HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Dressed in sparkling gold, Gracie Gold arrived at Skate America, the kickoff event of the new figure skating season, hoping to reassert herself as the nation’s pre-eminent skater 16 months before the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
Instead, she followed a shaky short program Friday evening with a poor long program Saturday afternoon, falling twice to drop to fifth place in the 11-woman field, finishing 12 points behind the winner, Ashley Wagner, her American teammate and rival who is still riding the momentum of winning the world silver medal last spring.
But that wasn’t the worst of it.