U.S. Figure Skater Mirai Nagasu Makes History With Triple Axel Move At The Olympics
U.S. Olympic figure skater Mirai Nagasu made history last night, when she hit a mind-blowing triple axel at the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea.
Making Her Story
Nagasu was competing at the games in Pyeongchang when she landed the elusive move. She's only the third American female skater to ever do so, and the first to land the axel at the Olympics.
Tonya Harding managed to land the move back in 1991, followed by Kimmie Meissner in 2005. The axel itself involves a complicated forward takeoff, the only jump requiring such a start, and then three-and-a-half mid-air rotations.
Nagasu is the third woman to perform the triple axel at the Olympics, the other two skaters were Japanese athletes Midori Ito and Mao Asada.
"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," Nagasu told NBC.
"HOLY COW!" You just witnessed a historic triple axel from Mirai Nagasu. #WinterOlympics https://t.co/NsNuy9F46h pic.twitter.com/jCMTb4LtXv— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 12, 2018
Fellow Olympic skater Scott Hamilton joined in the celebrations on Twitter.
So thrilled for @mirai_nagasu becoming the first woman from the @TeamUSA to land a Triple Axel in @Olympics competition. Also for her perfect skate on Olympic Ice! @NBCOlympics #Pyeonchang2018 #FinishFirst Great things happen to good people! — Scott Hamilton (@ScottHamilton84) February 12, 2018
Likewise, Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi and ice dancer Meryl Davis confessed they were crying with happiness. This was in stark contrast to Nagasu herself who, at the close of her routine, threw her hands into the air triumphantly and broke into a big grin.
A Long Time Coming
Nagasu became the third American woman to complete the triple axel back in September. Her ability to do so at the Olympic Games, making history in the process, is just a natural progression for the super-ambitious skater.
She finished second place in the ladies free skating, with a final score of 137.53 overall, helping Team USA to bring home a bronze medal for figure skating.
"[I] knew in my heart that this day would come," Nagasu told reporters.
On being the first American to land the move at the Olympics, Nagasu was effusive.
"I am very fortunate that I'm American so I'm the first U.S. lady. ...I remember watching (2014 U.S. Olympian) Gracie Gold in Sochi being the last person to skate and I was like, oh my god, I don't know how she did it," she said.
This is only Nagasu's second visit to the Games, following the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, where she finished in fourth place. Although she applied for Sochi in 2014, Nagasu was not selected to compete. She finished third at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships that same year, but fourth-place finisher Ashley Wagner was chosen for the Olympics due to her international resume.
Nagasu famously ate In-N-Out burgers on the roof of her house with fellow US figure skater Adam Rippon, who was also passed over for the Games that year. Nagasu subsequently finished second at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships the following January, which set her up to return to the Olympics as the first U.S. woman to do so after missing out previously.
Rippon, for his part, had a final score of 172.98 for men's skating. His name trended worldwide on Twitter Sunday night.
