Mao Asada

Japanese figure skater and three-time World Champion, the first woman to land three triple Axel jumps in a single competition, a Guinness World Record.

Mao Asada was born on 25 September 1990 in Nagoya, Japan, trained by coach Machiko Yamada, who had previously coached Midori Ito. Asada idolized Ito and set out to continue her legacy with the triple Axel, becoming the first junior lady to land the jump in competition in 2004 and winning the World Junior Championship in 2005. Asada was ineligible for the 2006 Turin Olympics due to age restrictions despite being considered the world's best skater, but won her first senior World title in 2008. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, she landed three triple Axels across her short program and free skate, a Guinness World Record for a female skater, winning Olympic silver behind rival Yuna Kim before adding a second World title weeks later in Turin. Asada rebuilt her skating fundamentals after Vancouver, working with renowned coach Nobuo Sato, and won a third World Championship in 2014 in Saitama with a then-world-record free skate score, becoming the first female skater to complete three career Grand Slams. She competed at a second Olympics in Sochi in 2014, finishing sixth after a difficult short program, before retiring in 2017 following a 12th-place domestic finish, becoming credited with elevating figure skating's popularity across Japan.

Powerful, technically daring jumper renowned for her signature triple Axel, backed by expressive, emotionally resonant artistry

Credited with elevating figure skating's popularity across Japan and continuing Midori Ito's triple Axel legacy for a new generation

• 3x World Champion (2008, 2010, 2014)
• 2010 Olympic Silver Medal
• 3x Four Continents Champion (2008, 2010, 2013)
• First female skater with 3 career Grand Slams