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Mao AsadaJapanese figure skater
Date of Birth: 25.09.1990
Country: ![]() |
Content:
Mao Asada Biography
Mao Asada, a Japanese figure skater, has attracted attention in the world of figure skating in recent years due to her impressive list of achievements. She is a silver medalist at the Vancouver Olympics, a two-time world champion, and a four-time champion of the Four Continents Championships. Additionally, she has won the Japanese Championships six times. As of March 2013, Asada is ranked third by the International Skating Union.

Asada captivates audiences and judges with her rare combination of balletic grace, flexibility, and difficult jumps. Her signature move is a graceful and somewhat static Biellmann spin with a crossed grip and one-handed rotation. However, she owes her success to her confident execution of triple jumps and solid landings. Her programs include a unique combination of triple flip, Rittberger, and loop, as well as a triple axel. As a result of her many triple jumps in a single competition, Asada has been included in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Early Life
Mao Asada was born on September 25, 1990, in Nagoya, Japan, into a family of a businessman and a former gymnast. She was named Mao after Mao Daichi, a famous Japanese actress. Her older sister, Mai, was named after Maya Plisetskaya, a renowned ballet dancer. Both sisters were introduced to choreography at an early age due to their mother, Keiko Asada, who also had a background in ballet. To strengthen their ankles, their teachers suggested they take up ice skating, and since 1995, Mao and Mai Asada have been seriously involved in figure skating.

Initially, Mai achieved more significant success, finishing second among junior skaters in Japan in 2002-2003 and fourth at the Junior World Championships, repeating her success in the following season. However, Mai started to fall behind stronger competitors and currently performs in ice shows, paying tribute to her passion for classical music and ballet.

During the successful 2002-2003 season for her sister, Mao Asada only participated in novice competitions. However, thanks to her triple axel jump, she became a leader and, despite her young age, received invitations not only to the Junior Japan Championships but also to the Senior Championships. She performed excellently at these competitions, finishing fourth and seventh, respectively. She repeated her success the following year. She also participated in international competitions for the first time and won the Miadost Trophy tournament.

Career Highlights
The 2004-2005 season marked Asada's victory in the Grand Prix, a win at the Junior World Championships with a significant lead over the second-place finisher, Korean skater Kim Yuna (whom she would compete against many times), and a second-place finish at the Senior Japan Championships. Although Asada missed the Turin Olympics in 2006 due to her age, this season was victorious for her. She won the Grand Prix Final, surpassing future Olympic champion Shizuka Arakawa, as well as Sasha Cohen and Irina Slutskaya, who won silver and bronze in Turin.

In the following season, Asada moved from Japan to California, seeking relief from the busy Japanese skating scene and intense media attention. Her new coach was Rafael Arutyunyan, later replaced by Tatiana Tarasova. Asada won the Japan Championships and took silver at the World Championships. However, she once again lost to Kim Yuna in the Grand Prix Final and in the short program at the World Championships.

In the next season, Asada again lost to Kim Yuna in the Grand Prix Final but won the Four Continents Championships and the World Championships. In the 2008-2009 season, she faced difficulties with her jumps, finishing fourth in the world and third in the Grand Prix Final. However, her continued collaboration with Tatiana Tarasova allowed her to take revenge the following season. Asada won the Four Continents Championships, won silver at the Olympics, and became world champion once again.

In the 2010-2011 season, Asada faced setbacks due to mistakes in her jumps. She did not qualify for the Grand Prix Final and finished second at the National Championships and sixth at the World Championships. Asada resumed her collaboration with Tarasova, and their new free program to the music of "Scheherazade" with a unique step sequence confidently led Asada to the Grand Prix Final. However, her performances had to be interrupted due to her mother's illness. Keiko Asada passed away from liver cirrhosis before Mao could return from Quebec. Mao Asada plans to end her competitive career after the Sochi Olympics and, judging by her performance in the 2012-2013 season, she wants to leave on a high note. She took first place at the NHK Trophy in Tokyo and the Cup of China. In the Grand Prix Final in Sochi, her free program to Tchaikovsky's music allowed her to surpass her main rival, American skater Ashley Wagner, and take first place.

After the Olympic season, Asada won the Four Continents Championships held in Osaka, confidently surpassing two of her compatriots, Suzuki and Murakami, and took the bronze at the World Championships, finishing behind Korean skater Kim Yu-na and Carolina Kostner from Italy. Asada had a strong start to the new season, winning the NHK Trophy and Skate America, both Grand Prix events. For her Olympic performances, Asada prepared a short program to Chopin's "Nocturne" and a free skate to Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto No. 2." In February 2014, Mao participated in the Winter Olympics in Sochi, where she had a disappointing performance in her short program. Although she executed her free skate brilliantly, she couldn't secure a podium finish based on total scores. In May 2014, Asada officially announced that she would skip the 2014/2015 competitive season and only perform in commercial shows. In May 2015, she announced her return to amateur competition. She started the season after her break at the Audi Cup of China Grand Prix. Asada confidently performed and took first place in the tough competition. Shortly before the continental championship, she suffered an injury and had to miss it. In early April, in Boston, at the World Championships, the Japanese skater managed to make it into the top eight female single skaters in the world. On April 10, 2017, Mao announced her retirement from competitive figure skating.