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Ashley Elisabeth Wagner (born May 16, 1991) is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2016 World silver medalist, a 2014 Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2012 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final medalist (1 silver, 2 bronze), a thirteen-time Grand Prix medalist (5 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze), and a three-time U.S. national champion (2012, 2013, and 2015). Wagner competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and placed 7th. At the junior level, Wagner is a two-time World Junior bronze medalist (2007, 2009), the 2006-07 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time Junior Grand Prix medalist (2 gold), and the 2007 U.S. junior bronze medalist.
Wagner joined NBC as a color commentator for the 2020 European Figure Skating Championships. She provided figure skating analysis for NBC's world feed at the 2024 U.S. Championships alongside fellow figure skater and former training mate Adam Rippon.
Because Wagner's father was in the army, she was a military brat when her family moved nine times during her childhood; they settled in northern Virginia when she was ten years old.
Wagner was Homeschooling by her mother for seven months. She later attended West Potomac High School through the 2007/2008 school year.
After studying at Northern Virginia Community College via its online Extended Learning Institute, she enrolled in Saddleback College in California but did not graduate.
Wagner later trained in Kansas City and Tacoma, Washington until her family moved to Portland, Oregon, where she was taught by Tonya Harding's former coach, Dody Teachman. In January 2002, Wagner began training with Shirley Hughes in Alexandria, Virginia. Jill Shipstad-Thomas choreographed her competitive programs.
In the 2002–03 season, Wagner qualified for the U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships, which are the national championships of the United States for figure skaters at the juvenile and intermediate levels. Wagner placed 17th at the Intermediate level. The following season she tested up to the novice level. She won the silver medal at her regional competition, the first step to qualifying for the national championships, but placed tenth at her sectional competition and did not qualify for the 2004 National Championships.
Wagner qualified for her first U.S. Championships in the 2004–05 season after placing first at both the Northwest Pacific Regionals and the Pacific Coast Sectionals. Competing on the novice level, she placed seventh at Nationals.
In January 2008, Wagner competed on the senior level for the first time at the 2008 U.S. Nationals in St. Paul, Minnesota. She placed second in the short program behind Mirai Nagasu after landing a triple Lutz-triple loop combination. In the free skate, she placed second again, this time behind Rachael Flatt, after landing seven triples including another triple Lutz-triple loop combination. She finished with the bronze medal overall behind Nagasu and Flatt. Because Nagasu, Flatt, and pewter-medalist Caroline Zhang were too young to compete at an ISU Senior Championship event, Wagner was the only medal winner to be named to the Four Continents and World Championships teams. Because of her third-place finish at the 2008 Nationals, Wagner earned a bye to the 2009 U.S. Nationals.
At the 2008 Four Continents in Goyang, South Korea, Wagner finished twelfth in the short program, fifth in the free skate, and eighth overall. At the 2008 World Championships in Goteburg, Sweden, she finished 16th after placing 11th in the short program and 15th in the long program. She fell once in her free skate.
In June 2008, Wagner announced that she would be leaving her longtime coach Shirley Hughes to begin working with Priscilla Hill in Wilmington, Delaware.
She won the pewter medal at the 2009 U.S. Nationals and represented the United States at the 2009 Junior Worlds in Sofia, Bulgaria where she placed third, winning her second junior world medal.
At the 2010 U.S. Nationals, Wagner won her second bronze medal. She was placed on the team to the 2010 Junior Worlds, but withdrew from the team before the event.
Wagner had practiced her new long program only about six times before she competed at 2010 NHK Trophy where she finished fifth. At 2010 Cup of Russia she won the bronze medal.
In June 2011, Wagner announced that she would move to Aliso Viejo, California to train with John Nicks and Phillip Mills at the Aliso Viejo Ice Palace. She quit her part-time job at American Eagle and used some of the money she had been saving for college in order to move across the country.
After her U.S. Championship win, Wagner was assigned to both the 2012 Four Continents Championships and the 2012 World Championships. At Four Continents, she placed second in the short program after two-footing a planned triple flip-triple toe combination and successfully landing her triple loop and double axel. She placed first in a free skate which included six triples and won the gold medal ahead of two time world champion Mao Asada. Her scores at the Four Continents event were the highest overall for a world lady all season and her free program score was the second highest of the season behind Carolina Kostner gold medal-winning free skate at the 2012 World Championships. At the World Championships, Wagner was eighth in the short program after stepping out of her triple flip. She placed third in the free skate with a seven triple program, and fourth overall, thus securing two spots for U.S. ladies at the 2013 Worlds.
