Albertville, FRANCE - 1992 Winter Games, Figure Skating, Ladies' Free Skate - Midori Ito of Japan landed one of two triple Axel jump passes that helped her move up from 4th to win the Silver Medal.
Great to hear commentators really praising Midori Ito... she has always been one of my favourite sportswomen; tough, gracious, athletic, polite and clearly adores her sport. When she fell into the camera pit in 1991 she went back to check the cameraman was ok... what a lady.
Crazy that today, a random day in 2023 I discover that the 3 Axel Midori Ito did at the olympics was a second trying at the end of her free skate. OH MY GOD!!!!!!!
The athleticism, speed , grace and passion. She puts so much into her performances . The triple that she pulled towards the end was incredibly smart and brilliant. She is so “ GOLD “ if you ask me.
Big fan of Yamaguchi here, and when I saw her (Ito) miss that first jump I thought it was a lock. Then she goes ahead and does everything else that she did, and man was I nervous! Damn good skater, damn good recovery, and damn good performance. That finale was as good as the music that was playing
actually @mcbrion1951, Midori was the darling of the 1988 Calgary olympics and the 1992 Albertville olympics. Watch her freeskate at the 1988 olympics. she stole the show and had the highest free skate technical marks of any female skater at Calgary.
The scoring system is so much better now with much less room for judges bias. It has made the sport so much better. GBR judge should have been disciplined.
Did you miss the 2014 scoring? Also 2018 when Zagitova didn't do a single jump in the first half of the show to get the bonus points in the second half? I hardly see how the new system is "much better". Hasn't really fixed anything. If anything, it's gotten so robotic and has taken the "art" out of the artistry of figure skating.
Based on the commentary it was assumed (perhaps barring a major upset) Kristi would beat Nancy. As in, it seemed to be a forgone conclusion before either of them even skated..it's something I've picked up over the years listening and re-listening to the commentators. Everyone kind of knew (again, outside of a major upset) who was duking it out here. Nancy was not a real contender at this point. She says exactly this during later interviews, even. There was a hierarchy in skating as in other sports, a "making your bones" kind of thing. Not so much now with younger competitors.
@@CanadianMonarchist I'll never forget how horrible Nancy was when Oksana won Gold. And Oksana was only 16, skating with multiple injuries. I love Oksana 💖
When you see Midori's program here and then watch Katarina Witt's gold medal program from 88, it's not even close. It's pretty laughable how easy Witt's program was.
I agree with you in 1994 and 1998. Not in this case, although I do love Midori. Midori's performance in the short was far too damaging. Kristi was just an all around better "package" as she was a solid technician but also very musical. She tends to get overlooked since she didn't have the huge jumps but I found her performances so lovely and engaging. Her lines, transitions, connection...she really was deserving of the gold metal even with the two mistakes in her long.
@@slsl5243 Personally for me, I'm not sold on Kristi's artistry or musicality. I personally found her a bit soul-less. And a lot of her expressions came across to me as her phoning it in. I'm sure many will disagree with me and that's completely fine. Artistry is very subjective after all. But I didn't find her very interesting to watch.
@@fernandamartinezjaimez9648 For sure. Kim was the class of the field in 2010 (in 2014 as well IMO). I also think Arakawa is far better than Cohen but I'm sure many will strongly disagree with that.
Honestly, I know Kristi might’ve seemed more artistic or whatever, but considering Midori nailed the jump Kristi missed and only fell on the triple axel (which, I remind you, she was one of the two only women EVER to have attempted in competition) which she added later to her program anyways in the more challenging second half, I think ranking Midori underneath Kristi in this program is a criminal outrage.
Not really. Midori didn't hit her 3-3 combination which Kristi did. Kristi was a better all around skater; while her jumps had nowhere near Midori's size, she was quite precise technically and she had much better musicality and presentation. Something that mattered back then, hence the artistic score being the tie breaker.
@@slsl5243 Right. Even with throwing in the second triple axel, it doesn't erase the fall on the first triple axel for Ito, nor does it make up for the fact that she had no triple-triple. The downside of Ito's explosive jumps is that all that energy can result in a sort of messiness and lack of polish or finesse if it's not properly controlled. We also can't forget Ito's fall in her SP. Considering both programs taken together, Kristi certainly should have won. 5.9's for a LP with no triple-triple and a fall, even with the triple axel, was too high for Ito here.
