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Miki
Ando, Figure Skater
 Miki
Ando, 16, was born in Nagoya,
Aichi Prefecture, in 1987. Now
161 centimeters tall, she is in
her second year at Chukyo High
School, affiliated with Chukyo
University. She was the gold medalist
at the 2004 World Junior Figure
Skating Championships in the Hague,
placing first in the short and
free programs. She placed fourth
at the World Championships in
Dortmund three weeks later. |
Figure
skater Miki Ando, the first woman
to execute a quadruple jump in
competition, is one of the most
closely watched athletes in the
world today. In March this year
she made a clean sweep at the
2004 World Junior Figure Skating
Championships in the Hague, placing
first in both the short program
and the free program. Later that
month she realized her dream of
competing at the senior level
for the first time, coming in
fourth in the World Championships
in Dortmund. She is making steady
progress as she sets her sights
on the 2006 Winter Olympic Games
in Turin.
Born on December 18, 1987, Ando
is in her second year of high
school. Her hometown, Nagoya,
has produced a succession of world-class
skaters, including Midori Ito,
silver medalist at the 1992 Winter
Olympics in Albertville.
Ando put on ice skates for the
first time at the age of eight,
when some friends asked her to
go skating with them. “My
initial training didn’t include
any jumps or spins, but after
my teacher urged me to switch
to figure skating I found I enjoyed
the challenge of learning how
to do different kinds of jumps,”
she recalls.
She says figure skating lets her
express herself in a way that
suits her personality. Once she
took up figure skating she quit
all her other extracurricular
activities—swimming, art,
calligraphy, abacus, and piano—“because
jumps felt best and were the most
fun.” But she did not have
high goals to begin with. “It
was my first overseas competition,
when I was in the sixth grade,
that spurred me to want to advance.”
Ando won the competition. That
first taste of the international
skating scene had a major influence
on her subsequent life as an athlete.
It was only three years later,
at the age of 14, that she became
the first woman figure skater
to succeed in performing a quadruple
jump. The speed of her progress
has been nothing short of dazzling.
Despite having made figure skating
history at such a young age, she
makes light of her achievement:
“It was just an extension
of play,” she says with a
laugh. “I was concentrating
on learning the triple axel, and
I tried a quad while I was in
the air and found I could do it.
I think anyone could do it if
they practiced hard enough.”
She likes Nagoya because “it
combines the best of both country
and city.” She practices
daily at a rink there, fully aware
of the nation’s high hopes
for her at Turin. “My ultimate
objective is Turin,” she
says. “But my immediate focus
is the next competition and performing
better than last time. If I enjoy
myself, the spectators will enjoy
themselves, too. If I give a beautiful
performance, it will please those
watching. For me, the most important
thing is to give people joy and
excitement.” Her eyes sparkle.
Turin is only two years away.
Ando will be watched eagerly to
see what jumps she masters and
what strides she makes between
now and then.
(Mariko Nosaki;
photos by Tadashi Aizawa) |
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