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Miki Ando

Ando at the 2009 World Championships.
Personal information
Full name:	Miki Ando
Country represented:	Japan
Date of birth:	December 18, 1987 (1987-12-18) (age 22)
Place of birth:	Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture
Height:	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Coach:	Nikolai Morozov Yuko Monna
Former coach:	Carol Heiss Jenkins Nobuo Sato Kumiko Sato
Choreographer:	Nikolai Morozov Kenji Miyamoto Lea Ann Miller
Skating club:	Chukyo University
ISU personal best scores
Combined total:	195.09 2007 Worlds
Short program:	67.98 2007 Worlds
Free skate:	127.11 2007 Worlds

Miki Ando (安藤 美姫, Andō Miki^?, born December 18, 1987) is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2007 World Champion, the 2004 & 2005 Japanese National Champion and the 2004 World Junior Champion.

Ando is the first and only female skater to complete a quadruple jump successfully in competition. She accomplished this at the 2001-2002 Junior Grand Prix Final.

As of February 2010, Ando is ranked 5th in the World.^[1]

Personal life

Ando was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1987. In 2006, she entered Chukyo University in her hometown.^[2]

Career

Early career

She began skating in 1996 at the age of eight.^[3] She soon turned to Yuko Monna whose students at that time included Mao Asada and Mai Asada. Beginning in the 2000-2001 season, she was coached by Nobuo Sato, and her program already featured a triple lutz-triple loop.

In the 2001-2002 season she won the Japan Junior Figure Skating Championships, as well as the 2001-2002 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. She won the bronze medal at the 2001-2002 Japan Figure Skating Championships and the bronze medal at the 2002 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Ando made history the next season at the 2002-2003 Junior Grand Prix Final, when she landed a quadruple salchow and became the first female skater to land a quadruple jump. She remains the only lady ever to perform this feat. That season, she defended her national Junior crown, and won silver at the 2003 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Ando was prominent in 2003-2004, winning the 2003-2004 Junior Grand Prix Final, winning her third consecutive junior national title, and winning the 2004 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. She also won the 2003-2004 Japan Figure Skating Championships and placed 4th at the 2004 World Figure Skating Championships.

Ando at the 2004 World Figure Skating Championships.

The 2004-2005 season was her first full season as a senior skater. She won two medals on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating and qualified for the 2004-2005 Grand Prix Final, where she placed fourth. She won a second national title at the 2004-2005 Japan Figure Skating Championships and placed sixth at the 2005 World Figure Skating Championships.

2005-2006 season

Ando relocated to the United States to train with Carol Heiss Jenkins in preparation for the 2005-2006 season which included the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turino. The season began well, when she won the silver medal at the 2005 Cup of Russia. She finished 4th at the 2005 NHK Trophy, and qualified for the 2005-2006 Grand Prix Final, where she placed 4th. At the 2005-2006 Japan Figure Skating Championships, she placed 6th.

Ando was named to the Japanese Olympic team. At the Olympics, she placed 15th, after falling three times in her free skate, once on her quad attempt. She was not placed on the team to the World Championships the following month.

2006-2007 season

Ando changed coaches again for the 2006-2007 season. Training with her new coach, Nikolai Morozov, Ando made a strong showing in the 2006-2007 season, winning the 2006 Skate America and the silver medal at the 2006 Trophee Eric Bompard. She qualified for the 2006-2007 Grand Prix Final in Saint Petersburg. At the Grand Prix Final, she placed 5th. It was later revealed that Ando, along with the rest of the Japanese team, competed while suffering with a stomach flu.

At the 2006-2007 Japan Figure Skating Championships, Ando dislocated her shoulder while performing a spin in her free skate, but skated on to place second overall behind Mao Asada. At the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships, Ando placed second in both the short program and the free skate, and scored a total of 195.09 points to win the World Championship by less than one point over Asada. Ando set new personal bests in both the short program and free skate, and a new personal best total score. She was named one of Vogue Japan's "Women of the Year for 2007,"^[4] and received six other awards including the "most valuable mention" from the Japanese Olympic Committee.^[5][6]

2007-2008 season

In the 2007-2008 season, Ando won the silver medal at the 2007 Skate America. At the 2007 NHK Trophy, she fell three times and finished 4th. She did not qualify for the 2007-2008 Grand Prix Final.