I dunno. I don’t blame the judges for throwing out a 5.9 on the technical side. Landing the first triple axel in Olympic history and doing it after she missed the first one, 3+ minutes into the program, she can have that 5.9 from me. 😂 As a program overall, it didn’t deserve that, but that was an astounding feat of athleticism that made the overall impact of the program so much more powerful than it would have been. But dang, I can’t think of a single competition in Midori’s career besides this where she didn’t land a triple lutz. Even with Kristi’s mistakes, hers was clearly the superior program. Even if Midori had won the long program, it wouldn’t have mattered because she was in 4th after the short.
Your a criminal outrage .she fell .she lacks artistry.she had no triple triple combo ..Christy gad a triple lutz triple two ..she fell in the short.she got higher marks fir the Long program you b9zo
Could someone help me out... I don’t totally understand how the short program factored into the old 6.0 scoring system. Was it about the score or the placement? In 2002, the commentators say over and over and over again that Sarah Hughes, 4th after the short program, could not win gold unless both she and someone else beat Michelle Kwan, who was in first. Was the case the same here for Midori Ito and Kristi Yamaguchi? Scott Hamilton does say near the end of the program that there was no way she could win gold, but was that because she fell or because of the scoring system? Kristi seems to be watching intently as if maybe Midori could win, and they don’t celebrate until after the marks are read.
Midori fell on her triple lutz during the short program, which counts for 1/3 of the final rankings. She placed 4th in the short, whereas Kristi placed first. The long program counts for 2/3, so even if Midori won the free skate, Kristi probably only had to place 2nd to beat her. Judges will then vote for first place based on the scores they gave to each skater. So to answer your question, the placement and scores both play a factor, but it’s mostly the placement that’s more important
the judges brought her down her entire career regarding the artistic. ridiculous. IT'S A SPORT!!!!!! NOBODY JUMPED LIKE HER…NO ONE HAD THE SPEED LIKE HER.
@@vaskylark Harding had the speed skating across the surface, but she rarely achieved the same flow (speed) out of a jump like Midori Ito. Harding’s triple axel didn’t have the same distance and speed out - that’s why Harding has never landed a triple axel triple toe loop combo, while Ito had. Harding’s axel also was always shakier, with the rotational axis always tilted. That’s why she was unable to achieve the same jump consistency as Ito. So I would say M J’s statement is correct that nobody jumped like Ito.
@@eyen30 I watched Midori Ito too back in the day. I watched all of them. She was powerful skater too. I know she was great, but I was talking about Tonya's skating, not Ito's, who despite power and speed and jumps was lacking in artistry in my opinion. She was fantastic don't get me wrong but I preferred watching Tonya skate. I loved Kristi Yamagucci too. She's probably my all time fave and best all around and she couldn't do the triple axel at all.
God, what a brilliant program. I absolutely love it when skaters throw in extra jumps to make up for earlier mistakes. I know the purists hate it but it shows insane courage and competitive instincts to me. Todd Eldridge and Oksana Baiul also did this (threw in an extra, unchoreographed jump because they knew they needed it). I kind of wish she'd taken the gold with this, although she did have a fair few other errors. ALL HAIL MIDORI ITO, THE GREATEST JUMPER OF ALL TIME.
She seemed to have even more energy at the end of her performance! I remember being so amazed that she threw in that 2nd triple axel right at the end & was so happy she landed it!
Without a doubt, when Midori was in the zone, no one could touch her. Not Kristi or anyone else. She was a revelation. Such a shame the Olympic pressure from her own Federation did her in.
No as much the Japanese Fed. as the Japanese media. The media just hounded her every move at every moment. Under such a magnifying glass, it just took something like Surya Bonaly's back flips in practice during her run through that startled her and broke her concentration.
@@3Axel1996 sigh. i wonder if Surya did that on purpose or if her mom ordered her to do that. If that wasn't done, would Midori have kept the 3 axel in the short? It's just what ifs now unfortunately.
@@GaryGarlic She and Tonya should've never put a triple axel in the short, it's way too risky. If they fall, they lose credit for the required element. They should've gone for something slightly easier, so even if they fail the triple axel in the long, it wouldn't have been as detrimental
Midori Ito set the bar. I LOVE Mao Asada but without Midori Ito there would never have been any other Japanese figure skaters emulating her. She is a God in the annals of skating.
Rick Francis, perfectly stated. And without Midori, Tonya never would have attempted a triple axel. She saw Midori do the 3A at the 1990 NHK trophy and decided she needed one as well which Tonya landed at the 1991 US nationals in Minneapolis.
