Controversy as Wagner is left off US Olympic figure skating team

Ashley Wagner was expected to be the face of the US women's team in South Korea but she was left fuming after failing to impress the judges at the US national championships she has won three times.

Wagner, a team bronze medallist in Sochi four years ago, finished fourth by a fraction and will now be staying at home.

New champion Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu and Karen Chen will instead lead the US team and Wagner isn't happy.

Wagner is the only American woman to win an individual Olympic or world medal in the last decade and after her free skate to music from La La Land labelled the judges Ga Ga.

She claimed she was underscored for her artistic elements, though she clearly struggled to nail some of her jumps.

"I'm furious, I'm mad and, I think, deservedly so," said Wagner.

"I want to be on that team and I'm just mad to be in this position. I'm a performer and that's not recognised in the scores. I feel like I need to stick up for myself. Yes, I still believe I should be on that team."

Tears and cheers are measured in equal measure in figure skating and Nagasu arguably wore the broadest smile in San Jose.

She was the skater left out four years ago but is now back on the team, eight years after finishing fourth in Vancouver.

"I'm the comeback kid, I'm just so emotional," she said.

However, US women's figure skating is not has strong as previous years, with Russian, Japanese, Canadian and Italian skaters expected to contest the medals in PyeongChang.

After winning Olympic golds in 1998 and 2002, thanks to Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes, the US haven't been on the podium since Sasha Cohen's silver at the 2006 Games in Torino. Tennell, just 19, is ranked 14th in the world, the highest placed American skater, though at just 19 she may be looking towards the next Games in Beijing.

"I knew that somebody has to go, so I just kind of kept it in the back of my mind all season," she said. "It first became a proper target after I won the junior title in 2015, I thought maybe I can go to PyeongChang and now I am."

Sportsbeat 2018