Mao Asada

I like Mao Asada; she’s a nice young skater. Last year, she was too young to go to the Olympics, even though she won the Grand Prix and beat all three Olympic medalists. I guess in Japan that caused some controversy and discussion about changing the rules about age so that she could be eligible for the Olympics. I think I agree with the rule. The Olympics are so stressful; I’m not sure someone younger than fifteen can handle the stress. That may seem contradictory, since younger skaters can compete in other international competitions, but the Olympics is a whole other situation. As far as Mao is concerned, though, she didn’t seem to suffer from it.

Mao does seem to suffer, however, from the same thing as Emily Hughes: comparisons with her older sister. It’s worse for Mao, though, since her sister Mai is competing at the same time. Like Emily, though, both Asada sisters seem to handle it well.