The official Olympic Channel has published 30 one minute videos of 30 impossible moments showing superlative efforts of athletes at the Olympic Games. Number 11 is Midori's incredible triple axel at Albertville. That says it all.
I saw this commentary used to describe this skate on another video: "flawed, desperate and unspeakably thrilling". I cannot think of a better way to describe it. I found the last minute of her skate to be so riveting you cannot take your eyes off her. I don't believe anyone has ever skated better than Midori's last minute of her Albertville Olympics skate.
She is the cutest skater ever! I loved when she had a potentially serious accident and jumped out of the ring, and then after her performance, she went over to see if the camera man was okay. What a classy woman!
Looking at the scores for technical merit, I have to assume the British judge wasn't paying attention and thought the completed triple axel was only a double. There's no way that was a 5.6 -- not even with a fall on the first triple axel attempt.
To be fair, I think this British judge was always harsh on her marks, so a 5.6 from her was good. What mattered was where she placed you relative to others.
shihlin1 makes a good point. Kristi showed the rivalry a lot more than Midori did. I saw an interview before the Albertville olympics discussing the ladies figure skating. the "expert" being interviewed touted how Kristi can win the gold because of her superior artistry and lines over Midori. But then the expert finally admitted that if both Midori and Kristi skate clean programs, Midori would win because of her superior technical abilities and the triple axle. And Kristie always knew this. Hence the worried look on her face whenever Midori skated.
This is an excerpt from an interview Kristi gave before the Albertville Olympics, probably in 1991 while she was practicing to try and learn the triple axel. "Midori Is an incredible skater. I really respect her skating a lot. And sometimes you know I wish I could have as much excitement, explosion as she does in her skating."
Kristi only did 3 different toe jumps landing 5 altogether. Midori did 3 edge jumps and 2 toe jumps landing 5 altogether. Midori's was the more well rounded program and a 3 axel after 3 minutes should get a 7.5 just like what Scott said. ! 5.6 from GBR?!?!!
Legendary!! When will your fave do something this iconic..two triple axel attempts, landing the second one at the end of the program?? Truly amazing. Midori Ito is awesome
Nobody ever mentions the subtle yet very obvious rivalry between Midori and Kristi in the early 90s. I see countless skates of Midori and Kristi always has this worried look on her face. What made this rivalry so interesting was the fact Yamaguchi is of Japanese descent too.
Midori, Tonya, and Surya all deserved better and more recognition. They were the "true" figure skaters. They cared more about being an athlete than looking pretty; something super hard to do when you're in a sexist sport like figure skating.
Indeed we do. She wasn't dainty like Kristi or Nancy. That's what makes her stand out. Not to mention, the rest of the ladies had to up their technical content because of Midori. They knew that they couldn't rely on their artistry alone, especially when she was consistently landing triple axels and various triple-triple combinations. Hell, Midori was STILL doing triple axels & triple-triples as a professional.
I loved watching Midori Ito in her program and I just love the classical music accompanying it; but my problem is I don't know who the composer is and what the piece is called. Does anyone know? I appreciate it if you do :)
Two of best jumpers in the world by miles, both didn't do well technically: Harding and Ito. Strange. Is it just Olympics nerves. What did both skaters say about this competition after it was done?
i know midori apologised for getting the silver though she was told she didn't have to. from what i have seen from later of harding she seemed bitter about coming up short. she said in 1992 that she didn't want to go to the 94 games if she won a medal in 92 and her unsuccessful attempt at the podium resulted probably with tonya going back to her old coach and i guess became the start of the nancy vs. tonya rivalry. i know in the 2006 documentary about tonya she goes on about how she lost by 0.1 of a point and things. it's sad because if i recall she was landing triple axels in practice.
+hyacinthoides once again we agree to disagree. Her artistry and presentation were not up to par with her jumping and when that triple axel escaped her it was a wrap. Without it she would have not that medal in '92, but I do give Midori credit she and Kristi made everybody start jumping.
Every skater has their own style. That is true. But there are other more objective elements to artistry like posture, line, choreography. I think Kristi was superior in those elements.
I thought her program here is better than Kristi's ... Kristi has superior artistry yes, but her program is kinda one note. It's pretty all the way through and kinda boring. Midori Ito's program is engaging and fun - you can't wait to see what she does next.
