Mao Asada

Okay, the triple axel. That's where my whole heart lives with Mao Asada. Barely anyone in women's skating could land it, and she kept throwing it down on the biggest stages, year after year, like she had something to prove to nobody but herself. That contrast gets me every time: she looks soft and gentle, but inside there's pure steel. The Sochi story is the one I can't shake, the rough day, the tears, and then a free skate the next morning that was just transcendent, the kind of performance that makes winning feel beside the point. To me she was never about medals, she was about believing in your own program right to the final note. And honestly, the fact that she stuck around skating after retiring, producing her own ice shows, tells you all you need to know about how much she loves it.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Mao Asada is a Japanese figure skater born on September 25, 1990, in Meito Ward, Nagoya, Aichi. She made her senior debut in 2005 and went on to win the World Figure Skating Championships three times (2008, 2010, 2014), earning a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Renowned for her mastery of the triple axel at the highest level of women's skating, she retired from competition in April 2017 and has since produced and starred in her own professional ice shows.

Name (English)

Mao Asada

Name (Japanese)

浅田真央

Reading

あさだまお

Born

September 25, 1990 (age 36)

Origin

Meito Ward, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

Height

163 cm

Occupation

Figure Skater / Professional Skater / Ice Show Producer

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Libra / Horse

Blood type

B

Agency

IMG Japan

Agency history

Kinoshita Group (co-founded the Kinoshita MAO Academy)

Active years

2005–2017 (Competitive), 2017–present (Professional)

Elementary school

Nagoya Municipal Takabari Elementary School

Junior high

Nagoya Municipal Takabaridai Junior High School

High school

Chukyo University Attached Chukyo High School

University

Chukyo University, Faculty of Physical Education, Department of Physical Education (graduated 2015)

Debut

Senior debut in 2005; won the Grand Prix Final, defeating reigning world champion Irina Slutskaya at age 15

Awards & achievements

• 2005 Grand Prix Final Champion
• 2006 Japan Figure Skating Championships Champion (first title; six titles total)
• 2008 World Figure Skating Championships Champion (1st title)
• 2008 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships Champion (three titles total)
• 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Silver Medal
• 2010 World Figure Skating Championships Champion (2nd title)
• 2013 Grand Prix Final Champion (4th career title)
• 2014 World Figure Skating Championships Champion (3rd title; first Japanese skater to win three times)

Timeline

1. 1995Started figure skating at age 5
2. 2005Senior debut; won the Grand Prix Final at age 15
3. 2008Won the World Championships for the first time, becoming World Champion
4. 2010Won the silver medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics; became the first woman in history to land three triple axels at a single Olympic Games
5. 2010Won the World Championships for the second time
6. 2014Competed at the Sochi Winter Olympics, finishing 6th overall
7. 2014Won the World Championships for the third time, a first for a Japanese skater; set the then world-record short program score (78.66)
8. 2017Announced retirement from competitive skating on April 10
9. 2018Launched the Mao Asada Thanks Tour ice show
10. 2022Produced and starred in the ice show BEYOND

Spouse

Unmarried

Siblings

Mai Asada (older sister; former figure skater and television personality)

Hobbies

• Jigsaw puzzles
• LEGO
• Cooking

Specialties

• Triple axel (at the highest level in women's skating)
• Artistic expression

Filmography / notable works

• Official sitehttp://mao-asada.jp/
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/maoasada2509/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B5%85%E7%94%B0%E7%9C%9F%E5%A4%AE
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q234577

Tags

• Figure Skating
• From Aichi
• Triple Axel
• Olympic Silver Medalist
• Three-time World Champion
• IMG Japan
• Professional Skater
• Nagoya

Last updated

November 2, 2026

Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.