Set to compete for the U.S. in tomorrow’s second day of the Olympic team figure skating competition, Ashley Wagner chose to stay away from tonight’s Opening Ceremony in Sochi in order to rest up.
But teammate Jeremy Abbott, who is taking part in the festivities, managed to ensure that she still had a presence tonight at Fisht Olympic Stadium:
MORE: Mixed first day for U.S. in team figure skating
In addition to Wagner, multiple other figure skating contenders (including Team USA’s Meryl Davis and Charlie White and Russia’s Yevgeny Plushenko) as well as the U.S. women’s hockey team have also skipped the Opening Ceremony to focus on their competitions.
For more of their thoughts, click here.