I guess it depends on how you measure artistry. I wouldn't say Kristi was un-artistic but her programs seemed a bit soulless to me. I found Midori much more engaing to watch. But I much prefer Midori before she changed her style. She was trying too hard to fit a certain image of what artistry was.
Dorothy Hamill, the gold medalist in 1976 summed up Kristie and Midori's skating perfectly. She said "Kristie was graceful and musical but Ito was something special. When Midori skates I am on the edge of my seat."
I dont understand in technical merit midori landed a triple salchow which kristi fell on midori also did a triple loop which kristi doubled what it doesn't make sense !!!!!!!!!!😱😰😣😒😢
I think this music is what's causing Midori to skate badly, it's so morose and depressing. Midori is a bouncy, jubilant skater, her coach should've picked music that suited Midori's style. BAD mistake !!
over 20 years later and Midori's Japanese fans are still saying she should've won. artistically I don't think she was better than Kristi. even the Japanese judge gave Kristi higher artistic score. she was like a female version of Brian Boitano who was a master at artistry. too many fans only focus on jumping abilities but it's the artistry that makes figure skating beautiful--how they move in perfect harmony with the music.
The FIRST woman to ever land a triple axel in World and Olympic Competition. A legend and a trailblazer.
Becky J. Hollen, The 1st woman to land a triple axel in competition at the 88 NHK in Japan.
Ridiculous how the GB judge only gave a 5.6 for technical
A true pioneer.
@@mht4908A**hat!
Great to hear commentators really praising Midori Ito... she has always been one of my favourite sportswomen; tough, gracious, athletic, polite and clearly adores her sport. When she fell into the camera pit in 1991 she went back to check the cameraman was ok... what a lady.
一度失敗してももう一度終盤で跳ぶという挑戦。体力と精神力!
彼女は記録も凄いですが、何より記憶に残る選手だったと思います。
Crazy that today, a random day in 2023 I discover that the 3 Axel Midori Ito did at the olympics was a second trying at the end of her free skate. OH MY GOD!!!!!!!
このお方のスポーツ選手としての美しさが最も表現された演技だと思います。
いつ見ても涙が出ます。
Such a gutsy skater...she knew what she had to do to get a medal and she did it.
The athleticism, speed , grace and passion. She puts so much into her performances . The triple that she pulled towards the end was incredibly smart and brilliant. She is so “ GOLD “ if you ask me.
The speed and power she went into her jumps with would scare the best of skaters now a days
No foolin
for those of you guys who are here watching her landed Triple Axel, it is at 3:38
Big fan of Yamaguchi here, and when I saw her (Ito) miss that first jump I thought it was a lock. Then she goes ahead and does everything else that she did, and man was I nervous!
Damn good skater, damn good recovery, and damn good performance. That finale was as good as the music that was playing
Huh? This is Midori Ito, not Kristi Yamaguchi
@@zvezdoblyat I was talking about Ito, but it might look like I am talking about Yamaguchi. Quick fix!
She is still the BEST to come out of Japan! I don’t care what anybody says!!! RESPECT ✊ from 🇺🇸
I love Midori
何回観ても感動😂
凄すぎるよ👏みどり最高🎉
The "darling" of the Olympics in 92 and '94. She charmed us all with her splendid sense of humor. I was SO happy for her!
actually @mcbrion1951, Midori was the darling of the 1988 Calgary olympics and the 1992 Albertville olympics. Watch her freeskate at the 1988 olympics. she stole the show and had the highest free skate technical marks of any female skater at Calgary.
山田まちこコーチの名古屋弁が笑ける(「サマランチさん(このイントネーション)がみえる(いらっしゃる)。」)。
覇気のなさげな前半と、思う存分スケートを楽しんでそうな後半のみどりさんの変化は何度観ても興奮する。ありがとう❗️
First woman jumping 3As, first woman jumping 3-3s. She can still jump 2As sometimes in her 50s She’s a legend that keeps giving.
she’s PHENOMENAL
Perfeita! Incrível a coragem e força que ela tem mesmo após sua queda
Midori should have won in 1988 and 1992.
Her jumps were huge
I came to see this because it was mentioned in the movie ice princess^^
The scoring system is so much better now with much less room for judges bias. It has made the sport so much better. GBR judge should have been disciplined.
Did you miss the 2014 scoring? Also 2018 when Zagitova didn't do a single jump in the first half of the show to get the bonus points in the second half? I hardly see how the new system is "much better". Hasn't really fixed anything. If anything, it's gotten so robotic and has taken the "art" out of the artistry of figure skating.
damn great britain was ruthless
Gotta give props to Nancy at the end when Kristi finds out she is gold. Classy and supportive. They were also good friends and it showed.
