When you grow up in a country or culture, you can usually tell when somebody from the same place or background is being insincere. The tone of voice and body language often give them away.

This is how I felt at the recent NHK Trophy in Osaka when American Gracie Gold spoke to the media after winning the women's singles competition on Nov. 29.

Something just didn't sound right.

What am I talking about?

Well, here was a young skater who had just won her first senior Grand Prix event, thereby qualifying for the prestigious Grand Prix Final, which features the top six finishers in each discipline during the GP season, and she did not sound very enthusiastic about it.

It seemed that the fact she would have to travel Barcelona, Spain, two weeks later to compete again was a problem for her. Some of the journalists in the room were stunned by her attitude and indifference.

The raised eyebrows actually began the night before, after Gold took the lead following the short program.

"I think there are positives and negatives in qualifying for the GP Final," Gold stated on Nov. 28. "When you consider the U.S. Nationals are in January, it kind of interrupts your schedule for that but of course it means you have done very well."

Gold, who finished fourth at the Sochi Olympics, then compounded matters even further on Saturday.

"I'm excited to go to the GP Final in Barcelona," Gold said. "Although it's a bit of a mixed blessing because it will be an extremely difficult competition with the four Russians and Ashley (Wagner) and I."

The 19-year-old Gold gave off a vibe that indicated she just didn't care or want to go to the GP Final, which was very strange. It was the kind of emotion that you would not soon forget.

"I'm looking forward to upcoming events like the Four Continents and worlds," added Gold, notably leaving out the GP Final. She practically had to be prodded into finally saying "it was an honor to qualify for the GP Final."

Lo and behold, three days after returning to the U.S., Gold pulled out of the GP Final with a foot injury. This after skating in the NHK Trophy's Exhibition Gala on Nov. 30 without any apparent difficulty.

When I first heard the news last Friday of Gold's withdrawal, I was very dubious about the legitimacy of this alleged "injury."

The irony of this entire episode is that Rika Hongo was the first alternate for the GP Final, and has now joined the field that includes Elena Radionova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Anna Pogorilaya, Julia Lipnitskaia and Wagner, as a result of Gold's injury.

Gold, who trains with Frank Carroll in Los Angeles, held a teleconference with American writers last Friday and claimed she was devastated at not being able to go to the GP Final.

"I was really excited to have qualified for the Grand Prix Final and extremely disappointed, even slightly depressed that I will not be attending next week," she commented.

Gold cited a stress fracture in the cuboid bone of her left ankle as the reason for nixing the trip to Barcelona. Gold said she had a CT scan and MRI on the foot Tuesday after returning from Japan and claimed she was wearing a walking boot for the injury.

"It was devastating news. I have never really had an injury before," the reigning U.S. champion noted. "It was recommended that I not got to the Final, that I could make it worse and potentially not go to nationals or worlds or any other dreams I had for this season."

I contacted Gold's agent, Yuki Saegusa of IMG, last Friday and expressed that the veracity of the injury was being questioned by some.

"Gracie Gold regrets having to pull out of the Grand Prix Final," Saegusa wrote Ice Time in an email last Friday. "She has submitted the necessary medical documents (to the ISU) on her injury."

Ice Time then reached out to ISU communications and media coordinator Selina Vanier the same day to confirm receipt of the documents and ask for comments about Gold's withdrawal.

Four full days later, Vanier had still not responded.

When I asked another veteran journalist, who covered the NHK Trophy, about Gold's sudden injury, he didn't hold back.

"I'm not buying it at all," he said. "She is distraught? Let's see the medical evidence."

What I found even more troubling was how Gold mentioned that she was hoping to skate in American Jeremy Abbott's "Stars on Aspen Ice" show on Dec. 20.

I'm thinking, "Wait a minute. She can't skate Dec. 11-14 in the GP Final, but will be OK a week later?"

Icenetwork.com writer Lynn Rutherford, who has covered the sport for many years, came to Gold's defense over the question of the injury.

"I don't believe the injury is fake," wrote Rutherford in an e-mail to Ice Time. "Gracie was extremely emotional during her teleconference call and she doesn't have the ability to manufacture or hide her feelings.

"It really sounds completely plausible and a legit injury to me. It's minor, and they admit that, but they don't want it to get worse. It would be a disaster for USFS (United States Figure Skating) if Gracie had to skip nationals. That is absolutely the biggest competition of the season here."

Gold, who calls from Springfield, Illinois, her hometown, indicated that she was avoiding jumps, but was "skating, stroking, even spinning on my singles, I feel OK."

Once again, this comment only made the situation more confusing.

The feeling here is that Gold and her team never really wanted her to go to the GP Final because it would disrupt their plans for the season.

As an American, this makes my stomach churn, especially when you see how hard Olympic and world champion Yuzuru Hanyu battled past his injuries to just slip into the GP Final. His pride and guts shone through.

Cultures are different. People are different. But sport is sport. As an athlete you are either all in, or you are not.

I don't think there is any in-between.

Mao, Yuna saluted: Wagner, who will now be the lone American competiting at the GP Final, spoke to NBCSports.com last week and was reverential when asked to contrast three-time world champion Mao Asada and 2010 Olympic gold medalist Yuna Kim with the current crop of young Russian skaters.

"Mao and Yuna Kim, to me, they were something absolutely incredible, and they had this total package," Wagner was quoted as saying. "They had this individual persona. I think that the difference between that era and the one that we're in right now is all of these Russian girls right now, who knows, maybe as time goes on they'll start to stand out individually a bit more, but everyone kind of sees them as one big chunk of Russian girls skating.

"Mao and Yuna really were able to create their own individual legacy," Wagner said. "I think that's kind of the difference between where we are now and back then."