Dare I say it. Best triple axel ever done by a woman. Ever. Even for her that was extraordinarily stupendous. And OMG how cute was she when she started cheering her own 10’s?! You can’t not love her. So charming 😍😍😍
Can I just say that whoever wrote the script for that intro fluff together with the Henry VIII music was so good and really tugged at my heart as it captured exactly the heartbreaking disappointment Midori felt when she had to appologize to her country for what happened in Albertville.
I love Midori! If only those darn compulsory figures had been eliminated so much sooner during her career. I can't help thinking about all the world championships she would have won! And honestly she deserved the gold in 1988 - I was so over the Battle of the Carmens!
@@JYoder The problem was they began phasing out figures way too late. Only began in 73 after Schuba was booed for winning competitions over better free skaters like Janet Lynn, Karen Magnussen and others. They couldn't get rid of them right away, so it took 18 years of gradual phasing out. They needed to begin a lot sooner than they did.
Stop with the comparison both kristi and midori are great figure skaters i know people love drama. A professional figure skaters life is short. Most retire by 30s. I love the fact she still competes at age 50. That's how you'll know how much someone loves and passionate about something. My 7 years old daughter is a figure skater and loves both ladies and mao asada. 💗💗❤❤💖💖
It is impossible to say. She would have had a ton of pressure again, and we saw what happened in 92, and then in 96 it was even worse. All you can say is she definitely could have won gold if she skated to her potential, especialy as Biaul and Kerrigan are easier competition than Kristi, but there is still no way of knowing what would happen with all the pressure she would be under.
@@sargeminus1727 If Midori skated clean, it did not matter who she skated against, Kristie, Nancy, Oksana, Tonya, Midori would win. Problem was she was the premier athlete in Japan and the Japanese media would have hounded her again in Lilihammer like they did in Albertville. Besides it did not pay for Midori to stay amateur. Pro skating was doing very well at this time. She turned pro and beat Kristie in the 1993 world professional championship. MIdori had lived with her coach for many years. I am sure at her young age of 22 after Albertville, she wanted to be independent and start making money. Turning pro made a great deal of sense for her.
As Toller Cranston said in Midori's 1990 Halifax World's LP, "there is simply nobody like her, she is beyond 6.0, nobody is in this league". She showed it again with this incredible performance. And anyone who thinks Tonya's 3A is close to Midori's, think again. No lady, to this date sep 16 2018, comes close to performing a triple axel like Midori.
I think Kihari now has the next best triple axel after Midori. I still prefer Midori's for its amazing power. Tonya was a spectacular jumper but I didnt like her triple axel that much, it always had an ugly lean even when she landed it clean, which is probably one reason she usually missed it. I much prefer Tonya's other jumps like triple lutz, triple flip, and triple loop to her triple axel.
@@sargeminus1727 Rika does have a beautiful triple axel. And now Alysa Liu at 12 years old has landed a triple axel at the Asian open which is international competition. I don't know if any lady will ever perform a triple axel like Midori. Her power, speed, height, reckless abandon is unmatched. I do agree with you about Tonya's triple axel, great power but that terrible tilt which usually caused her to fall on it. Still Tonya was a strong skater . I remember Scott Hamilton saying at the Albertville Olympics that Tonya was the 2nd best technical skater in the world after Midori.
@@lsrasr158 Scott was fairly decent in his commentary towards Harding, even while it was clear he was not a fan of her style, he still respected her talent. Until after the Kerrigan clubbing. In Lillehammer he showed plain disgust in his commentary on her, and anytime he talked about her after. Granted she showed up in Lillehammer in horrible shape and skating nowhere near as well as even the 94 Nationals which was the best she had looked since late 91, so there wasnt a lot positive to say, but I think he also considered her a criminal (probably correctly) and was disgusted by her by then.
@@lsrasr158 The crazy thing is if Harding had been trained for the 92 Games and skated like she did at 91 Skate America, minus the silly double axel fall in the short which is easily fixable, she probably would have won gold in Albertville. Both Yamaguchi and Ito were subpar and made major errors, even Kristi in the long not only missed the salchow (like usual) but the loop as well. Had Harding skated like 91 Skate America, it would be almost impossible to not give her the gold. Then she could have either gone pro, or already been rich, and the whole ridiculousness of 94 and the Kerrigan clubbing never happens now. 94 she was never really considered a contender anymore, despite that the field was weaker in 92. She just wasnt considered a top skater anymore. 92 was her big chance, 94 she never had much of a prayer even without the clubbing.
@@sargeminus1727 I personally think if all the top skaters at Albertville skated their best, Midori would have won gold, Tonya would have won silver (or Kristi) and then bronze to Kristi (or Tonya). Midori skated beautifully and won the Lalique tourney at Albertville a few months before the 92 Olympics. I read that when Midori arrived in Albertville she was doing 3A-3T in practices (there are videos of it), which Tonya could not do. But the Japanese media onslaught wore her down and the Surya Bonaly backflip almost hitting her the day of the SP, broke her concentration and she fell on the triple lutz, a jump she has done hundreds of times, killing her chances at gold. I don't know why Tonya did not properly train for Albertville. Was she upset with Dodi her coach, don't know. Scott loved Tonya at 1991 skate america comparing her to Midori and saying Tonya was the only woman in the world who could compete jump for jump with Midori. There is a video interview of Scott talking about the rise and fall of figure skating in the 90's. He blames figure skating's fall from popularity on the Tonya Nancy incident. Watch it. Also search in youtube "Midori Tonya". you will see a video of Tonya talking about Midori's skating at the lalique tourney and why Tonya did not compete at this tourney, which was probably a big mistake on her part being so close to the albertville olympics.
None of the women who do triple axels now get that much height...I feel like the bone of the women really explode off the ice anymore like Modori and Tonya used to do.
This makes me upset. Roslynn Somners, Debi Thomas, Michelle Kwan, Nancy Kerrigan all won olympic medals. I hate when fluff pieces make a silver or bronze medals like losers. Midori earned that silver medal it wasn't handed to her.