(10 December 2014)  If there would be one way to describe Ashley Wagner, it would probably be the fact that the girl’s got guts.

In a candid pre-competition interview for the Grand Prix Finals to be held in Barcelona, Spain this weekend, Wagner was forthright about topics such as the red-hot Russian ladies contingent, the marking of clean jumps and mean tweets.

This year, Wagner, 23, a two-time U.S. champion, is one of the four Americans who qualified for the Grand Prix Final, joining Gracie Gold, the 2014 U.S. champion who withdrew last week due to an ankle injury and ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the 2014 U.S. silver medalists and Maia and Alex Shibutani, who placed third at the 2014 U.S. Championships.

Over the past few months, the two-time U.S. champion, who faced some public outcry last winter after having been named to the 2014 U.S. Olympic team following a fourth-place finish at the U.S. Championships, has proven, through her behavior, attitude and skating so far this season, that she is a force to be reckoned with both on and off the ice.

Wagner, sounding straightforward and confident, told members of the press she plans to handle the prospect of facing some of her formidable Russian opponents with planned triple-triple jump combinations.

“I will make sure the triple-triple (jump combination) is there,” said Wagner, who trains in Paramount, California with Rafael Artunian. “The triple flip-triple toe is what is planned.”

Skating to Spartacus for the short and music from ‘Moulin Rouge’ for the free skate, Wagner also said she plans to think her way through each of her triples as a means to make sure she gets fully graded on each jump.

“I’ve got to hit the high point (then pull in) so I hit the full rotation,” said Wagner. “It might be a little bit of a nervous habit to pull in too fast.”

Wagner, who seems to be skating with terrific confidence this season, credits her coach, Artunian, with whom she has been training with for more than two years now, for reaching this impasse in her career.

“I’m finally in an environment with one person and I’m comfortable and really learning,” she said, adding, “I feel I’m going to be a late bloomer.”

Perhaps most importantly, she seems to have figured out some serious life lessons in recent years, such as how to handle the negativity of people on social media outlets such as Twitter.

“Twitter can be an outlet for people to be obnoxious,” she said, adding that every now and then, she will respond to a negative Tweeter as a way “to send a warning.”

Certainly, Wagner is somebody who seems to have no problem with stepping up and setting things straight, both off the ice and on, which certainly ought to make this competition more interesting than ever.