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Ashley Wagner finished third at 2010 U.S. Nationals, which in an Olympic year, was also the trials. With only two U.S. ladies entries for the Vancouver Games, Wagner’s Olympic dream was just out of reach. She talked with us about moving on from that experience.

What positives and negatives did you take away from the Olympic season?

I think overall it was a great season for me. I qualified for the Grand Prix Final and I was the only U.S. lady to do, which was a huge accomplishment.

Honestly, Nationals was a great competition for me also. With the exception of the Lutz and a couple of tiny mistakes in the long program, I did come away extremely satisfied with what I had put out. The reason why I’m okay with not making the Olympic Team was because I didn’t leave anything out on the table.

Obviously as an athlete the Olympics is the best of the best. It’s one of the greatest achievements you can ever have and I missed it by that much, so it will haunt me for the rest of my life obviously, but I’ve kind of made peace with the fact I didn’t make it and I can move on now.

How did you handle just missing the Olympic Team?

Ashley Wagner competes in the short program during the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships (Getty Images, Matthew Stockman)

On a day to day basis I still have to face the reality of it. The Olympics is my dream. It will always be my dream to make it there and win. So missing it was just heart wrenching. The couple months after Nationals were extremely difficult for me.

For the first couple years of my competitive career, skating was to me, the Olympics. I went home. I thought about things. I redefined it. Now skating is my passion. It’s something that I want to have in my life because I enjoy competing.

Sounds like one of life’s maturing moments…

It was not easy for me to get to that point at all because I’m extremely stubborn and when I want something, I do everything that I can to get it. It was hard for me to go home knowing that I didn’t achieve my main goal of the season, but after a couple of sessions of sitting down and thinking to myself, I sorted everything out.

At what point were you able to start getting excited for the upcoming season?

Once I decided that it wasn’t fair for me to be competing at Junior Worlds, that I was taking the opportunity away from another deserving junior, I was like, ‘Okay, this is the time period that I can skate for myself, I can work on the little mistakes that I have and just start perfecting myself and making myself a better skater.’

One of the things you perfected was the entry into your triple Lutz. How hard was it to change a technique you’ve had your entire skating career?

That is how my body thinks a triple Lutz should be done and then for [coach] Priscilla [Hill] to say, ‘No this is wrong. You cannot do this anymore – Priscilla and I almost got in knock-down drag-out fights over that, but she persisted and thank goodness I have her because through a lot of hard work I was able to get the Lutz on the right track.

What do you think your biggest challenge will be this season?

Just letting myself compete without thinking of last season. It’s really tough because I gave last season everything that I had and when you get down to the facts, it wasn’t good enough. I just have to go and let myself compete clear-minded.

Featured as the cover story in U.S. Figure Skating’s Skating Magazine June/July issue, Ashley Wagner talks about how her love for the sport keeps her focused.

‘I Love Skating Again’

Sometimes, your toughest challenge brings a new perspective. Take Ashley Wagner, who just missed making the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team but rekindled her passion for the sport in the process.

“I learned why I love to skate, and I didn’t realize I had lost that for so long,” the U.S. bronze medalist said thoughtfully.

“It was so refreshing to get off the ice and realize I had had fun with it.”

Read about Ashley Wagner’s new-found love for figure skating in the June/July issue of SKATING.

Ashley is vlogging for UniversalSports.com and wants your feedback. What do you want to see? What would you like to know? Send your questions to AskAshley@UniversalSports.com or leave your comments on the blog page here.

Ashley Wagner was the first alternate for the 2010 U.S. Olympic ladies’ figure skating team sent to Vancouver. She now looks forward to the next quadrennium in hopes of competing at the 2014 Sochi Games.

Nagano, Japan — Ashley Wagner of the United States finished first in the women’s short program at the NHK Trophy on Friday, edging Miki Ando of Japan.

Wagner opened with a triple flip, double toe loop in a routine to the soundtrack from “Once Upon a Time in America.”

In the women’s free skate on Saturday, November 7, Wagner was out-skated by Miki Ando of Japan. Wagner took a third place finish overall.

Wagner, who finished second in the Rostelecom Cup, is bidding for a place in the Grand Prix final, which will be held Dec. 3-6 in Tokyo.

The NHK Trophy was the fourth of six Grand Prix events. The Grand Prix final, consisting of the top six finishers in each discipline, will be Dec. 3-6 in Tokyo.