Mao Asada first made a splash in the senior ranks during the 2005-2006 Olympic season as a 15-year-old. She finished 1st and 2nd in her two Grand Prix assignments, and won the Grand Prix Final over Russia's Irina Slutskaya, the reigning World Champion, who was one of the favorites for the upcoming Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. Mao's victory caused a major uproar in skating communities, not only because she was so young, triumphing over the veteran, but because she was too young to compete in the Olympic Games. Many felt that Mao had proved herself to be the the No. 1 skater in the world that season, especially because she had defeated top skaters in the process, and it was unfair for her to be ineligible to compete in Torino. What was even more befuddling is why Olympic-ineligible skaters are allowed to compete in the Grand Prix Series, but not in the Olympics or World Championships? Some skating fans felt that Mao would have been a gold-medal contender in Torino, and I'd have to agree, given her strong competitive record in the fall of 2005. The following season, Mao, at age 16, was age-eligible to compete at the Worlds in Tokyo, Japan where she turned in a stellar performance and finished second to countrywoman, Miki Ando.
Though I was impressed with Mao's skating up until then, I was not really a fan of hers until the 2007/2008 season where she really proved her mettle as a competitor and a person. At the beginning of her freeskate at the Worlds in Gothenburg (depicted in the video link below), while attempting the precarious triple axel jump, in a freak mistake, Mao slipped off the edge of her skate, and hit the ice and the boards. The audience gasped, wondering if she would continue. Continue she did, landing a triple-triple combination at the other end of the rink. Mao skated with courage and grace throughout her program to the music of Chopin. Instead of rattling her, the fall seemed to motivate her to skate the rest of her program with precision and heart. She claimed her first World title, ahead of Carolina Kostner and Yu-na Kim.
Mao's mental and physical ability to overcome adversity was proven on that day, but so was her strength of character. That's when I became a true fan.
She's had her struggles over the years-- notably this past season when she dropped to 6th at the World Championships, and 9th in the ISU World Rankings--but she still remains a 2-time World Champion ('08,'10), and the 2010 Olympic silver medalist. During the Olympic Games, Mao entered the Guinness Book of World Records for most triple axels performed by a woman in one competition: 1 in the short program, and 2 in the freeskate.
Enjoy Mao's "Fantaisie-Impromptu" by Fréderic Chopin from the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships.
Click HERE to view video:
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