Asada inspires with gutsy long program
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Asada Mao of Japan waves to the crowd after completing her competition in the women’s free skate final at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi, Russia, Thursday. / AP-Yonhap
By Kim Young-jin
Japan’s Asada Mao, one of the world’s top figure skaters, broke down in tears after nailing her long program at the Sochi Olympics Thursday. Surely, many watching shed a few as well.
It was a story of redemption and competitive spirit.
It was unclear before she skated how she would react to a disastrous short program a day before, which put her out of contention. But she came out all business, nailing a triple axel en route to a score of 142.71.
That smashed her previous best, free skate score of 136.33, which came during the 2013 Grand Prix Japan.
And while the sixth place overall finish is little consolation, Asada deservedly won praise for her gutsy performance, in what is likely to be her last Olympics.
Long considered the chief rival to Korea’s Kim Yu-na, who won the silver medal, Asada had her own moment in the spotlight and didn’t shrink from it.
The day before, she fell while attempting a triple axel, the high-risk, high-reward jump that has been her calling card for much of her career. That led to a shaky performance throughout and a confused Asada. “I don’t know what to make of it,” she said after the short program.
Response from Japan was divided. Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, chairman for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics’ organizing committee, criticized her harshly, saying she is “always falling at the most critical time.” But media and others in the skating community urged her to give it her all in the free skate.
Which is exactly what she did.
Skating to Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto No. 2," she landed all of her jumps including the triple axel and a triple flip-triple loop combination. And then she cried, before waving to the crowd and stepping off the ice.
If it was indeed her final performance, which she has indicated, it was quite a way to go out.
It was also fitting to step of the stage along with Kim, who has also said she will retire. At 23, both captured the hearts of their respective countries and carried national expectations on their shoulders. Both faced bumpy roads after their showdown in Vancouver four years ago, in which Kim skated away with the gold.
Their decade-long rivalry came to a head in Vancouver four years ago, where Kim wowed the world with two stunning performances and Asada settled for silver. While she won’t get the gold this time either, she walks away with a different kind of victory.