Ashley Wagner's skating game may be Olympic-ready, but her poker face could use some work. The 22-year-old Team USA figure skater, who landed in fourth place on Saturday, Feb. 8, became a viral Internet sensation over the weekend when she reacted honestly to her 63.10 score at the Ladies' Short Program.
"I was so excited with that strong program, and I know exactly how that program was supposed to go, and I still don't exactly agree with some of the calls that were made," she explained to Us Weekly senior reporter Jennifer Peros, who is on the ground in Sochi. "But we're in Russia, and we're at the Olympics, and I can't give them any room because they're going to take it."
Wagner went on to say that she tends to wear her heart on her sleeve — and on her face — when it comes to her passion for skating. "I'm a strong-headed person, and you can always tell how I'm feeling in that moment."
So how is she feeling in this moment, days after helping her team earn a bronze medal? "I think it's going to hit me when I step foot on that podium, and I feel the weight of my Olympic medal on me and look down and think, 'Wow! I won an Olympic medal,'" she told Us on the set of The Today Show in Sochi. "I can't even process that yet."
Nor can she process the magnitude of her sudden fame. "I feel like I'm in a bit of a bubble here. So I haven't really seen any of it," she added of all the hoopla over her reaction to the score. "But a couple of my friends have said I've been made into a meme, which is probably the coolest thing that's ever happened to me."
"At least the face isn't that bad," she quipped of her dismayed expression. "At least it's not the ugliest face I've ever made. I can handle it."
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