If only she had treated Oksana Baiul that way.
Based on the commentary it was assumed (perhaps barring a major upset) Kristi would beat Nancy. As in, it seemed to be a forgone conclusion before either of them even skated..it's something I've picked up over the years listening and re-listening to the commentators. Everyone kind of knew (again, outside of a major upset) who was duking it out here. Nancy was not a real contender at this point. She says exactly this during later interviews, even. There was a hierarchy in skating as in other sports, a "making your bones" kind of thing. Not so much now with younger competitors.
@@CanadianMonarchist I'll never forget how horrible Nancy was when Oksana won Gold. And Oksana was only 16, skating with multiple injuries.
I love Oksana 💖
The queen Medori Ito!
Midori makes skating look simple, but the hours of practice is unreal.
When you see Midori's program here and then watch Katarina Witt's gold medal program from 88, it's not even close. It's pretty laughable how easy Witt's program was.
But Witt had to do the school figures, which were eliminated by 1990. It required much time with less time on free skating and jumps.
Fantastic She is the SAMURAI!
I dont know why but I see all the silver medalists in the olympics far better than the gold medalist.
I agree with you in 1994 and 1998. Not in this case, although I do love Midori. Midori's performance in the short was far too damaging. Kristi was just an all around better "package" as she was a solid technician but also very musical. She tends to get overlooked since she didn't have the huge jumps but I found her performances so lovely and engaging. Her lines, transitions, connection...she really was deserving of the gold metal even with the two mistakes in her long.
@@slsl5243 Personally for me, I'm not sold on Kristi's artistry or musicality. I personally found her a bit soul-less. And a lot of her expressions came across to me as her phoning it in. I'm sure many will disagree with me and that's completely fine. Artistry is very subjective after all. But I didn't find her very interesting to watch.
@@slsl5243 Kristi's tilt in her jumps always bothered me...
Agree, except with Yuna Kim in 2010, I love Mao Asada but Yuna was matchless that night
@@fernandamartinezjaimez9648 For sure. Kim was the class of the field in 2010 (in 2014 as well IMO). I also think Arakawa is far better than Cohen but I'm sure many will strongly disagree with that.
❤
Honestly, I know Kristi might’ve seemed more artistic or whatever, but considering Midori nailed the jump Kristi missed and only fell on the triple axel (which, I remind you, she was one of the two only women EVER to have attempted in competition) which she added later to her program anyways in the more challenging second half, I think ranking Midori underneath Kristi in this program is a criminal outrage.
Not really. Midori didn't hit her 3-3 combination which Kristi did. Kristi was a better all around skater; while her jumps had nowhere near Midori's size, she was quite precise technically and she had much better musicality and presentation. Something that mattered back then, hence the artistic score being the tie breaker.
@@slsl5243 Right. Even with throwing in the second triple axel, it doesn't erase the fall on the first triple axel for Ito, nor does it make up for the fact that she had no triple-triple. The downside of Ito's explosive jumps is that all that energy can result in a sort of messiness and lack of polish or finesse if it's not properly controlled. We also can't forget Ito's fall in her SP. Considering both programs taken together, Kristi certainly should have won. 5.9's for a LP with no triple-triple and a fall, even with the triple axel, was too high for Ito here.
I dunno. I don’t blame the judges for throwing out a 5.9 on the technical side. Landing the first triple axel in Olympic history and doing it after she missed the first one, 3+ minutes into the program, she can have that 5.9 from me. 😂 As a program overall, it didn’t deserve that, but that was an astounding feat of athleticism that made the overall impact of the program so much more powerful than it would have been. But dang, I can’t think of a single competition in Midori’s career besides this where she didn’t land a triple lutz. Even with Kristi’s mistakes, hers was clearly the superior program. Even if Midori had won the long program, it wouldn’t have mattered because she was in 4th after the short.
Your a criminal outrage .she fell .she lacks artistry.she had no triple triple combo ..Christy gad a triple lutz triple two ..she fell in the short.she got higher marks fir the Long program you b9zo
Her coach clearly wants to be Jutta Müller
Aside from her gorgeous skating, I love the music can someone tell me what it is? 3:09
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 2
Could someone help me out... I don’t totally understand how the short program factored into the old 6.0 scoring system. Was it about the score or the placement? In 2002, the commentators say over and over and over again that Sarah Hughes, 4th after the short program, could not win gold unless both she and someone else beat Michelle Kwan, who was in first. Was the case the same here for Midori Ito and Kristi Yamaguchi? Scott Hamilton does say near the end of the program that there was no way she could win gold, but was that because she fell or because of the scoring system? Kristi seems to be watching intently as if maybe Midori could win, and they don’t celebrate until after the marks are read.
