Oh her smile is so beautiful. Her jumping joyous and athletic. Her sportsmanship so great And, honestly her presentation and artistry are wonderful. I used to get so upset when she got marked down for that. She was so ahead of her time. If she was skating under the new scoring system she'd win gold for sure.
I can't believe the audacity of the judges to give her 9.9's. She's a perfect 10 for sure :) So great to see her skate so well. I think this program could represent not only her country, but her personal struggles as well.
Absolutely! The little girls trying to do them today could NEVER compete with the triple axel of Midori Ito… let alone her overall complete jumping technique! best ever!
She has been known for 3A, but look at the gorgeous 3Lz!! The short run-up, the perfect entry, the crazy counter-movement right before the take-off, the perfect edge, no under-rotation. Actually she almost over rotated.🤣 Some people say Midori was underscored because of 6.0 system, but I doubt even the current judging system evaluate her jump technique properly, because her jumps are too huge and too explosive for human standard, and some judge might consider her leg wrap is ugly, even though she did it on purpose to avoid over-rotation😂 She was beyond 6.0 system, she is beyond the current scoring system, and she will always be beyond the oly gold. Men or women, old or new generation, nothing matters, she is the best jumper. In addition to her marvelous jumps, I love her spins and step-sequence, also, how she skates slowly and stops smoothly on the ice, matching the music. Increasing speed by fine edge control, no cross-overs. She was struggling with compulsory in her earlier career, but I believe that the hard-work on compulsory was worthwhile for the total package of figure skating.
I feel if she was competing today she would be doing quads for sure. She definitely has the airtime and power for them, so if she changed her leg positioning, she could probably get enough rotation. I was looking on a forum thread where they were timing how long skaters were in the air during their jumps and Midori Ito's triple axel was about 0.7 seconds in the air, which is in the same league as people with really good quads. I honestly really like the way she positions her legs because you can really see all of the rotations and it makes it look like she is jumping higher.
@@stanleygagner I agree with you on her potential to do quads, and appreciate someone timed her jump😆 Today's skate shoes are lighter than Midori's era, so she must be able to do quads!!
I'm definitely getting shivers. The more you watch this, the more you appreciate the choreography and the music that truly showed how freely she skates on top of that ice. Truly mesmerizing.
It's such a beautiful piece. This was a completely instrumental piece as well. Imagine if she used it for her olympic year programs? Of coruse without the prop Rose and shortened for time as this is way longer than a typical long program but it's absolute magic
Toller Cranston, the famous Canadian skater and 1976 bronze medalist who was doing the commentary on the Canadian TV broadcast summed up Midori's talent best during her 1990 worlds free skate in Halifax: "there is simply nobody like her, she is beyond 6.0, nobody is in this league". She showed it again with this incredible performance.
Ahaha... Midori-san... you are really professional performer!!! I wish Midori-san will live in good health as long as she can and show us her lovely smile. Thank you for your great skating. I will never forget you! WAO
Hey, regarding the song that we all seem to really love. Apparently, based on some internet browsing, I came upon an interview (in Japanese), and Ito said that she was a huge fan of Japan X, and had been "dying to do a skate with their music" for years. Not only is she a prodigal athlete, but she has damn good taste in music. Really avant guard compared to the typical classical numbers that (let's face it), we've seen skated a billion times.
I've said it many times, that is the single best triple axel I have ever seen, male or female. Height, speed, ice coverage, perfect landing edge. Flawless!
She has hang time to do another revolution in the air and make it a quad if she really wanted to. Talk about amazing. I saw it in person sitting at ice level when I was only a little girl. It was incredible. To this day, this is still one my favorite skating programs I have ever seen. I started skating right after going to this event. My dad worked for the company so I got to meet all the skaters including her after the event and even have dinner with them. It was amazing. Still have all the pictures. Right before taking my Senior free test, I had a career ending knee injury though. It sucked, but what can you do?
It's interesting to hear X Japan's "Rose of Pain" so soft and delicate. That song REALLY rocks. It sounds great, and her performance (with a rose) is so good.
WOW . . . still watching this today . . . I truly believe her technique was truly the best . . . even skaters today who try the triple axel don't do them with the same power and height which is needed to land the triple axel.
Midori Ito is really like etheric skater. Gorgeous performance she showed here. She proved that she is number one. Machiko Yamada had to be proud to her.
I remember watching this at the time. As the commentator said, "It's just SO NICE to have her back."!!!! She had this incredibly shy, modest personality, and yet she got out there and just had this power; it was incredible. Such a great contrast; a sensitive soul with incredible athletic power. Beautiful.
to me midori is the best jumper in the history of figure skating, she was the first, and now there's alot who are trying to do the same, she can out jump majority of the men.
@mewantspocky The 3axel is considered the toughest jump in the triple jumps level. To this day many top men have trouble with it. For a lady from the early 90s to perform the triple axel consistently is an amazing feat in itself, but Midori owns the jump because as expert Sandra Bezic commented, "Watch how high she gets, the height, the flow, big speed etc..." The triple axel is a tough jump but Midori makes a tough jump look so easy and that's why it is so special and why Midori is so special.