There has always been politics in figure skating, but it has rarely been so nakedly, blatantly on display as at the 2014 US National Championships.
Leading up to the event, 18-year-old Gracie Gold and 22-year-old Ashley Wagner - who missed the previous Olympics by one placement - were widely touted as the best US Ladies' medal hopes for Sochi. Both have lucrative sponsorships from Cover Girl, and both have been heavily advertised and promoted.
Came the day, Gold proved that she deserved all the hype, winning the competition outright - Wagner did not. She had a poor short program and an awful freeskate, falling twice, stumbling once, looking less like a medal hopeful than someone who just wants not to lose so badly.
Meanwhile, two other ladies stole Wagner's thunder: 15 1/2 year old Polina Edmunds, just up from Juniors, who placed solidly second in both short and free, and the onetime hopeful from four years ago, Mirai Nagasu, who had edged Wagner off the team in 2010 but had had some rough spots since. When it counted, Nagasu put together two programs that were good enough for third place, including a freeskate that had the audience on its feet applauding.
Did that cut any ice with the USFSA selection committee? Don't make me laugh.
You see, Nagasu has no coach, no inside connections, no high-powered sponsorships and no TV ads. And the selection criteria are very, very vague, allowing the committee to "consider" results at previous competitions as well as what happens on the ice at Nationals. Nagasu's international record has been disappointing since she came up from Juniors four years ago, starting with a "mere" fourth place at the 2010 Olympics (the first time since 1964 that no US women stood on the podium). So it didn't matter that she seemed to be on the comeback trail.
Wagner's international record is also spotty, and she has blown some competitions that she seemingly had "in the bag". But she had a handful of first and second placements, including the last two US titles (2012 and 2013). She has a highly connected coach, and she has all those lucrative endorsements.
So when the committee met behind closed doors, third-place Nagasu was out, fourth-place Wagner was in.
It should be added that never before has the USFSA displaced a skater from the Olympic team except when a major contender was injured and unable to compete (or finish competing) at Nationals.
As if to rub it in still further, the selection committee also left Nagasu off the World team - while they chose the Olympic "first alternates" in Men's and Pairs (another unusual, but this time not unprecedented, move). The committee salved their consciences by assigning Nagasu to the Four Continents competition, which in Olympic years is usually populated by newcomers and also-rans.
Nagasu at first considered appealing, but has since decided to take the classy route and just swallow her disappointment. Whether she will continue competitive skating at all, after having the door so brutally slammed in her face, is at this point an open question.
All in all this story just reeks of raw medal-lust and sheer desperation by the USFSA, trying to max out its medal chances (as of now only the ice-dance team of Davis & White, who have been trading off wins with Canada's Virtue & Moir for years, are solid bets for any medal) at whatever cost to the skaters they allegedly represent.
But if they think these types of shenanigans will do anything to increase the popularity or prestige of figure skating - they better think again.