At the Grand Prix Final in December, Wagner placed second in the short. A pair of hard falls during the free skate injured her left hip (hip pointer) and bruised her right knee but she was able to complete the program and finished fourth in the segment. In the overall standings, she finished with the silver medal, just ahead of Japan's Akiko Suzuki. At the 2013 U.S. Championships, Wagner placed first in the short program, second in the free skate after falling twice and two-footing her salchow jump, and was able to edge out Gracie Gold to win her second straight national title. She was the first U.S. ladies' single skater to win consecutive national titles since Michelle Kwan in 2005.
Wagner's luggage that contained her skates was lost on her way to the 2013 World Championships but arrived before the evening practice on March 12. She placed fifth at Worlds, while her teammate, Gracie Gold, placed sixth. With these placements, they gained three spots for the Olympics and World Championships. Wagner placed second at the 2013 World Team Trophy and the United States won the event. One week later, Phillip Mills, her choreographer, announced that he had given Wagner his resignation. On April 24, John Nicks said he would no longer travel but would still coach Wagner at the Aliso Viejo Ice Palace. On June 25, Wagner said she would also train in Lake Arrowhead, California with Rafael Arutyunyan, who would accompany her to competitions.
She continued on to compete at the 2014 World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan, where she placed seventh in the short program, fourth in the free skate, and finished in seventh place overall.
At the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, Wagner placed 11th in the short program, third in the free skate, and fifth overall. At the 2015 World Team Trophy, she ranked fourth in both segments and Team USA won the event.
Wagner competed at the 2016 World Championships in Boston. She placed fourth in the short with a personal best score of 73.16. She then competed as the last skater in the free skate, placing second by scoring another personal best of 142.23, the highest free program score ever recorded by an American woman (historical record). Her performances earned her the silver medal, becoming the first American woman to win a medal at the World Championships in a decade.
Wagner finished her season by competing for Team North America at the inaugural 2016 KOSÉ Team Challenge Cup. Her performances greatly contributed to the team earning the gold medal.
Wagner began her Grand Prix season at 2016 Skate America, where she became the first American woman since Michelle Kwan to regain a Skate America title.
At the 2016 Cup of China, a poor free skate led Wagner to her worst Grand Prix finish in her career as she finished just outside of the top 5, placing fifth in the short program, seventh in the free skate and sixth overall. While she subsequently did not qualify for the 2016-2017 Grand Prix Final, Wagner quickly rebounded with her first silver medal at the 2017 U.S. Championships behind Karen Chen. She placed third in the short program and second in the free skate to finish second overall.
At the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Wagner scored a 69.04 in the short program, placing seventh. In a somewhat lackluster free program, she scored a 124.50, placing tenth in the free program and seventh overall with a score of 193.54. Wagner's placement, combined with a fourth-place finish from USA's Karen Chen, qualified Team USA three spots for the 2018 Olympics and 2018 World Figure Skating Championships.
Wagner finished her season at the 2017 World Team Trophy, where her performances greatly contributed to Team USA winning the bronze medal.
Wagner withdrew from her second Grand Prix event at 2017 Skate America in the middle of her free skate due to an ankle infection. Several days later, she revealed that she would return to her La La Land long program.
After placing fourth at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Wagner was named as the first alternate for the 2018 Winter Olympic team and the 2018 World Figure Skating Championship team. She was selected to compete at the 2018 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, but opted to withdraw, giving her spot to alternate Angela Wang.
Wagner was eventually invited to compete at the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships due to Karen Chen's withdrawal, but declined. Mariah Bell was selected as the replacement.
As of January 2019, Wagner was taking a break from figure skating, and had moved to Boston, Massachusetts. She was a coach at the Skating Club of Boston. However, she did not officially announce her retirement.
In August 2019, Wagner retired from competitive skating.
In 2023, she started a figure skating podcast, titled "The Runthrough," which she currently hosts alongside Adam Rippon and Sarah Hughes (no relation to 2002 Olympic champion Sarah Hughes).
In 2023, Wagner graduated from Northeastern University with a B.S. in Psychology.
Wagner currently works as a Mental Performance Intern for Persistence Psych, an organization that helps clients address mental blocks that may be impeding performance.
Wagner currently lives in Boston but considers Seabeck, Washington her home.
Wagner speaks a little German in addition to English.
In 2016, Wagner participated in a roundtable discussion with ESPN about concussions. Wagner said she has suffered several concussions and she believes these incidents had affected her cognitive abilities:
Memory to this day is really difficult for me. I have trouble recalling words. I have trouble focusing on conversations. Oftentimes, I find I have to pause and really think about what I'm trying to say to be able to have a conversation.
In 2017, Wagner posed nude for ESPN’s The Body Issue magazine. Wagner appeared in the issue because she wanted people to see what a figure skater's body looks like:
It was really important to me for people to see what a figure skater’s body really looks like. People think we’re just these little porcelain dolls. At the end of the day, we have to be really strong, really lean athletes. We’re using multiple cardiovascular systems when we’re out there on the ice. So I’m stoked that I got to do the Body Issue so that people could see that we’re athletes and that this is a real sport.
