go to the Olympics. It wasn't until after 2010 when I was first Olympic alternate that I really felt my potential to get to the Olympics, ironic I know. I kind of redirected my focus towards that goal and did everything I could to make it happen.

Hi Ashley! Best of luck in Korea!

I was wondering, as an athlete who is under immense pressure to perform by one's self, in front of the crowd, what tips/tricks/advice do you have for dealing with nerves?

For me, the moment I stop caring about what other people think is the moment I get control of my nerves. I also remind myself that the nerves are there for a reason, because I care and am invested in what I'm doing. I train way too hard every day and at one point you just have to quiet your mind and believe in the work you've put into everything.

Hi Ashley, I'm a huge fan of yours! I've loved watching your journey of overcoming your obstacles and blossoming into your hard working talent. Can't wait to see you in the Olympics!

What kind of advice can you give to others who feel like they're constantly the "almost girl" and how can they overcome that to become the "it girl" like you?

Thank you and good luck!

Hi Gabesaporta! Thats so nice to hear:) Honestly the only way I got over being the "Almost Girl" was by putting my head down and getting to work. I put a lot on the line and I gave myself one year to become national champ or I would retire bc I was so sick of feeling like I just barely missed out on things. I made myself uncomfortable and thats where I made the most improvement and pushed through!

If you have a great short program at a competition (let's say top 5), how do you maintain focus in the hours/days until the freeskate program to ensure you do as well or better? How do you keep fear/doubt/nerves from getting to you?

Even though it is a combined event, I take the short and the long as two separate things. As soon as the short is finished I kind of cut ties with it mentally and prep for the long. Obviously it creeps into your mind a bit but its about resetting and focusing on what you really have in front of you.

What's the craziest thing that you've experienced at the Olympics?

Quite honestly, the craziest thing I experienced at the Olympics was the cafeteria. It was this GINORMOUS tent with all these different food selections from around the world and an in-house McDonalds. All of the athletes would meet up there and it was just this crazy intense environment with athletes from pretty much everywhere and every sport.

hey! do you work on your lutz? any plans to change the technic/entry? are you gonna start the program with 2a again? any changes on your layout, new element or more/less jumps in the 2nd half of the program? and a quick wish: i hope you have enough time for the final spin this time! love you so much, never stop competing, thanks, best wishes. <3 :*

OH MY GOD I AM STRESSED. Mom, is this you!?!?

Worked on the lutz all summer, axel is still first you can't teach an old dog new tricks and yes I have time for my spins YAY!

What countries had the wildest people you hung out with during the Olympics? Any stories?

In skating, the Russians love to have the most fun! Them and the Italians I think are they wild ones in skating!

Your style of skating seems so different from other figure skaters at your level. You also seem to use music with lyrics far more often than your peers. I personally think it makes your skating way more fun to watch, so why are you the only one (that I have noticed) who tries to "change the game" a little?

HUGE fan by the way! You're my favorite Olympic athlete. Rooting for you!

Aw yay thank you!! I personally think skating to music with lyrics makes it way more fun to watch as an audience! Maybe it can be a little intimidating for someone who is not as comfortable with expression yet because you really have to be way more literal, thats my only guess!

What is your favorite thing about your friendship with Madison Chock and Marissa Castelli? Also, are their partners (Evan Bates and Mervin Tran) pretty awesome, too?

My girls!! Love them to death. Marissa is the fun hot mess of the group and Madi is the glamazon. Guess that makes me the mom I'm not quite sure but they keep me around so I must be worthy. Its so awesome having badass ladies who know what I'm going through bc they are going through the exact same thing. Evan and Mervin are hilarious I've known them both for years so its great that I like the work husbands too

How many times have you watched Blades of Glory?

Too many times to admit.

You are living my dream -- I couldn't ice skate at all but would pretend to be an ice skater as a kid. Who was your idol? Like who did you watch and say, I wanna do that?

MICHELLE KWAN (prayer hands for days I don't know how to do that on my computer) She is KWEEN and we are not worthy of her. She does her change edge spiral and I lose my mind every time. Sorry I just got overwhelmingly excited but thats what Michelle does to me!

Not judging/criticizing you at all ... I know you have declined Four Continents in recent years. Did the Olympic test event make you think twice before declining in 2017? Or for you, does familiarity with a venue not really make a difference? Just wondering. I know each athlete is different, and only you knows what is the best decision for you. Wishing you a great season.

To me, it makes no difference. I went to the test event for Sochi and it felt like a totally different venue the next time. 4CC is a really tough event because it is so close to nationals and I like having a break!

Hi, Ashley! I have been a fan for a long time and I was wondering how your diet fluctuates and changes thought the skating season into the off season? Also what is your favorite jump to preform?