Midori fell on her triple lutz during the short program, which counts for 1/3 of the final rankings. She placed 4th in the short, whereas Kristi placed first. The long program counts for 2/3, so even if Midori won the free skate, Kristi probably only had to place 2nd to beat her. Judges will then vote for first place based on the scores they gave to each skater. So to answer your question, the placement and scores both play a factor, but it’s mostly the placement that’s more important
Was the second jump combination a trippe lutz and a douple toe loop? I am not sure if I see right the first was a double lutz and a triple toe loop!
It's 2Lz-3T!
👍👍👍💚👍👍👍😘😘😘
That Great Britain judge...
3:36
Mi Dorito 😂
Wer der total blinde Preisrichter aus GB der nur 5,6 Punkte gab, ein totaler Vollposten.
let's be honest! midori's records and achievements are better than olympic gold
hyacinthoides Amen.
AND She was still skating just a couple of years ago!
She will be remembered and talked about forever in figure skating history
@@mikegarcia7986 She is coming back too. Based on how big her 1A is, she probably can still do a 2A at like 53.
The olympic gold isn't everything, her jumps and records (triple axel, triple combination and more) are amazing
the judges brought her down her entire career regarding the artistic. ridiculous. IT'S A SPORT!!!!!! NOBODY JUMPED LIKE HER…NO ONE HAD THE SPEED LIKE HER.
I liked her too, a lot, but Tonya Harding had the jumps and the speed too.
@@vaskylark Harding had the speed skating across the surface, but she rarely achieved the same flow (speed) out of a jump like Midori Ito. Harding’s triple axel didn’t have the same distance and speed out - that’s why Harding has never landed a triple axel triple toe loop combo, while Ito had. Harding’s axel also was always shakier, with the rotational axis always tilted. That’s why she was unable to achieve the same jump consistency as Ito. So I would say M J’s statement is correct that nobody jumped like Ito.
@@eyen30 I watched Midori Ito too back in the day. I watched all of them. She was powerful skater too. I know she was great, but I was talking about Tonya's skating, not Ito's, who despite power and speed and jumps was lacking in artistry in my opinion. She was fantastic don't get me wrong but I preferred watching Tonya skate. I loved Kristi Yamagucci too. She's probably my all time fave and best all around and she couldn't do the triple axel at all.
@@eyen30 Tonya's had more height though.
Both women were phenomenal.
@@eyen30 i think Ito being a lot shorter than Tonya had an effect on her jumps being more consistent. She didn't jump as high as Tonya though.
A triple axel in the 2nd half of the program? Amazing! The current ladies Olympic Champion doesn't even attempt that (and she backloads her routines).
God, what a brilliant program. I absolutely love it when skaters throw in extra jumps to make up for earlier mistakes. I know the purists hate it but it shows insane courage and competitive instincts to me. Todd Eldridge and Oksana Baiul also did this (threw in an extra, unchoreographed jump because they knew they needed it). I kind of wish she'd taken the gold with this, although she did have a fair few other errors. ALL HAIL MIDORI ITO, THE GREATEST JUMPER OF ALL TIME.
She seemed to have even more energy at the end of her performance! I remember being so amazed that she threw in that 2nd triple axel right at the end & was so happy she landed it!
Without a doubt, when Midori was in the zone, no one could touch her. Not Kristi or anyone else. She was a revelation. Such a shame the Olympic pressure from her own Federation did her in.
No as much the Japanese Fed. as the Japanese media. The media just hounded her every move at every moment. Under such a magnifying glass, it just took something like Surya Bonaly's back flips in practice during her run through that startled her and broke her concentration.
@@3Axel1996 sigh. i wonder if Surya did that on purpose or if her mom ordered her to do that. If that wasn't done, would Midori have kept the 3 axel in the short? It's just what ifs now unfortunately.
@@GaryGarlic She and Tonya should've never put a triple axel in the short, it's way too risky. If they fall, they lose credit for the required element. They should've gone for something slightly easier, so even if they fail the triple axel in the long, it wouldn't have been as detrimental
Are you crazy! Kristi was busting everyone’s heads!
