Mao plans for gold at 2010 Olympics
By JAMES MULLIGAN
Three years may seem like a very long time for someone so young, but teen figure skating sensation Mao Asada already knows what she wants to be doing in 2010 -- winning Olympic gold.
Mao Asada, the 16-year-old silver medalist at last month's World Figure Skating Championships, answers questions during a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Friday. YOSHIAKI MIURA PHOTO
The 16-year-old Asada, fresh from her silver medal at last month's World Figure Skating Championships, hopes to fulfill a dream at the Vancouver Winter Games and emulate compatriot Shizuka Arakawa, who won gold at the 2006 Turin Games -- in which Asada was too young to compete.
"My goal from a young age has been to get a gold medal at the Olympics," Asada told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Friday.
"I have been practicing hard in California, and am really looking forward to Vancouver, where my goal is to have a flawless performance that the audience will love and I will hopefully win the gold."
Asada, who burst onto the world scene in 2006 with gold medals at the Trophee Bompard in Paris and the Grand Prix Final in Tokyo, said she wasn't disappointed at not being allowed to compete in Turin because of the International Skating Union's age-limit rule, knowing time was on her side.
"I just thought that there is always the next Olympics. Rules are rules," Asada said.
"(But) when I saw Arakawa get the gold at the Turin Olympics, I definitely knew that was what I wanted."
Asada just missed out on gold at last month's worlds to compatriot Miki Ando. After finishing a disappointing fifth in the short program, Asada pulled off seven triple jumps in the free program on her way to a personal best score of 194.45, but it wasn't enough.
Before the victory, the 19-year-old Ando was most well known for being the only skater to successfully complete a quadruple jump in competition. It's something Asada hopes she can pull off in the future, with Ando's presence only spurring her on.
"Ando is in the top position for the Japanese skaters, so she is my biggest rival. But we are good rivals for each other," Asada said.
"I haven't been practicing the quadruple jump, but I'm hoping that if I work hard, I might be able to reach the point when I can do that," said Asada.
Another skater who should be pushing Asada all the way in the run up to 2010 is Kim Yu Na, who beat Asada to gold at the junior worlds in 2006.
Asada welcomes the rivalry from Kim, who led the worlds after the short program but had to settle for bronze after two falls in the free program.
"(Kim) and I are the same age, which I think makes for a strong relationship between athletes," Asada said of the South Korean, who is older by a month.
"We have a good relationship, and I think we will stimulate each other in the upcoming times that we compete against each other." |
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