In July 2019, Wagner came forward and revealed that she was Sexual assault as a 17-year-old by John Coughlin, a fellow figure skater who committed suicide the previous January after he was accused of multiple sex crimes.
Wagner announced in September 2023 that she was engaged to partner Alex Clark. In December of the same year she gave birth to the couple's first child, Rosalie Starbird Clark.
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| J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew T = Team result; P = Personal result. Medals awarded for team result only. | ||||||||||||
| 1st J |
| 4th J |
| January 3–5, 2018 | 2018 U.S. Championships | 5 65.94 | 3 130.25 | 4 196.19 |
| November 24–26, 2017 | 2017 Skate America | 6 64.12 | WD | WD |
| October 27–29, 2017 | 2017 Skate Canada International | 7 61.57 | 4 122.37 | 3 183.94 |
| April 20–23, 2017 | 2017 World Team Trophy | 6 70.75 | 6 133.26 | 3T/6P 204.01 |
| March 29 – April 2, 2017 | 2017 World Championships | 7 69.04 | 10 124.50 | 7 193.54 |
| January 14–22, 2017 | 2017 U.S. Championships | 3 70.94 | 2 140.84 | 2 211.78 |
| November 18–20, 2016 | 2016 Cup of China | 5 64.36 | 7 117.02 | 6 181.38 |
| October 21–23, 2016 | 2016 Skate America | 1 69.50 | 2 126.94 | 1 196.44 |
| October 1, 2016 | 2016 Japan Open | – | 3 132.12 | 3T |
| April 22–24, 2016 | 2016 Team Challenge Cup | 2T/2P 74.54 | 1T/3P 143.20 | 1T/3P 217.74 |
| March 28 – April 3, 2016 | 2016 World Championships | 4 73.16 | 2 142.23 | 2 215.39 |
| January 16–24, 2016 | 2016 U.S. Championships | 4 62.41 | 3 135.47 | 3 197.88 |
| December 10–13, 2015 | 2015–16 Grand Prix Final| align=center 6 60.04 | 3 139.77 | 4 199.81 | |
| November 27–29, 2015 | 2015 NHK Trophy | 3 63.71 | 5 115.62 | 4 179.33 |
| October 30 – November 1, 2015 | 2015 Skate Canada International | 1 70.73 | 2 131.79 | 1 202.52 |
| October 3, 2015 | 2015 Japan Open | – | 5 117.84 | 2T |
| April 16–19, 2015 | 2015 World Team Trophy | 4 64.55 | 4 126.96 | 1T/4P 191.51 |
| March 23–29, 2015 | 2015 World Championships | 11 57.81 | 3 127.20 | 5 185.01 |
| January 18–25, 2015 | 2015 U.S. Championships | 1 72.04 | 1 148.98 | 1 221.02 |
| December 11–14, 2014 | 2014–15 Grand Prix Final| align=center 6 60.24 | 3 129.26 | 3 189.50 | |
| November 21–23, 2014 | 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard| align=center 3 61.35 | 4 116.39 | 3 177.74 | |
| October 31 – November 2, 2014 | 2014 Skate Canada International | 2 63.86 | 2 122.14 | 2 186.00 |
| October 4, 2014 | 2014 Japan Open | – | 6 100.99 | 2T |
| March 24–30, 2014 | 2014 World Championships | 7 63.64 | 4 129.52 | 7 193.16 |
| February 20–21, 2014 | 2014 Winter Olympic Games | 6 65.21 | 7 127.99 | 7 193.20 |
| February 6–9, 2014 | 2014 Winter Olympic Games – Team Event | 4 63.10 | – | 3T |
| January 9–11, 2014 | 2014 U.S. Championships | 4 64.71 | 5 118.03 | 4 182.74 |
| December 5–8, 2013 | 2013–14 Grand Prix Final | 3 68.14 | 3 119.47 | 3 187.61 |
| November 15–17, 2013 | 2013 Trophée Éric Bompard | 1 66.75 | 2 127.62 | 1 194.37 |
| October 18–20, 2013 | 2013 Skate America | 2 69.26 | 2 124.55 | 2 193.81 |
| October 5, 2013 | 2013 Japan Open | – | 3 119.77 | 2T |
| April 11–14, 2013 | 2013 World Team Trophy | 4 59.77 | 2 128.83 | 1T/2P 188.60 |
| March 11–17, 2013 | 2013 World Championships | 5 63.98 | 6 123.36 | 5 187.34 |
| January 19–27, 2013 | 2013 U.S. Championships | 1 67.57 | 2 121.27 | 1 188.84 |
| December 6–9, 2012 | 2012–13 Grand Prix Final | 2 66.44 | 4 115.49 | 2 181.93 |
