Mao Asada is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2007 World silver medalist and the 2006 Japanese national champion. Asada is currently ranked first in the world in ladies singles.
Japan's Mao Asada, 14, carried on the tradition of Midori Ito, her role model, when she competed during the 2004-05 season. Coached by Ito's coach, wearing Ito's costume, using choreography similar to Ito's, and landing Ito's trademark jump, the triple axel, Asada breezed through the year undefeated in international competition, capping the season by winning the 2005 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Ito, who often watches Asada at practice and encourages her, was there for the victory. "Midori was very excited when I won Junior Worlds," Asada said, "maybe more than I was."
Asada captured the medal that eluded her older sister, Mai, who finished fourth at Junior Worlds last year. She skated virtually flawlessly in all three rounds of the competition, easily outdistancing her nearest rivals. Her long program included a clean triple axel, the first by a lady at the Junior Worlds. She also completed a triple loop-double loop and triple flip-double toe combination, plus a double axel, two triple lutzes and a triple flip. In the qualifying round, Asada had landed a triple flip-triple toe loop, a triple lutz-double loop, and a triple loop-double loop-double loop, but her triple axel attempt was slightly under-rotated and counted as a second double axel. Her short program combination was a triple lutz-double loop to go along with the required double axel and triple loop.
Asada also won gold medals in novice at the 2003 Helena Pajovic Cup in 2003 and the Mladost Trophy in 2004. This season, she won both her Junior Grand Prix events at Skate Long Beach and the Ukrainian Souvenir, and then took the Junior Grand Prix Final in Helsinki, Finland. Asada also won the Japanese junior ladies title in 2005. "This was the best season for me," Asada said. "I'm quite happy about it. It's frustrating not to be in seniors next year, but I will try to do my best in juniors and win at Junior Worlds again. I didn't feel any pressure when I competed. I get energy from competing and it's fun for me to be with my skating friends from all over the world."
The talkative teenager began skating when she was only five, following her sister onto the ice. "Mai and I were taking ballet and my mother thought she needed stronger ankles so she took her to the skating rink that was only ten minutes from our house," Asada explained. "I happened to be with her so I took lessons too. I was doing classical ballet since I was three years old until I was nine. I did some recitals but no shows." Asada landed her first triple jump, a triple salchow, when she was eight or nine. "I've tried the quad salchow at practice and landed some, but I don't like the salchow jump so much," she noted. "I like the loop, flip and lutz more. I'm working on a triple lutz-triple loop."
|