I know , right ? She was amazing and classy.
I can't watch her retrial of 3A without being deeply moved. Many thanks to her courage!
Midori Ito set the bar. I LOVE Mao Asada but without Midori Ito there would never have been any other Japanese figure skaters emulating her. She is a God in the annals of skating.
Rick Francis, perfectly stated. And without Midori, Tonya never would have attempted a triple axel. She saw Midori do the 3A at the 1990 NHK trophy and decided she needed one as well which Tonya landed at the 1991 US nationals in Minneapolis.
The official Olympic Channel has published 30 one minute videos of 30 impossible moments showing superlative efforts of athletes at the Olympic Games. Number 11 is Midori's incredible triple axel at Albertville. That says it all.
Her program seemed so much more energetic towards the end after she landed that unexpected triple axel.
Every time I watch this, I almost want to cry. What a courage.
The British judge gave her 5.6 when she gave Yamaguchi 5.8 for technical merit???
kev7978 the english judge has always been surprising in her marks lol...
Well she's dead now so won't have to worry about nasty judging from her.
@@cvcfoundation8413 that’s funny 😂
@@jimmyseraphin7314 Yah taht judge is so weird. She gave more technical marks to nancy kerrigan (popped 2 jumps) than midori ito wtf?
I saw this commentary used to describe this skate on another video: "flawed, desperate and unspeakably thrilling". I cannot think of a better way to describe it. I found the last minute of her skate to be so riveting you cannot take your eyes off her. I don't believe anyone has ever skated better than Midori's last minute of her Albertville Olympics skate.
She is the cutest skater ever! I loved when she had a potentially serious accident and jumped out of the ring, and then after her performance, she went over to see if the camera man was okay. What a classy woman!
She is Japan’s pride✊✊✊
Looking at the scores for technical merit, I have to assume the British judge wasn't paying attention and thought the completed triple axel was only a double. There's no way that was a 5.6 -- not even with a fall on the first triple axel attempt.
To be fair, I think this British judge was always harsh on her marks, so a 5.6 from her was good. What mattered was where she placed you relative to others.
a lady doing a triple axel in the second part of the free programm?? WAOUHHHH!!!
Jimmy Seraphin triple axel means nothing if u skate like u weigh a thousand pounds. Guess what nancy wins. Hehehe
Harvey Chadbourne Nancy came in third dumbass Midori beat her
A woman, not a lady.
This program is beautiful!
Midori also created a lot more drama and excitement in her skating than Kirsti did, at least for me.
love that she comes back fierce after her fall
shihlin1 makes a good point. Kristi showed the rivalry a lot more than Midori did. I saw an interview before the Albertville olympics discussing the ladies figure skating. the "expert" being interviewed touted how Kristi can win the gold because of her superior artistry and lines over Midori. But then the expert finally admitted that if both Midori and Kristi skate clean programs, Midori would win because of her superior technical abilities and the triple axle. And Kristie always knew this. Hence the worried look on her face whenever Midori skated.
This was the best line up of athletic skaters. Ito, Bonaly, Harding all in one program.
Wonder how well she would have done under modern scoring system?
This is an excerpt from an interview Kristi gave before the Albertville Olympics, probably in 1991 while she was practicing to try and learn the triple axel. "Midori Is an incredible skater. I really respect her skating a lot. And sometimes you know I wish I could have as much excitement, explosion as she does in her skating."
Kristi only did 3 different toe jumps landing 5 altogether. Midori did 3 edge jumps and 2 toe jumps landing 5 altogether. Midori's was the more well rounded program and a 3 axel after 3 minutes should get a 7.5 just like what Scott said. ! 5.6 from GBR?!?!!
Kristi was the only one with a 3-3 combination.
3:36 a thing of beauty
素晴らしい
Legendary!! When will your fave do something this iconic..two triple axel attempts, landing the second one at the end of the program?? Truly amazing. Midori Ito is awesome
Nobody ever mentions the subtle yet very obvious rivalry between Midori and Kristi in the early 90s. I see countless skates of Midori and Kristi always has this worried look on her face. What made this rivalry so interesting was the fact Yamaguchi is of Japanese descent too.
5.6??? really?
BuckHollywood right I'm like 5.6? You took the words right out of my mouth.
ＢＧＲ Ｗhy？
Midori, Tonya, and Surya all deserved better and more recognition. They were the "true" figure skaters. They cared more about being an athlete than looking pretty; something super hard to do when you're in a sexist sport like figure skating.
