SHANGHAI (AP) – For the ninth straight year, there wasn’t an American woman on the podium at the figure skating world championships.
Though they fell just short of taking home a medal, Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner were pleased with the way they recovered after their spotty performances in the short program to end the season on a positive note.
Gold was second in the free skate Saturday to improve from eighth place to fourth overall – less than three points behind bronze medalist Elena Radionova of Russia – while Wagner jumped from 11th to fifth place overall.
“It’s what I kind of hoped to do is skate strong and be tough,” she said. “Ten out of 10 times you’ll land a jump and to miss it when it matters is frustrating.”
The 19-year-old Gold has missed her share of jumps this season. After losing to Wagner to relinquish her U.S. national title in January, she had one of her worst performances of the season at the Four Continents Championships in South Korea, failing to medal at an event she was predicted to easily win.