U.S. women’s figure skater Mirai Nagasu says she is sorry for the odd interview she gave following her struggles at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
“I feel really, really awful about the things I said,” Nagasu told People Magazine on Saturday. “I feel bad that people think that I was throwing my teammates under the bus because I never wanted to come off that way.”
Nagasu helped the U.S. win a bronze medal in the team event and later said she “saved” Adam Rippon and Alex and Maia Shibutani before the Americans lost their medal spot.
She told People she didn’t mean to downplay her teammates’ performances.
“I had my dream Olympic skate [in the team event], and to me, I’ve been dreaming of that moment for such a long time, it made me feel like a superhero and superheroes save the day,” Nagasu said. “And I wish I had said that we were all superheroes during the team event.
“… We were all heroes that day, and I apologize, especially to my teammates, for how it came off.”
Nagasu also raised eyebrows for her characterization of her long performance, in which she pulled out of attempting a triple axel and finished well off the podium in 10th place.
Afterward, she said she considered her performances in the individual competition as her audition for “Dancing With the Stars.”
Nagasu told People she was following advice from her sports psychologist to find something to focus on other than her long program.
“I used that as a distraction, and I probably should have kept it to myself,” Nagasu said. “… It didn’t come out the way I wanted it to.”
Finally, she apologized to Canadian skater Gabrielle Daleman, whom Nagasu used as an example of another figure skater struggling besides the American women. Nagasu told People that “I just shouldn’t have brought [Daleman] into it.”
Information from ESPN’s Elaine Teng contributed to this report.
Nagasu sorry for chatter after solo struggles
Nagasu sorry for chatter after solo struggles
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Source: ESPN SPORTS