United States figure skater Mirai Nagasu made history at the 2018 Winter Olympics after becoming the first American female to land the triple Axel jump at the Olympics.
The Jump
The fans of figure skating went wild on the Internet and social media after Mirai’s performance on Monday.
She managed to land an extremely difficult jump, called triple Axel at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and became the first American to land that jump at the Olympics.
The jump includes a forward takeoff and three-and-a-half mid-air rotations. Then she completed eight other triple jumps including a triple flip and a triple Salchow combination. She made history as the first American to perform the axel but she is a third-ever skater to land the move at the Olympics.
Two Japanese athletes Midori Ito in 1992 and Mao Asada in 2010 and 2014 were the previous women to land the move at the Olympics. Tonya Harding was the first American who landed the axel at the national championship in 1991 and although it was her signature move, she never managed to land one in the Olympics.
“To nail that triple axel, I tripped a couple of times going into it, but told myself “No, I’m going to go for it and I’m not pulling back. That was really special for me” Mirai said after the show.
With her successful performance, she helped the US to claim the bronze medal in the team event.
Almost Quit Skating
The 24-year-old skater was heartbroken four years ago when she was left out of the US team for the 2014 Sochi Olympics in favor of the woman who ranked lower than she had at a key qualifying event. She even wanted to quit but then decided to practice even harder.
She won her first US Figure Skating championship aged 14 and placed fourth in the Olympics 2010 when she was only 16. She is a daughter of Japanese immigrant parents who ran a sushi restaurant. Her mother hand-sewed her costumes but it all paid out since she made the skating history.
Congrats Mirai!
