THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2014 SPORTS Asada pursues the perfect jump TOKYO: When Japan’s Mao Asada steps onto the ice in Sochi, she will be hoping to finish off her amateur career with Olympic gold - and a perfect set of the complicated jumps that have long been both her trademark and her Achilles heel. As recently as the Japan Nationals in late December, she failed to properly land a triple Axel and ended up placing third, prompting some commentators to suggest she omit the jump from her routine altogeth- er. Asada may well take heed of the warnings because in Sochi she will again face long-time rival Kim Yuna of South Korea, the reigning Olympic Lydia Lassila champion, who sat out the Grand Prix circuit to recover from injury but has since performed strongly. Kim, 23, hopes to end her competitive career by becoming the first woman to win two Olympic gold figure skating medals since Katarina Lassila keen to Witt in the 1980s. Though Asada downplays talk of rivalry with the elegant South Korean, the 2010 Vancouver loss still scars the 23-year-old Japanese skater. push her limits “There have been some very tough times, but if she wasn’t there I wouldn’t have made the progress I have,” Asada told Reuters in SYDNEY: Australian Lydia Lassila’s motto is a sim- Comaneci, recovered from the heartbreak of the November. ple and appropriate one for an athlete who spends 2006 Turin Olympics where she ruptured her ante- “In Vancouver, I had the gold medal as my goal. I’d worked for it since I her career launching herself into spectacular acro- rior cruciate ligament on landing. was a child, and afterwards I really regretted my mistakes,” she added. batics on skis. She battled back to win an emotional gold in “In Sochi, I’d like to erase those memories by doing everything per- “The glory is not in never falling, but rising Vancouver and few would have blamed her if she fectly. That’s what I’ve been working for these last three years.” when we fall,” the Australian said on Twitter last had decided to hang up the skis and spare her Much of that quest for perfection centres on the triple Axel, a compli- month from frozen Finland where she was training knees any more punishment. cated jump with 3.5 rotations that has been associated with Asada virtu- in preparation for the defence of her aerials gold However, after the birth of Kai, she returned ally since she burst onto the skating scene as a junior phenomenon. She medal at the Sochi Olympics. full-time to the sport she loves and believes she remains the only woman in the world to have landed three of them in Taking risks has always been part of Lassila’s can become the first freestyle skier to defend an competition. strategy and she has the bumps, bruises and Olympic title in Sochi. But while Asada performs the jump well during practice - a November rebuilt knee for souvenirs. “We’re having a great adventure together,” she session at her home rink saw her land it cleanly on every attempt - keep- That is why four years ago on a foggy evening said of being a mum, wife to Finnish freestyler ing that same focus in competition remains an issue and has been the on Cypress Mountain overlooking the Canadian Lauri, and travelling the world competing in some centrepiece of her pre-Sochi efforts. city of Vancouver, she peered through the gloom unlikely venues such as the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Asked what she thinks about when she skates, she said: “Making sure I before nailing a perfect triple twisting somersault Beijing in December. skate the way I’ve been skating in practice. I leave it up to my body and to snatch gold. It is also the reason she has been “Last year, I suffered a bad back injury in pre- skate with all my heart.” working on a quadruple twisting somersault at season and carried it all the way through the sea- She spends the last minutes prior to any competition pacing the cor- home in the safety of the swimming pool and at son which was hell,” she added. ridor by the rink, her face set. “Basically I’m just concentrating. The first her winter training base in Finland. “But at the moment I’m feeling really good, 80 (triple) Axel is the key point, so I’m always visualising that,” she said. “To The move has never been executed by a or 90 percent fit, so the important thing is to stay relax, I do deep breathing - a deep breath in, then a long breath out. I try woman at the Olympics and Lassila is a little there. “I expect to win gold. That’s the standard to be aware of that.” A perfect first triple Axel brings relief and, often, a miffed, to say the least, that the new judging crite- that I’ve set for myself. I don’t think I would have big and unforced grin. “But if that doesn’t go well then I really concen- ria to be used in Sochi means she may not benefit decided to come back if I had any other goals.” trate on making up the points elsewhere.” from trying such an audacious trick. “I never had the feeling of wanting to retire,” Asada began skating at the age of five, enticed into doing it to follow “I’ve always wanted to do triples for a few rea- she added. “I knew I needed a break after her big sister, Mai, two years older and a skater herself. sons; because I want to jump like the men, to push Vancouver and time away from the sport to rest She began to draw attention while still on the junior circuit and now the women’s field and because I know I can,” the and also start a family but it was always my plan to is a household name in Japan, known by the affectionate nickname 31-year-old, who took a break in 2011 to give birth return. I felt like I had more to give to the sport. “Mao-chan”. to son Kai, told Reuters. “I felt like I could be better which is why I’m still But after taking silver to Kim’s gold in Vancouver, Asada began to re- “It is more risky but I have trained them. Now here and what pushes me forward. Lassila will lead learn her skating from the basics, undergoing several painful years I’ve been working on a quad twisting triple somer- a strong Australian team which also includes rising before making the new skills her own. sault which has never been done by a woman star Danielle Scott. “The first year and second year I was thinking all the time when I prac- before and I’m hoping I get the opportunity to do “We have a great strong team of athletes with ticed. It’s all an issue of sense, of feeling,” she said. “There’s nothing I can it at the Olympics.” all of us on the podium last year at different World put my finger on, but basically it was just a matter of practicing every Explaining the changes to the scoring she said: Cups,” she said. “Danielle is a natural and a great day until I got it.” “It’s now judged differently. It is now a three-jump competitor and I know she will go far as will others She suffered a further blow in December 2011, when the news came elimination final which means your points are in our team like Laura Peel and Samantha Wells.” that her 48-year-old mother, Kyoko, was in critical condition with liver wiped clean after each round instead of being The freestyle skiing world is known for its par- disease. combined like the old system. ties but should Lassila repeat her Vancouver result Asada pulled out of a competition in Canada to fly home, but before “It doesn’t encourage risk-taking, which is really she will more likely enjoy a quiet family meal. she could reach Japan her mother had passed away. what our sport is - dynamic and spectacular. It Wary of the bad publicity caused by the antics She went into a slump during which she “hated skating,” going as far encourages you to be consistent so that you can of some of the Australian team at London 2012 as to tell coach Nobuo Sato that she might be thinking of quitting. make it through each round. that led the country’s Olympic committee to issue However, she was lured back into skating by the lively music her cho- “It puts a bit of a glass ceiling on our sport - it’s strict conduct rules, she said: “I haven’t had alco- reographer played during a visit, as well as the fun of putting together not encouraging women to really go out there and hol since April because it was a decision I made to an exhibition programme. do triple somersaults and try to progress the help rehab my back. “Seriously any disciplined After the Olympics and giving up competition, Asada would like to sport.” athlete should be able to hold back on the alco- take part in ice shows but before that, she’d like to go on vacation - Former gymnast Lassila, whose hero is Nadia hol.” —Reuters preferably to “some place like Bali, where I can really relax”.