Midori got the Silver and had to "apologize" to her home country Japan for "letting them down".
It wasn't like that. She returned home to a hero's welcome.
Midori's artestry, line and presentation never really equalled her jumping.
Not true at all.
I'm glad we agree to disagree.
Indeed we do. She wasn't dainty like Kristi or Nancy. That's what makes her stand out. Not to mention, the rest of the ladies had to up their technical content because of Midori. They knew that they couldn't rely on their artistry alone, especially when she was consistently landing triple axels and various triple-triple combinations. Hell, Midori was STILL doing triple axels & triple-triples as a professional.
Best female jumper in the last 40+ years. I still prefer her triple lutz-triple toe combination more than Kristi's.
+Troy Turner I prefer Tonya's triple axel and triple lutz, even more than any male staker.
Kristi definitely had better line and posture but in terms of choreography, i would give the edge to Midori's programs.
I loved watching Midori Ito in her program and I just love the classical music accompanying it; but my problem is I don't know who the composer is and what the piece is called. Does anyone know? I appreciate it if you do :)
Denise Lau Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor
Two of best jumpers in the world by miles, both didn't do well technically: Harding and Ito. Strange. Is it just Olympics nerves. What did both skaters say about this competition after it was done?
i know midori apologised for getting the silver though she was told she didn't have to. from what i have seen from later of harding she seemed bitter about coming up short. she said in 1992 that she didn't want to go to the 94 games if she won a medal in 92 and her unsuccessful attempt at the podium resulted probably with tonya going back to her old coach and i guess became the start of the nancy vs. tonya rivalry. i know in the 2006 documentary about tonya she goes on about how she lost by 0.1 of a point and things. it's sad because if i recall she was landing triple axels in practice.
+hyacinthoides once again we agree to disagree. Her artistry and presentation were not up to par with her jumping and when that triple axel escaped her it was a wrap. Without it she would have not that medal in '92, but I do give Midori credit she and Kristi made everybody start jumping.
Weird Olympics. So many falls.
Midori has more pizazz but Kristi is a much better competitor.
Every skater has their own style. That is true. But there are other more objective elements to artistry like posture, line, choreography. I think Kristi was superior in those elements.
I thought her program here is better than Kristi's ... Kristi has superior artistry yes, but her program is kinda one note. It's pretty all the way through and kinda boring. Midori Ito's program is engaging and fun - you can't wait to see what she does next.
If she hadn't fell in the short program she might have won gold
I guess it depends on how you measure artistry. I wouldn't say Kristi was un-artistic but her programs seemed a bit soulless to me. I found Midori much more engaing to watch. But I much prefer Midori before she changed her style. She was trying too hard to fit a certain image of what artistry was.
ToMaters Agree! Love this girl and her skating sooooo much!
Dorothy Hamill, the gold medalist in 1976 summed up Kristie and Midori's skating perfectly. She said "Kristie was graceful and musical but Ito was something special. When Midori skates I am on the edge of my seat."
I dont understand in technical merit midori landed a triple salchow which kristi fell on midori also did a triple loop which kristi doubled what it doesn't make sense !!!!!!!!!!😱😰😣😒😢
I remember watching these Olympics and I felt that not 1 of them deserved a Gold medal. Not 1 skated clean it good to deserve a Gold
I strongly disagree with both of those claims, but to each his/her own.
anyone knows the music piece?
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 2
Thank you so much!!!
Oprah could have done this with her eyes closed.
I think this music is what's causing Midori to skate badly, it's so morose and depressing. Midori is a bouncy, jubilant skater, her coach should've picked music that suited Midori's style. BAD mistake !!
over 20 years later and Midori's Japanese fans are still saying she should've won. artistically I don't think she was better than Kristi. even the Japanese judge gave Kristi higher artistic score. she was like a female version of Brian Boitano who was a master at artistry. too many fans only focus on jumping abilities but it's the artistry that makes figure skating beautiful--how they move in perfect harmony with the music.
dhom100 this isn't ice capades. hate to break it to you, but female athletes should be athletic. figure skating should be about skill, not art.
I think you are one of the few who gets it. Artistry mattered much more in that period, and was in fact the tie breaker score.
she fell and her artistry is horrendous! Tonya Harding should have been bronze.
lol what.....
I love Tonya too. But she also fell and couldn't succeed triple axle but Midori did it.