Midori Ito facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Midori Ito
Ito in 1989
Personal information
Country represented	Japan
Born	(1969-08-13) 13 August 1969 (age 55) Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Height	1.45 m
Retired	1992
Medal record Figure skating: Ladies' singles Representing  Japan Winter Olympics Silver 1992 Albertville Ladies' singles World Championships Gold 1989 Paris Ladies' singles Silver 1990 Halifax Ladies' singles World Junior Championships Bronze 1984 Sapporo Ladies' singles

Midori Ito (伊藤みどり, Itō Midori, born 13 August 1969) is a famous Japanese figure skater. She is known for her amazing jumps. Midori won the World Championship in 1989. She also won a silver medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics. Midori was the first woman to land a triple-triple jump combination. She was also the first to land a triple Axel in a competition. At the 1988 Calgary Olympics, she was the first woman to land seven triple jumps in her free skating. Many people think she is one of the best figure skaters ever.

Midori Ito's Amazing Skating Career

Midori Ito started skating when she was just four years old. She skated at a rink in Nagoya, Japan. On her very first day, she met Machiko Yamada, who became her coach for her whole career. Midori landed her first triple jump when she was only 8 years old! When she was 10, her parents divorced, and she went to live with her coach.

Early Competitions and Nickname

Midori first competed internationally at the 1981 World Junior Championships. She was 20th in the compulsory figures part of the event. But she won the free skating with impressive jumps like a triple loop and a triple salchow. She also did two triple toe loop combinations. Overall, she finished 8th. At this event, 11-year-old Midori was very small. She was only 3 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 53 pounds. Because of her small size and powerful jumps, people called her the "Jumping Flea."

At the 1982 World Junior Championships, Midori won both the short program and free skating. But her low scores in compulsory figures kept her from winning a medal. She finished 6th overall. In her free skating, she landed a triple flip and a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination. She even landed a triple Lutz in the exhibition.

Breaking Records with Jumps

Midori broke her ankle in 1983, so she missed some competitions. In late 1983, she made her senior international debut. This competition, called the Ennia Challenge Cup, did not include compulsory figures. She finished second to Katarina Witt, who later won the Olympics. Midori's free skating included six triple jumps! She also did a double loop-triple loop combination in her short program.

At the 1984 World Junior Championships, she won the short program and free skating. But again, her low scores in compulsory figures meant she finished third overall. Midori also competed at the 1984 World Championships, where she finished 7th.

Midori won her first national championship in Japan in 1985. But she broke her ankle again and could not compete at the World Championships that year. After this, she started trying even more triple jumps in her free skating. From 1985 to 1987, Midori tried seven triple jumps in her free skating. These included a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, a Lutz, a flip, a loop, a Salchow in combination, and another solo Salchow.

Olympic and World Success

Midori finished 5th at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. In Calgary, she did a double loop-triple loop in her short program. In her free skating, she landed seven triple jumps! These included a Lutz, a flip, a double Axel-half loop-triple Salchow combination, a loop, a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, and another Salchow. She received very high technical scores from the judges. Her seven successful triple jumps were two more than any other skater even tried. Some experts believe her low scores in compulsory figures kept her from winning an Olympic medal.

Later in 1988, Midori perfected the triple Axel. She had been working on this jump since she was a teenager. She landed it at a local competition in Japan. Then, she became the first woman to land it in an international competition at the 1988 NHK Trophy. She did it again at the World Championships in 1989. This meant Midori was the first woman to land all six possible triple jumps in a World competition: Axel, Lutz, flip, loop, Salchow, and toe loop.

At the 1989 World Championships, she was 6th after the compulsory figures. But she made up for it with a perfect free skating. She even received five perfect 6.0 scores for her technical skill! Her win was the first world title in figure skating for an Asian skater.

