Ladies and the triple Axel

[gsk8]

Japan's Midori Ito, the 1989 World champion and 1992 Olympic silver medalist, was the first lady to land a triple Axel in international competition at the 1988 NHK Trophy.



Which ladies are working on triple Axels and who is your favorite?

Other firsts:

• Tonya Harding (USA) was the second woman to land a triple Axel jump in competition at 1991 Skate America. She was also the first woman to successfully execute two triple Axels in a single competition, and the first to complete a triple Axel in combination with a double toe loop.
• Ludmila Nelidina (RUS) became the first European lady to land a triple Axel in competition at 2002 Skate America.
• Yukari Nakano (JPN) became the third lady to land a triple Axel at an ISU sanctioned competition at 2002 Skate America.
• Kimmie Meissner (USA) became the second American lady to land a triple Axel in competition at the 2005 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
• Mao Asada (JPN) was the first junior ladies competitor in history to land the triple Axel jump successfully, at the 2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final. This feat was next accomplished by fellow Japanese skater Rika Kihira who landed the jump at the 2016 JGP Ljubljana.
• Mao Asada (JPN) made history at the 2008-09 Grand Prix Final when she became the first woman to land two triple Axels in the same program in an ISU competition. She was also the first woman to land three triple Axels in the same competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
• Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (RUS) became the first female skater to land four triple jumps in a short program (triple Axel, triple Lutz, and a triple toe-triple toe combination) at 2015 Worlds.
• Rika Kihira (JPN) became the first lady to land a triple Axel combination (triple Axel-triple toe) in an ISU international event at the 2017-18 Junior Grand Prix Final.
• Mirai Nagasu (USA) landed the triple Axel jump at the 2017 Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, Russia. She was also the first female athlete from the United States ever to land the triple Axel jump during an Olympic competition, at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
• Alysa Liu (USA) landed the triple Axel jump at the 2018 CS Asian Figure Skating Trophy, making her the youngest female athlete in history to land the jump successfully in international competition, at 12 years old.

 

[trains]

Gabby Daleman and Alaine Chartrand of Canada are both trying triple axels. I've actually seen Alaine's and it's pretty close. She has tried it in two competitions now and fallen. Last weekend the one in the warmup was the best attempt. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets it this year. Don't know anything about Osmond though.

Here is a YT video with snippets.

 

[Meoima]

Gaby Daleman and Alaine Chartrand of Canada are both trying triple axels. I've actually seen Alaine's and it's pretty close. She has tried it in two competitions now and fallen. Last weekend the one in the warmup was the best attempt. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets it this year. Don't know anything about Osmond though.

oh, don't tell me 3A for ladies will be a trend in the next quad! So amazing to know!

 

[ice coverage]

Other ladies working on a triple Axel:

- Mirai Nagasu

- Amber Glenn​

 

[Meoima]

I hope there will be a day when 3A is the norm among ladies. I just simply love this jump more than the quads.

 

[chuckm]

The 3a was once consistent for Mao Asada when she was very young (before her growth spurt), and she struggled with it after she grew taller and filled out, often with disastrous consequences. She was able to get it back at about a 40% consistency level for the 2014 Olympic season. In the past couple of seasons even when her 3a failed, her exceptional artistry and stellar reputation kept her PCS scores high enough to keep her high on the podium in every competition.

But the 3a will probably never be consistent for any of the ladies mentioned above, and none of them have Mao's championship reputation to back them up when the 3a fails. For them, trying the 3a will always be a risk, and landing it occasionally may not be enough of a reward.

 

[TheCzar]

Always's a possibility, and you know, I've never known anybody else apart from Ito, Harding and Asada to have such a personal connection to the 3A that I can't help but feel like its blasphemous for the other girls to try and go for it to try and just to add it to their repertoire. But that's just me. As well with quads (well landed ones anyway), I think a well executed 3A will have to be from a lady who's either really gifted or a really hard worker. Realistically, unless a lady from the next ten years comes out with a consistent quad jump right from junior level, the 3A will always be the final frontier, and perhaps not this cycle but the cycle post-2018, we may start seeing results.

I have a feeling though that it may be either a Japanese or a Russian lady will do it. As far as the field goes these days- they're about as gutsy as they come.

 

[Selene]

Gaby Daleman and Alaine Chartrand of Canada are both trying triple axels. I've actually seen Alaine's and it's pretty close. She has tried it in two competitions now and fallen. Last weekend the one in the warmup was the best attempt. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets it this year. Don't know anything about Osmond though.