Nothing changes too much, lucky for me I love nothing more than chicken veggies and rice!

Hi Ashley! I'm gonna ask a very common figure skating question: how old is too old to skate in qualifying competitions? Do you think it's silly to skate as a 23 year old novice at regionals?

Nope. Answer one question. Do you love it? The rest doesn't matter. Seriously. Do you and forget what anyone else says.

Can you wish me a happy birthday?

What's your favorite breed of cat and your favorite coffee from a fast food joint?

Happy Birthday MorphineBear! My fav cat breed is my cat. He is a Desert Lynx aka a cat dog and I'm obsessed with him. Also don't hate my but my guilty pleasure is Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I know I know it is terrible but I LOVE it!!

Hey Ashley! Do you ever read negative comments about yourself online and how do you deal with them? Love you and wish you the best in this upcoming season!

I don't go out of my way to find them, but I see them every now and then. Obviously not everyone will love me and I'm not here to be everyone's best friend. I feel like to make everyone happy you would have to be so vanilla bland and boring. I'm just myself take it or leave it and if you don't like it thats totally fine! If you feel like you need to go out of your way to let me know you don't like it, well, idk, go get a life!

Hi Ashley! Love these Olympic AMA's. very cool to see you on the Body Issue. OMG, what was that like to photograph? So many jumps.

I was FREEZING and it was drafty! Lol I have wanted to shoot the Body Issue for a long time because I think it is really important for people to understand the athleticism of figure skating. I was fresh off the plane from Japan and hadn't had water in like two days, I was dreaming of drinking water! Anyway, the magazine went out of their way to make me super comfortable and I was in total control of who was allowed to be in the rink. I really worked with the photographer to get the perfect shot and I am so proud of what we came up with!

In a Lip-Sync For Your Life, what would your go-to song be?

Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident) by John Michael Montgomery. I am an country girl I was raised on it and no one likes it but oh my god I SLAY this song. That or Partition by Beyonce.

How do you like your eggs?

Scrambled with cheddar cheese

Tell your fans what it was like to shoot this? https://www.reddit.com/user/TeamUSAOlympics/comments/6rec23/next_up_in_the_olympic_ama_series_ashley_wagner/

YESSSS my Khaleesi moment. I wanted to look way more intense on the Iron Throne but honestly couldn't contain my nerdy excitement. This was awesome and I literally screamed when I saw it. One of the coolest thing Team USA has done for a promo shoot ever!

Hi Ashley! You're my inspiration as a figure skater. I'm 18 and sometimes I feel too old to skate, especially for the level i'm at ( i started late and am barely learning axel and doubles). How do you get past seeing younger people being as good as you or even better (even though there's no one really better than you)?

Also does the media play up your relationship with fellow olympians like Gracie and Polina or are you guys actually that super close?

I'll be supporting you in San Jose!!!

Gracie and I are actually good friends now! It took us a while to get there but I think we are both super strong willed type A personality ladies so once we realized we are actually the same person it was easy for us to let our guard down around each other. Polina is a lot younger than I am but I adore her.

As for your age. I get on the ice and most of the women I compete against were not even born when I started skating, how is that for feeling super old? You just have to really only think about yourself, that you love to do this and the rest seriously does not matter.

I loved watching your Facebook live from the promo shoot. Do you like to "host" shows?

I think thats the career path I want to go down after skating. I think its super fun!

You have a day to yourself. No plans are made. What do you watch on Netflix?

Narcos!!!!

What program felt like your breakthrough? As a fan and former skater myself, I felt like the Black Swan program was a game changer and we really got to see fierce Ashley emerge #swagner :) I also loved the Moulin Rouge & Adagio LP's! Looking forward to seeing you live at nationals this year!

Hi thank you!! I still get a lot of positive feedback on Black Swan and it is so funny looking back that program at Nationals these days would prob not even be top five! At the time though, I definitely think it was a turning point for me, it changed people's perspective of who I was as a skater and it really started developing me as a performer! Have waaaaayyyy more fun in San Jose than I'll be having this year!

Hey Ashley, So... I heard you may or may not be coming to the broadmoor ice Hall on August 22nd. Could you please tell me if this is true??

Let me look at my calendar. That is Champs Camp so yes I'll be there!!

How do you differentiate between different jumps, and how is each jump scored? Good luck!

Oh god, we would need years and a lot of coffee to go over all of this. Basically there are six different jumps, entering on different edges and going forward or backwards. We alway land on the same foot though. Each jump has a set value. Thats the quick version!

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Falling from heaven? Yeah it wasn't great, probs wouldn't do again.