| November 16–18, 2012 | 2012 Trophée Éric Bompard | 2 63.09 | 1 127.54 | 1 190.63 |
| October 19–21, 2012 | 2012 Skate America | 1 60.61 | 1 127.76 | 1 188.37 |
| October 6, 2012 | 2012 Japan Open | – | 1 123.57 | 2T |
| April 19–22, 2012 | 2012 World Team Trophy | 5 57.52 | 1 122.29 | 2T/3P 179.81 |
| March 26 – April 1, 2012 | 2012 World Championships | 8 56.42 | 3 120.35 | 4 176.77 |
| February 7–12, 2012 | 2012 Four Continents Championships | 2 64.07 | 1 128.34 | 1 192.41 |
| January 22–29, 2012 | 2012 U.S. Championships | 3 63.06 | 1 123.96 | 1 187.02 |
| November 11–13, 2011 | 2011 NHK Trophy | 5 55.88 | 3 109.77 | 4 165.65 |
| October 27–30, 2011 | 2011 Skate Canada International | 2 54.50 | 3 110.98 | 3 165.48 |
| January 22–30, 2011 | 2011 U.S. Championships | 7 54.63 | 5 110.73 | 6 165.36 |
| November 19–21, 2010 | 2010 Cup of Russia | 3 56.17 | 3 110.85 | 3 167.02 |
| October 22–24, 2010 | 2010 NHK Trophy | 4 52.93 | 6 90.80 | 5 143.73 |
| January 14–24, 2010 | 2010 U.S. Championships | 4 62.55 | 2 122.15 | 3 184.70 |
| December 3–6, 2009 | 2009–10 Grand Prix Final | 6 54.26 | 4 107.81 | 4 162.07 |
| November 5–8, 2009 | 2009 NHK Trophy | 1 56.54 | 3 99.45 | 3 155.99 |
| October 22–25, 2009 | 2009 Cup of Russia | 5 55.16 | 2 108.81 | 2 163.97 |
| January 18–25, 2009 | 2009 U.S. Championships | 12 50.28 | 1 115.05 | 4 165.33 |
| November 27–30, 2008 | 2008 NHK Trophy | 2 61.52 | 5 99.58 | 4 161.10 |
| November 5–9, 2008 | 2008 Cup of China | 4 55.40 | 4 100.19 | 4 155.59 |
| March 17–23, 2008 | 2008 World Championships | 11 51.49 | 15 85.91 | 16 137.40 |
| February 11–17, 2008 | 2008 Four Continents Championships | 12 47.29 | 5 105.17 | 8 152.46 |
| January 20–27, 2008 | 2008 U.S. Championships | 2 65.15 | 2 123.41 | 3 188.56 |
| November 15–18, 2007 | 2007 Trophée Éric Bompard | 5 50.48 | 2 108.15 | 3 158.63 |
| November 1–4, 2007 | 2007 Skate Canada International | 8 50.86 | 5 99.20 | 5 150.06 |
| Feb. 23 – March 1, 2009 | 2009 World Junior Championships | Junior | 2 57.50 | 3 96.07 | 3 153.57 |
| Feb. 26 – March 4, 2007 | 2007 World Junior Championships | Junior | 3 51.67 | 3 105.48 | 3 157.15 |
| January 21–28, 2007 | 2007 U.S. Championships | Junior | 4 51.20 | 3 94.66 | 3 145.86 |
| December 7–10, 2006 | 2006–07 Junior Grand Prix Final | Junior | 3 48.65 | 2 93.36 | 2 142.01 |
| October 5–7, 2006 | 2006 Junior Grand Prix, Netherlands | Junior | 4 44.98 | 1 89.00 | 1 133.98 |
| August 23–26, 2006 | 2006 Junior Grand Prix, France | Junior | 1 49.52 | 1 85.43 | 1 134.95 |
| April 12–16, 2006 | 2006 Triglav Trophy | Junior | 3 38.74 | 1 78.36 | 1 117.10 |
| January 7–15, 2006 | 2006 U.S. Championships | Junior | 2 45.85 | 4 86.60 | 4 132.45 |
| November 15–19, 2005 | 2006 Pacific Coast Sectionals | Junior | 1 41.50 | 1 83.72 | 1 125.22 |
| October 19–22, 2005 | 2006 Northwest Pacific Regionals | Junior | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| January 9–16, 2005 | 2005 U.S. Championships | Novice | 8 | 5 | 7 |
| November 11–13, 2004 | 2005 Pacific Coast Sectionals | Novice | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| October 19–23, 2004 | 2005 Northwest Pacific Regionals | Novice | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| November 11–15, 2003 | 2004 Pacific Coast Sectionals | Novice | 11 | 10 | 10 | |
| October 14–18, 2003 | 2004 Northwest Pacific Regionals | Novice | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
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