技術的にもこれだけやって最後までバテない体力も凄いですよね。 当時でジャンプの入りと着氷後、細かくウォーレイを入れたり、ジャンプの手の位置を工夫したりと本当に素晴らしいです。あのアクセルシットスピンはあんなに高く上がると他の選手だとバランスを崩してしまうと思います。私は天性の体幹だと思っています。 今までもこれからも彼女以上の女子選手はあらわれないと思っています。

知る人とぞ知るですね… 。😂

well freaking said

Totally agree! Her triple jumps are bigger than the quads performed by the russian skaters now!

My entire neighborhood heard me laugh while reading this comment. You took the words right out of my mouth. Thank you passing on the stories and anecdotes of seeing this legendary talent in action. While the skaters are more proficient in certain aspects today, no one to date has been able to propel themselves through the air like Midori. We've seen signs from Kaori Sakamoto, but even still, she doesn't achieve the same breathtaking height on her jumps. Every time Midori launches into the air you can hear the audience sort of gasp in disbelief. Scott Hamilton may have been right: Midori truly is a once in a lifetime talent. Till this day, those words still stand tall, unshakeable and true! And then, before Midori gets off the ice, she offers a beautiful curtesy to a handful of fans. Hard to keep a dry eye on that one. Her level gratefulness was always beautiful to see. Other skaters today could benefit from this level of decorum. What we just witnessed at the Beijing Olympics with the Russian ladies was a disgrace. And it pains me to say it because I speak Russian, know Russian culture, and have been a big fan of Russian pairs for years, but what we saw at the Olympics with Trusova's meltdown was an absolute travesty. There were many times Midori could have rightfully grabbed some of those judges by the neck, and trust me, she would have had the backing of the crowd. Yet, never, ever, did she behave untowardly. Yet, here we have Trusova, feeling entitled and thinking she's both the competitor and the judge at the same time, and how dare anyone take away what she thought was hers. Excuse me? Excuse me? If your performance deserved to win, trust me History will right that wrong, and those who thwarted said victory shall, indeed, live in infamy. Skating fans never forget! I think the main goal should be to skate program worthy of being remembered. If you win an Olympic medal, yet people struggle to remember any of your performances, what have you truly given the sport? THAT is what they should be pounding into the heads of these young skaters today, the question of: WHAT have you given the sport? Have you delivered performances - I REPEAT - PERFORMANCES that stand the test of time? (Not jump drills.) They should be focused on that, instead of some gold medal. Learn how to have some integrity about yourself, maybe then they might feel bad about cheating some of those jumps of theirs. When you're a person with integrity, cheating (in whatever forms it comes) rubs you the wrong way. Half of them can't even take off on the proper edge when doing a Lutz, and are using all sort of cheating devices to get around on what should be basic triples, yet we want to demand Olympic gold medals. Please! Have a seat! Some simply don't understand the power of their position. When they give something back to the sport, they transcend it, and people can draw inspiration from your victories, and learn from your defeats. You have a voice that matters in this conversation of the human condition. Your voice, through your skating, breaks through and the world, humanity, listens. An Olympic gold medal, alone, will not give you that. So, I encourage all up-and-coming skaters to look at Midori and follow her regal example of how a true champion carries herself. She indeed carries herself like a true Queen. She deserves every accolade History will continue to bestow upon her.

@@dmp7252 I still remember the 91 Worlds when she unfortunately ran out of ice surface and crashed into the board and camera. She picked herself right up, finished the routine, then skated over to the camera person to see if they were okay and apologized! The contrast between her sportswomanship and what we saw at the Beijing Olympics truly is shocking! I too feel that Sakamoto comes close but doesn’t quite have the same amplitude but was so glad to see her skated well because I truly was about to given up watching this sport. Just too many low and small jumps, cookie-cutter choreography, arms flailing in the air with no purpose (this so makes me miss Sasha Cohen) and long-winded footwork that is excruciating to watch (this makes me miss Manley, Ito, Yamaguchi and Sato). I hope figure skating grows from the fiasco of the Beijing Olympics!

@@dmp7252 I really like what you wrote. I would say however, that Anna Scherbakova absolutely exemplifies the graciousness and humility that Midori exemplified, and has done so without fail. She is an incredibly polite, conscientious and absolutely delightful young woman and thus it makes me sad to hear you can't watch her Olympic winning performance. No she doesn't have the height or technical purity of Midori Ito but she skated two perfect programs of insane technical content (3 triple triple combos including a triple lutz triple loop, 2 quad flips, no mistakes)

Skated in the earlier flight. That is all. If she were in the final flight she probably wins the free skating in most competitions back then. Figures not only affected the overall points so much she had almost no chance to medal, but skating in an earlier flight it would be almost impossible to be given 1st place marks in the free skating too.

ここまでの内容を危なげなく滑りきることが他の選手と大きく違う事だと思いました。

me too… She was always captivating to me!

That's where her natural speed and power sometimes caused her to overrotate the lutz. Thankfully, not all the time. However it's interesting that if it happens, it's only her triple lutz jump. Again about how much power she had, it only means she was working hard to harness it while skating. That's another thing to worry about then.

@@alexsdb9712 yea I guess that was the cause of the problem. Which makes sense since her best lutzes historically has been when there’s a slight delay in her initial rotation in the air. The delay is just enough to prevent her from over rotating the jump

She was also way too close to the boards again.

@@jondavwal13 yes but just like her high leg wrap, this unorthodox technique is what excites me about her jumps. The visual texture and movement while airborne "gives me the feels" (borrowing a millennial expression) There is no doubt that she does jump close to the boards, but the horizontal travel that she gets from her jumps, while being an otherwise positive effect of her power, doesnt help either

@@quiddy I just mean I wish she would just give herself an extra 5 feet before takeoff. The rinks in Japan are longer. She needs to adjust for this in the West. LOL. As for the leg wrap it is not really a wrap. She just hold the foot up higher on her leg as she needs to slow down the rotation based on the height she achieves. As a skater, you are taught to use that leg position for an axel, around the lower shin for a 2A and down at the ankle for 3A. She is so fast and high she can use the axel position for her triple lutz and her 2A position for her triple axel. Real leg wraps are a technical flaw. Hers are not.

この時代に桁外れな才能が現れた。フィギュアスケートの世界とは無縁の家庭環境と思われた。しかし、その才能に周囲が引き込まれた。運命と言うものなのか。不思議です。

@Philip Alumbo This is the www. Not America web. You provided a fine example of the attitude and stereotype of Americans known and discussed worldwide.

They were noisy Americans being noisy ....in their own country (Cincinnati, USA). "You provided a fine example of the attitude and stereotype of Americans known and discussed worldwide." Indeed. Now get the fvck off our interwebs!!

@@MrJm323 Thank you for contributing to the point, for the world to see and continue seeing. All the best!

@@alexsdb9712 Yes, pointing out the priicks who get mad at people for cheering the performances of excellent athletes (and generally having a good time at such events) is my pleasure. Cheers!!

Artistic impression is as you said, impression. It's subjective. I'd say they should be a lot higher.