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They ordered the boots tailor-made for Yuna,
-
but itll be ready after 3 months.
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She cannot put them on for the upcoming competition.
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So far, I think I havent used the proper method to tie my boot laces.
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I think I should go through and re-examine
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those little things all over again.
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(NHK Trophy GP, 2006.12.1-2)
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While Yuna stayed in Japan, the country hosted the ISU GP.
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The last event of the GP series will determine the finalists to the GPF.
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[the 2nd place, Fumie Suguri]
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Japans most promising figure skater--Asada Mao.
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[Triple Axel]
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Mao landed the most difficult jumpTriple Axel
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that is, three and half revolutions,
-
and was placed the 1st with her seasons best score,
-
winning the ticket to the GPF in Russia.
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[the 1st place, Asada Mao]
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Including the 2nd place, Suguri,
-
the final six have been selected.
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Four out of six are from Asia.
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Except Yuna, the three of them are all Japanese skaters.
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[Ito Midori, 92 Albertville Winter Olympics silver medalist]
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Japan began to make its name in the figure skating in the early 90s.
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In 1989, Ito Midori landed triple Axel for the first time as a lady
-
and in 1992 Winter Olympics she won the silver medal.
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From that point, Japan began to invest and support figure skating,
-
under a codenamed of Ice Storm Project.
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[Arakawa Shizuka, 2006 Torino Olympic Champion]
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This project finally paid off in Torino Olympics.
-
Arakawa Shizuka won the gold medal.
-
She defeated the American star, Sasha Cohen,
-
and Russias Slutskaya with her solid and stable technique.
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[Minoru Sano, figure skating analyst]
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In reality, its no strange thing to say
-
the top athlete in Asia is also the top skater in the world.
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Asia is a powerhouse of figure skating.
-
[Especially, ]Japan is very strong.
-
An ice rink in Japanese province
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Yuna visited the rink because she cant afford to skip training even for a day.
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I have skated [here and I can tell the difference]
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the Korean ice rinks are very cold during winter.
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But, here, Ive just done a few laps and I'm already sweating .
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And the ice quality also seems good.
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Although there are skate rinks in Korea,
-
there arent many of them suitable for athletes.
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Japanese kids are cheering as Yuna jumps triple salchow
-
[note: It actually said 3-revolution jumps.]
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Yuna is already a star in Japan as well.
-
But there is a reason
-
why Japanese are interested in Yuna.
-
They view Yuna as a worthy rival to Asada Mao
-
the next projected Olympic gold medalist for Japan.
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Recently, Yuna and Mao had had a duel in March last year.
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Mao was born in the same year and the same month as Yuna
-
and is called Mao-chan and hugely popular as any celebrity.
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She is a star.
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Technically, she follows the lineage of Ito Midori
-
and can execute triple Axel perfectly.
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[Lee Ji Hee, an ISU judge. She served as one of the judges in 05 Junior World Championship]
-
Even the judges went wow
-
shes only a girl [but she can jump 3A]!
-
And, back then, both Yuna and Mao
-
competed as the youngest competitors--13 years of age
-
yet she easily nailed 3A.
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Because of that, the judges were compelled to award her high technical scores.
-
At that time, Yuna relied on her 3-3 combination to counter Maos 3A
-
But, the judges pointed out her immature performance
-
and lackness of facial expression.
-
Yuna had to concede the gold medal to Mao.
-
Right after this competition, Yuna set the challenge to master triple Axel.
-
[Ji Hyun Jung, Yuna's coach at the time]
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Mao can do three-and-half revolutions jump,
-
but Yuna has just started learning it.
-
Were going to practice 3A
-
and so, by next year,
-
Yuna will be equipped with the same technique as Mao.
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Her goal is to go for the Junior Worlds one more time
-
[Triple Axel practice: June, 2005]
-
In summer, 2005, Yuna learned how to jump triple Axel
-
And, only then, we will have an even playing field.
-
from the overseas training
-
and she continued to train for 8 months to master it
-
[Lee Ji Hee the ISU judge]
-
There are six types of triple jumps.
-
Axel jump gets the highest value
-
because it requires additional half-revolution.
-
So, as for triple Axel,
-
all the other triple jumps consist of three revolutions,
-
but triple Axel is THREE AND HALF revolutions.
-
Axel is also front take-off jump which frightens many athletes
-
and the failure rate is also quite high
-
But, as of now, Yuna stopped practicing triple Axel.
-
It takes a minimum of 2 years to master a technique.
-
With injuries keeping her at a bay, triple Axel is a huge pressure to Yuna.
-
Mao is a special case.
-
ImIm just an ordinary athlete.
-
If I try that technique
-
even if I practice really hard,
-
it might never worked out for me
-
So, as for triple Axel, I dont want to try by taking a certain risk
-
Well, itd be awesome if it works out
-
but I dont want to do it
-
at the expense of raising the risk of injuries.
-
[The Junior World Championship, 2006.3.10, Slovenia]
-
The Junior World Championship was held in last March.
-
Here, Yuna and Mao met again.
-
People predicted Maos victory.
-
Yuna was performing on the ice
-
Yunas performance was noticeably
-
more mature and stable
-
compared to her last silver medal winning performance from the previous year.
-
And her techniques were even more solid.
-
People were surprised by her progress.
-
After Yunas performance, Mao followed.
-
Mao attempted 3A early in the program.
-
But
-
After that, she seemed to be shaken.
-
She made a mistake on her second jump.
-
It seemed she was having a bad day.
-
The glory of winning the gold medal went to Yuna this time.
-
[Asada Mao]
-
[She is] the same age as me and shes really good.
-
Her jumps are pretty and clean
-
and her expression [skills] are great.
-
Mao executed her jumps so easily
-
as if shes done only a few revolutions in the air.
-
When I watch her, she jumps so effortlessly and lightly.
-
And she rarely makes mistakes during the practice.
-
I envy those things a lot.