Ashley Wagner Talks Beating Kim Yuna As Foot Injury Sidelines Olympic Champion For The Grand Prix Season

Reigning U.S. figure skating champion Ashley Wagner may have gone through a turbulent few months, but Olympic and world champion Kim Yuna can definitely relate thanks to her new injury.

Kim Yuna, 23, will be sidelined for 6 weeks with a metatarsal injury on her right foot, reports Eurosport.

"During training Kim Yuna felt a lot of pain in her right foot," says an official from the Korea Skating Union.

"The diagnosis she received is that she would need around six weeks to recover and will also require physio after she returns."

With this amount of recovery time needed, Yuna Kim could potentially miss both her grand prix assignments, Skate Canada (October 25 to 27) and Trophee Eric Bompard (November 15 to 17), and subsequently the Grand Prix Final in December.

But one skater who seems excited and ready for the upcoming Olympic season is Ashley Wagner, even though she knows the challenges and heavy competition ahead of her.

In 2010, Wagner barely missed her shot at making the Olympic team, and has since been writing her redemption story one season at a time.

"I'm a totally different skater than I was in 2010," she says to Examiner. "And beyond skating I have had four years to grow up and I feel like I am an adult now, whereas before I was just kind of like, I've said this before, but just like a little girl on the outside looking in at my dream."

"I can make this happen; I'm in control of getting onto the team. I think it makes a huge difference on how I approach it. So I'm aware of what is hanging over me, but I feel like I'm much more in control this time."

Being in control, however, does not mean she can escape her immense competition. Whereas Kim Yuna won her second world title in March, Ashley Wagner placed fifth.

"I am very aware of who I am up against. Yuna is a force to be reckoned with and I acknowledge that entirely. My main goal is to get onto the podium," continues Wagner regarding Kim Yuna.

"I would love to be Olympic Champion, but I also know that compared to last season I need to step it up a lot more. I need the triple-triple, I need the full package, cause I'm going up against a favorite and that's pretty tough, so there's no room for mistakes and I'm doing everything I possibly can to get the most juice out of those programs."


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Yuna Kim
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