At the 2007-2008 Japan Figure Skating Championships, she won the free skate to place 2nd overall, again behind Asada. At the 2008 Four Continents Championships, Ando attempted a quadruple Salchow, but popped it to a double. She won the bronze medal. At the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships, Ando was 8th after the short program, and was forced to withdraw during her free skate due to a leg muscle strain she suffered that morning.

2008-2009 season

Ando at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships.

In the 2008-2009 Grand Prix season, Ando placed third after Kim Yu-Na and Yukari Nakano at 2008 Skate America and placed 2nd, behind Kim, again, at the 2008 Cup of China. At the 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final, Ando attempted a quadruple salchow in her free skate program, the first time in competition since 2004, though she did not complete the rotations and so the jump was downgraded. Despite her last place finish, Ando stated that she was very happy with her performance, and that she would continue to work on her quad salchow.^[7]

At the 2008-2009 Japan Figure Skating Championships, she was in 3rd place after the short program. During the free skate warm-up, she collided with Fumie Suguri, and injured her knee. She placed 3rd place, and earned one of three spots to represent Japan at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships. There, she won the bronze medal with a total of 190.38 after placing fourth in the short program and second in the free program. After the 2009 World Championships, she represented Japan in a team competition, 2009 World Team Trophy, in Tokyo, Japan, where she placed 3rd at the short program, 6th at the free skate and 5th overall. Team Japan was placed 3rd, winning the bronze medal.

2009-2010 season

Ando was assigned to the 2009 Rostelecom Cup and the 2009 NHK Trophy of the Grand Prix series for the 2009-2010 season. At Rostelecom Cup, she placed in 3rd in the short program and won the free skating to win the competition overall. She scored 171.93 points, 7.96 points ahead of silver medalist Ashley Wagner. At the NHK Trophy, she fell on the triple Flip in the Short Program, scoring 56.22 points and being placed in 2nd in this segment of the competition. She also placed 2nd in the Long Program, but was placed in 1st overall, winning the competition, ahead of silver medalist Alena Leonova and bronze medalist Ashley Wagner. In result of winning her two Grand Prix assignments, Ando qualified for the 2009-2010 Grand Prix Final, which was held in Tokyo. At the Grand Frix Final, she scored 66.20 points in the Short Program and was placed in 1st at that segment of the competition, 0.56 points ahead of second place finisher Yu-Na Kim. In the Long Program, she scored 119.74 points, being placed in 2nd at that segment of the competition and winning the silver medal overall, ahead of bronze medalist Akiko Suzuki and behind gold medalist Yu-Na Kim. Ando has earned a place to the 2010 Winter Olympics as the highest-placing Japanese female skater at the 2009-2010 Grand Prix Final.

At the Japanese Championships, Ando scored 68.68 points in the Short Program and was placed in 3rd at that segment of the competition. In the Long Program two jumps, a triple Lutz and a double axel were downgraded and she scored 116.76 points, placing 4th at that segment of the competition and overall. Due to her qualification to the Olympics at the Grand Prix Final, she was sent to the Olympics, along with Mao Asada and Akiko Suzuki.

In the Olympics short program on February 23, 2010 Winter Olympics , she executed a triple lutz-triple loop combination, however the triple loop was downgraded. She earned levels 3 and 4 on spins. Miki Ando scored 64.76, ending in fourth position. ^[8] In the free skate, Ando placed sixth in the women's free skating with 124.10 points and settled for fifth overall with 188.86 points.^[9]

Programs

Ando performs her exhibition Handcuffs at the 2008 Four Continents Championships.

Competitive highlights

Post-2004

• WD = Withdrawn

Pre-2004

Detailed results

Post-2004

Ando at the 2009 NHK Trophy.

• SP: Short Program; FS: Free Skating; WD: Withdrew
• Personal bests highlighted in bold

Pre-2004

• QR: Qualification Round; SP: Short Program; FS: Free Skating

References

• Miki Ando at the International Skating Union

External links

• Miki-Ando.jp (Japanese)