Two newcomers named to U.S. women's figure skating team
Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu and Karen Chen are all headed to the Olympics after medaling at nationals, but Ashley Wagner is still making headlines. (AP Photo)
Following the results of Friday night’s national competition, U.S. Figure Skating has named the trio it will send to the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang next month.
Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu and Karen Chen are the latest representatives of the United States heading to the global stage. Olympic team veteran Ashely Wagner was named first alternate with Mariah Bell and Angela Wang as second and third, respectively.
We are proud to nominate @bradie_tennell, @mirai_nagasu and @Karebearsk8 to the U.S. #WinterOlympics Ladies Figure Skating Team. pic.twitter.com/ANFdQ4O5Dg
— U.S. Figure Skating (@USFigureSkating) January 6, 2018
For both Tennell and Chen, 2018 marks the first time either has been named to the Olympic team. Nagasu previously competed for the U.S. in the 2010 games in Vancouver, finishing fourth.
At only 18 years old, Chen is also the youngest member of the team. The Fremont, California native placed third at nationals on Friday behind Tennell, 18, and Nagasu, 24.
AT A LOSS FOR WORDS! #olympicsbound #teamMirai pic.twitter.com/OX2EQgoTPA
— Mirai Nagasu (@mirai_nagasu) January 6, 2018
The competition in San Jose wasn’t without controversy, however. Following a fourth-place finish, Wagner ripped the judges at nationals while speaking to reporters. The 25-year-old was looking to make back-to-back Olympic appearances after taking home the bronze medal in Sochi back in 2014.
Figure Skating gets under way early on in PyeongChang with the first events scheduled for Friday, February 9th at 9:30a.m. EST and can be seen on the NBC family of channels.
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Blake Schuster is a writer for Fourth-Place Medal on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee
