By Jonathan Bickford
At 25 years old, Japan’s Mao Asada is already a legend in the figure skating world. She is a three time World Champion, six time Japanese National Champion, and Olympic Silver Medalist. The difference with this legend compared to most others is Asada is still competing with success. In 2015, she roared back to life following a year off after the Sochi Olympics. The skater was planning to retire after the Olympics, but ended up competing in the 2014 World Figure Skating Championship after disappointments in Sochi, Russia. Asada finished 6th overall at the Olympics after a disastrous short program and incredible long program. She wanted to redeem herself so she competed in and won the World Championship. This was an important stepping stone in her still young career and what must have gave her the will to return to competition this season. When competing in her first grand prix in over 2 years, she wowed at the Cup Of China and easily won.
What seemed like a momentous comeback soon took a turn for the worse. Asada would end up finishing 3rd at the 2015 NHK Trophy and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final despite disappointing performances. She came to the Grand Prix Final hoping to redeem herself but ended up finishing in last place among the six competitors. At this point many wondered whether the year off was too long. Canadian figure skater and fellow World Champion Patrick Chan faced the same issues after taking the post-Olympic season off. He would end up rallying at the Canadian National Championship and Four Continents Championship while Asada continued to have problems at the Japanese National Championship. She did end up finishing third and was given a spot on the Japanese World Championship Team.
I wrote an article the week before Worlds regarding Mao Asada being the wildcard of the World Championship. It was in my view she could have won if she really put it all together. She possesses the incredible technical difficulty no other skater at this moment can match as well as the elegance and artistic prowess she has exhibited throughout her long and storied career. Asada wound up finishing 7th after landing the triple axel in her long program. I could not conclude whether I was surprised by this or not because I truly thought she might be able to pull off a podium position. As soon as she started her short program and fell on her opening triple axel, I could tell it wasn’t going to happen for her. In moments like that I wonder if she is happy with her decision to return to the sport. She has had so much success, and it makes you wonder why she might want to keep trying.
Now as we start to look toward next season, I wonder what Mao Asada’s future in the sport could and will look like. I imagine since she has come this far she has thoughts of continuing until the Olympic Games in 2018, taking place in PyeongChang, Korea. It would be against anyone’s best judgement to ever count her out, but I wonder if she really has the drive and desire to give it one more shot at the Olympic Gold. The gold medal is the desire of every skater, but the reality is one is only given out every four years. This makes the chances of achieving one so difficult, and the skater must be perfect to achieve it. I hate to point out her age because ageism in skating makes me very angry, but Mao Asada will be 27 heading into the Olympics. The oldest woman to win an Olympic medal in this current era of figure skating is 2006 Bronze Medalist Irina Slutskaya who was 27. It is certainly possible, but a lot can change in two years.
Mao Asada has a few different ways of getting to the Olympics. First, she could continue to push forward full speed ahead and do the full grand prix season this year leading into 2017. This could be the best route for her if she really wants to be able to be competitive moving forward. To be competitive you have to challenge yourself to perform when it counts even if you know you can win. Asada has the technical and artistic goods to win any event she enters, but it is about being able to put it all together at the right time. With taking a year off, she was completely out of the loop and never faced the pressure of competition. Plus, the landscape of figure skating can change so quickly so any time off will set you back one way or another. When Patrick Chan took a year off he had the technical score to beat anyone he competed against, but two years later he has had to push himself to even stay in the mix. This is why Asada may want to push full speed ahead into next season.
The issue with pushing yourself to do another full season is the risk of injury which brings up another way Asada could compete at the Olympics in 2018. She could have a reduced season this year by competing in maybe one grand prix event and forgetting about the final. This would make the Japanese Nationals and World Championships her main focus. The risk of doing something like this is the pressure to perform well at those events goes through the roof. A reduced schedule gives a skater less time to work out the issues in their programs as well. She could continue to do this during the Olympic season, but I would suggest a full season when you want to produce the best results at the Olympics. Regardless of her performances leading up to the Olympics, I would almost guarantee the Japanese Olympic Committee would welcome her with open arms to the Olympic Team.
It really is a two-edged sword whatever path she may choose. She may even decide to hang up her skates now. Figure skating is a grueling sport filled with triumphs and disappointments, and it requires a great bit of skill and luck. Asada has the skills obviously, but will the stars align for her again at the World Championship or Olympics? We will just have to wait to find out, but one thing can be said about Asada. She is a living legend, and we should appreciate her performances every single time she steps out onto the ice.
GOLDEN LUTZ 