Midori Ito helped to put Japanese figure skating on the map in a big way. After stealing the show from the front runner's at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary with her amazing triple jumps, her bright smile and joyful charm, Midori was labeled the "next big skating star". The Nagoya native delivered by becoming the first Japanese woman to win the World Figure Skating Championships the following year in 1989 in Paris, France. She also made history by becoming the first woman in history to land a Triple Axel jump in figure skating history and in World Championship competition. (She landed the Triple Axel previously that season in a regional and an international event). (Some background on the Axel: The Axel jump was invented by Norwegian skater Axel Paulsen, who performed the jump for the first time in 1882. While Paulsen executed a single Axel, America's Dick Button, a 2-time Olympic Champion ('48, '52), performed the world's first Double Axel at the 1948 Olympics. Forty years later, Canada's Vern Taylor became the first man to land the Triple Axel at the World Figure Skating Championships. American Carol Heiss, the 1960 Olympic Champion, was the first woman to land a Double Axel in 1953, preceding Midori's astounding triple by 35 years. The Triple Axel-- the most difficult of the triple jumps-- and all axel varieties, are dangerous because of the precarious forward outside edge takeoff.)
In practices, Midori was completing Triple Axel, Triple Toe Loop combinations--an astounding, never-been-done-before by a woman feat!! Astounding! Check out this video clip from 1992:
Midori jumped onto the skating scene--quite literally--at the 1981 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. The 11-year-old reeled off an array of triples, winning the free skating portion of the event. Since she had only been 20th in the school figures portion, she finished 8th overall. Standing only 3 feet 11 inches tall, and weighing 53 pounds, Midori was nicknamed "The jumping flea." And what a technical phenom she was!
Making her senior international debut in the fall of 1983, Midori finished a close second to eventual Olympic Champion Katarina Witt of East Germany, creating quite a stir in the skating world. Midori won her first senior Japanese title in 1985, but was unable to compete at the subsequent World Championships because of a broken ankle. Her fifth place finish in Calgary three years later signaled that the 18-year-old was a serious medal threat in years to come. Her speed, power, high-flying athletics, and youthful charisma captured the hearts' of the audience. The crowd in the arena, gave her a standing ovation, all the way up to the back rows. After claiming gold at the Worlds in Paris the next season, Midori finished second to American Jill Trennary in the 1990 Worlds in Halifax, and went on to claim Olympic silver behind Kristi Yamaguchi in Albertville, France in 1992 at the age of 22.
In Albertville, Midori's famous Triple Axel proved to be a blessing and a curse. The jump that made her famous was now an expected part of her repertoire, and the pressure to complete it and gain a valuable technical advantage over her competitors was immense. Always a technician, never one to focus on artistry, many felt that Midori needed the all-important jump to be in medal contention, especially a strong American contingent: Tonya Harding, who had landed a Triple Axel of her own at the 1991 Nationals and Worlds, Nancy Kerrigan, a sophisticated elegant artistic skater, and Kristi Yamaguchi, the reigning World Champ, who was the perfect blend of artistry and technical proficiency. In the short program, Midori fell on the Triple Axel and found herself in 4th place behind the three Americans. In the freeskate, Midori fell on a Triple Axel at the beginning of her long program, but rallied to land a variety of clean triples and a stunning surprise Triple Axel attempt near the end of her freeskate to catapult herself over Tonya Harding, who was third after the short program, and Nancy Kerrigan, who had been second. Midori ended up second behind Kristi Yamaguchi. Kerrigan finished third, Harding, fourth. (Interestingly, Kristi also had a fall in her freeskate, but her first place after the short program, combined with her effort in the freeskate was enough to secure her the gold medal).
After retiring from amateur skating following The Games, Midori continued to land the Triple Axel on the professional circuit. She made a brief return to amateur skating in the 1995-1996 season after feeling pressure from her federation to make a comeback for the 1998 Winter Olympics, which were scheduled to be held in Nagano, Japan. The pressure had an adverse affect on Midori and her skating. She turned in a lackluster performance at the 1996 Worlds in Edmonton, which is no surprise, considering she had been declared anemic and had been seen clutching her stomach in practices. She just wasn't the same skater and was clearly skating because she felt forced to, not because she wanted to. Regardless of that last amateur appearance, Midori's image could never be tarnished. She will forever be an important, exciting, and seminal skater in Japanese skating history, and in the sport of figure skating, in general.
Has the world ever seen a better jumper? As you watch the video clip below of her ambitious, joyous 1988 Olympic freeskate, you be the judge!
Here are some memorable quotes from the commentators during this performance:
Dick Button to Jim McKay: "Jim, this program is a triumph of athleticism!"
Jim: "Five feet tall, 98 pounds, full of talent."
Dick: "If sport and art are going to do battle in figure skating, in this program, athletics will win."
Peggy Flemming: "I think she has such a wonderful charisma with this audience!"
Enjoy Midori's 1988 Olympic long program:
She should have been on the podium in Calgary! She is phenomenal, in my heart no one holds a candle to Midori!
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