Continued Achievements and Challenges

At the start of the 1989–90 season, Midori made history again at the 1989 NHK Trophy. She received a rare perfect 6.0 for technical skill and a 6.0 for artistic impression from one judge. She also landed seven triples, including the triple Axel. At the 1990 World Championships, Midori was 10th after the compulsory figures. But she placed first in both the short program and free skating. She won the silver medal, coming in second to Jill Trenary. She landed seven triple jumps in her free skating, including the triple Axel. After this season, compulsory figures were removed from competitions. Midori said she would miss them as part of her training, but not in the actual events. In June 1990, she was invited to meet Emperor Akihito.

Midori often had sore knees because of all her jumps. In February 1991, she had surgery on her throat. In March, at the 1991 World Championships, Midori accidentally bumped into another skater during practice. She bruised her hip and foot. In her short program, she fell into an opening in the rink boards for a television camera. But she was back on the ice in seconds. She finished 4th at this event.

At the 1991 Grand Prix International de Paris, Midori beat Kristi Yamaguchi. She landed a triple Axel and five other triple jumps in her free skating. During warm-ups, she even landed a triple Axel-triple toe loop jump combination!

Midori Ito on an Azerbaijani postage stamp

The 1992 Winter Olympics did not include compulsory figures. This was good for Midori, as these had caused her to lose points in the past. She planned to do a triple Axel combined with a double toe loop in her short program. But she changed it to a triple Lutz combination. She fell on her triple Lutz jump and placed fourth in the short program. Some say this change happened because another skater, Surya Bonaly, did a backflip very close to Midori during practice. Midori was almost hit and seemed shaken. This might have made her decide not to do the triple Axel in her short program.

In her free skating, Midori tried a triple Axel but fell. However, she bravely tried it again at the end of her program and landed it perfectly! She became the first woman to land a triple Axel in the Olympics. She won the silver medal. Midori later became a professional skater. She performed in ice shows in Japan and brought the triple Axel to professional skating for the first time. She briefly returned to competitions in 1995–96, but did not have the same success.

Legacy and Return to Skating

At her best, Midori Ito performed jumps that were as difficult as those done by top male skaters. She was the first woman to do a triple-triple jump combination. She was also the first to land a triple Axel. In 1990, fellow skater Jill Trenary said she was "in awe of how high she jumps." Scott Hamilton, another famous skater, said in 1990 that "it will be 50 years before we see anything like Midori Ito again." Her amazing triple jumps, including the triple Axel, started "a new era in women's skating."

Midori Ito had the honor of lighting the Olympic Cauldron at the opening ceremonies of the 1998 Winter Olympics. She was dressed to represent the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu.

Midori returned to competitive figure skating in 2011. She competed in the ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition. She placed second in her category, Ladies' Masters Elite II. She finished second again the next year. In 2013, she won the title by a large margin. In 2024, Midori won the Masters Elite Women III + IV Artistic Free Skating category at the ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition.

Results

Records and Achievements

Amateur Records

• First World Champion from an Asian country (1989).
• First woman to land a triple-triple jump combination (1981).
• First woman to land a double loop-triple loop combination (in the short program) (1983).
• First woman to land five different triple jumps in competition (1983).
• First woman to land a triple Axel in competition (1988).
• First woman to land six different triple jumps in competition (1989).
• First woman to land a triple Axel in the Olympics (1992).

Awards and Honors

• Inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame (2003).

Triple Axel Jumps in Competition

Midori Ito successfully landed 18 triple Axels in competitions.

Media and Books

DVDs About Midori Ito

• 伊藤みどりのフィギュアスケート・ライフ努力編 (2006) – ASIN B000O77KHK
• 伊藤みどりのフィギュアスケート・ライフ人生編 (2007) – ASIN B000OI1BXS
• 伊藤みどりのフィギュアスケート・ライフ (2007) – ASIN B000SB2ZT0

Books About Midori Ito

• タイム・パッセージ―時間旅行（1993）- ISBN: 978-4-314-10081-6
• 伊藤みどり物語 (1992) – ISBN: 978-4-87208-036-0
• 氷上の宝石―伊藤みどり写真集 (1993) – ISBN: 978-4-317-80036-2

In Other Media

• Midori Ito is briefly shown in the movie I, Tonya (2017). Actress Fi Dieter played her in a small, uncredited role.

See also

In Spanish: Midori Itō para niños