Both of Alaine's 3A attempts were downgraded by the technical callers at her competitions (meaning, she got credit for bad double axels.) I could see her dropping the jump if her attempts continue to be unsuccessful. As much as I would like to see ladies push the technical envelope, Alaine doesn't strike me as having enough power to do a 3A. I don't think her 2A is good enough for her to be able to fully rotate a 3A.

 

[Crystallize]

Always's a possibility, and you know, I've never known anybody else apart from Ito, Harding and Asada to have such a personal connection to the 3A that I can't help but feel like its blasphemous for the other girls to try and go for it to try and just to add it to their repertoire. But that's just me. As well with quads (well landed ones anyway), I think a well executed 3A will have to be from a lady who's either really gifted or a really hard worker. Realistically, unless a lady from the next ten years comes out with a consistent quad jump right from junior level, the 3A will always be the final frontier, and perhaps not this cycle but the cycle post-2018, we may start seeing results.

I have a feeling though that it may be either a Japanese or a Russian lady will do it. As far as the field goes these days- they're about as gutsy as they come.

I definitely don't think we'll see any new girls going at the 3A, like those three you mentioned, anytime soon. It is my most favorite triple jump, so I, personally, still hope that it can become the norm. Maybe a few decades from now.

 

[Sandpiper]

The 3A seems like a more realistic goal than the quad. The problem is, the current rules are very lenient on falls but very harsh on URs. Doesn't create much incentive for women to go for the harder jumps, imo, since their issue is UR more than fall. Mao has gotten a few calls that I'm not so sure about... If we just count falls as failures, then Mao's 3A success actually isn't bad.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

As pointed out earlier the success rate of ladies landing 3a has never been that high. Unless you can make up for the error caused by a bad 3a like Mao could...it's hard to imagine a whole lot of ladies being able to afford the risk. None come to mind right now so if they bring one....it better be reliable or it may end up more harmful than beneficial.

As a side note...Daleman launches her jumps with a ton of height. I'm going go back to watch some of her programs to study her Axel technique and see if it looks good. I wouldn't be surprised with her height if she is capable of doing it. I haven't seen enogh of her to make a conclusion yet admittedly.

 

[karne]

If Liza's back heals, I'd love to see her try the 3A again. Her jumps are so big and beautiful and her technique is so good.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

If Liza's back heals, I'd love to see her try the 3A again. Her jumps are so big and beautiful and her technique is so good.

I'm afraid with her back problems this may in fact be a bad idea for her. As pointed out in other threads how a Beillman can cause back injury so too can the launching and twisting of a 3a tweak ones body to a breaking point but I do agree...it would be nice to see Tuk do it. That's just the fan in me though I think.

Is it a coincidence that some of the girls named as wanting to try these jumps are the ones getting injured frequently? I don't know but it can't be ruled out entirely.

 

[Sandpiper]

I dunno. Mao seems to be fine. Also, wanting to do =/= really gave it a serious attempt. I know Liza did give it a serious attempt (in fact, she had a perfectly good 3A in the past), but what about the other girls?

Maybe it's a combination of the jumps and spins--girls with explosive jumps often don't have the flexibility for difficult spin positions, so they pick up injuries there? Mao is the exception because she's fairly flexible and thus had less problems with the spins.

 

[minze]

Leave that jump alone, concentrate on doing 3-3 the reward for the jump is not high enough considering how hard it is. Also judges nitpick that jump

 

[chuckm]

Daleman launches her jumps with a ton of height. I'm going go back to watch some of her programs to study her Axel technique and see if it looks good. I wouldn't be surprised with her height if she is capable of doing it. I haven't seen enogh of her to make a conclusion yet admittedly.

Yes, Daleman launches her jumps with huge height---but watch the rest, the rotation, the landing, wild. The launch is only the first part of the jump. If the rest is not as well controlled, it will not be successful. Daleman's lutzes and flips are often barely under control, and when she goes for the 3/3, it often fails.

 

[IcyEdges]

Has anyone mentioned Gracie Gold yet?

 

[wanpe]

Has anyone mentioned Gracie Gold yet?

Is she also practising triple axel?

 

[chuckm]

AFAIK, only in a harness.

 

[Selene]

Has anyone mentioned Gracie Gold yet?

No chance. Her 2A is really poor & barely leaves the ice.