Mao: post-Sochi news and articles

Guys,
Mao should make a decision within May and I agree with that.
Most of the time, she chose her program for next season around
that time so if she will not choose any so it means she wants not
to compete. Japanese FS is quite responsible that they have to
confirm the athlete who will compete in Grand Prix. If Mao said
no so they could find another athlete instead. Besides that, they
have to find another new star to polish before the season starts,
called Natsu Gasshuku. If Mao said no, they could name another
athlete to be in the group instead and they can control budget.
Of course, Mao can choose to take a rest for one season. I think
she should do like that. She has not yet graduated from university.
This is her fifth year to finish it first and if she wants to continue
the career she can enter Graduate School of Sports like Nakano
Yukari and restart next season.

In my opinion, it seems that Mao already feels satisfied with her
figure skating. So when there is no new motivation (like do quad
or any), she might feel that it is OK to retire. However, I have
a little hope that she will try to skate in the competition where
there is a lyric in the music. I think it will be her new journey.
Earn more title again and finish before next Olympic will be a
great experience for her if she wants to work in FS like choreographer.

COHK wrote:

I just hope the translation is helpful!   
As for the May deadline...can anyone provide an actual source of that? Why I don't recall that Mao has said anything decisive, not even mentioning any deadline. So if the info source is from media, I won't be surprised it's just the media's surmise about one of the possibilities.   

I think that's what it is. It has been stated that Mao turned down some shows in May to focus on herself and hopefully make a decision. It just seem like the most realistic time frame for her to make and announce a decision; she would have had to decide if she wants new choreographed programs by then and given JSF an answer if she wants to do the GP circuit. However I also recall her saying that if she can't decide then, time will help her decide. (Maybe in this interview but I am not 100% sure http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjk4NzM2MzAw.html?)
I think Mao has a very good attitude towards her decision based on her recent interviews. She knows it is going to be a big deal, not only for herself. She has been very careful not to sway one way or the other in her interviews before she has ample time to think it over for herself. She knows she is goal orientated and needs to find a great one if she continues or else there would be no point in doing so for her. I think the media just needs to be more respectful and quit asking her all the time. Being patient is hard but she will make an announcement she is ready to do so.

However, I think she should just give a definite NO to JSF for the GP circuit next season. She can then take all the time she needs to relax, regroup, and find a new goal for herself, skating related or not, and not have that time limited in the back of her mind.
For much of her life, her goal has been set on the Olympics, Vancouver and Sochi. It will be the first time she doesn't have a definite goal set for herself. She should take time and focus on what she really wants to do.
Should she decide she wants to continue, she can take her time to get programs choreographed later on and be ready for nationals if she decides not to take the whole season off all together. The only thing I worry about is her coaching situation if she wants to continue. I hope she doesn't feel too selfish to ask Mr. Sato to wait for her. I would hate for she to not be able to find a coach like post Vancouver.

zarinaballerina wrote:

sapphiresky wrote:

Just read some more news about Mao: Mao is portrayed as being quite wealthy by the foreign media (ie. Kurt Browning) because she has so many endorsements, but it's not really true.

Recently, there's been more articles about >90% of Mao's earnings going to JSF.

http://sports.qq.com/a/20140410/019846.htm

Even her personal endorsements, at least 20% goes to JSF.
Apparently if Mao appears in a show, she is supposed to get $1 million yen, but after JSF takes their share, this goes down to $50,000 yen  

Someone calculated Mao's annual salary to be 40 million yen, but apparently 95% taken by JSF/ISU.

There's a lot of pressure on Mao to not retire from an economic perspective of JSF. The media drew comparisons between "5 days of Mao" is the same as the entire earnings of the J-league football in 1 year.

Also, apparently Fuji pays $2 Billion won to ISU for the rights for skating broadcasting, if Mao retires, ISU loses the negotiating ability for a higher price.
Cinquanta certainly got a lot of money from Mao over the years...not very appreciative though   

And when reading this, the JSF decision to send Mao to Armenia instead of Chukyo, (despite both Mao and Sato wanted to train at home) is even more infuriating. She's practically financing the entire federation and as a thank you, they send her to the cold rink which has a sand mixed in it's ice at the most important competition of her life.  IDIOTS.

Honestly, I think the 95% cut is an exaggeration. 50% that I'll believe, but over 90%, I don't think so.

I'm in  no way defending the idiotic JSF, but one has to take into an account, how much does JSF finance Mao's training? I think I read (in 2007), that they pretty much cover most of the bill, so IF THIS IS TRUE, then taking such a large percentage might be justified.

[b]The money ISU gets from Japan...and despite all that they still screw up Mao at every chance they get.   I don't get it. I'm not saying that she should get over-scored, or being gifted the titles when she doesn't deserve them, but being given so many BS scores, I don't understand the workings of Speedy brain (presumably he has some working brain cells).[/b]

I do think that Eurosport guys are right and she is a millionaire, she just has to give a bigger cut to the federation than other big skating stars. IMO.

I think this post hits on what is probably one of the greatest stresses for Mao to continue skating: the unimaginable stress of having to skate such difficult programs under the scrutiny of judges that will deflate your scores while inflating your Russian opponents and Gold.

Compare the "suffering" that Kim had to endure and how she said she was just glad Sochi was over to the true suffering that Mao has had to endure. Kim received a silver medal and scores that were higher than Mao's, despite most everyone other than the judges saying Mao's skate was superior. Whether you agree or not, Kim has also received recognition from the majority of the world as the gold medalist, and a signed petition from over 2 million people.

On the other hand, when Mao returned to a press conference in Japan, she had to hear that she finished a Russian-rigged 6th place from a pompous British journalist, who never questioned the dubious nature of the scores. He was also tactless because he pressed Mao with not one but two questions about the former PM's insults. In addition, she had to read abusive articles in the Japan Times about how Gallagher thought her decision to attempt the triple axel was wrong because it cost her a medal. However, she would have won bronze had the competition been scored fairly because the three younger skaters above her( Lipnitskaya, Gold and Sotnikova) were so grossly inflated, while she was deflated and robbed of a potential world record score.

Unlike the push for Kim's gold, there are few willing to support her 3rd place finish, even among some of her fans because they have half way fallen for the farcical scores given to the three young skaters. Maybe she doesn't show that it bothers her, but I think it does. After all, she beat Sotnkiova by more than 30 points in the Grand Prix Final. I wrote a letter to the Japan ISU giving the reasons why I thought Mao should get the bronze and about the scoring travesty just to make myself feel like I had done something.     

Then even though she won Worlds, there is the corrupt gutting of her tech scores (-11) due to erroneous ur's on her triple axel and so many other jumps, with the papers claiming that her magnificent performance was "slightly sloppy  but sufficient to win." This has to make her wonder, "I will have to skate clean to barely win because of the Russian score inflation. And the judges will constantly downgrade my jumps  whether they are good or not to make me look bad. Why should I be insulted in such a way by a corrupt system when I can do ice shows in Japan where the people appreciate me so much and there are no sleazy judges to corrupt the beauty of my performances."  

However, there are two silver linings in Sochi, the swarm of support she received from the social media and from former Olympic gold medalists, and her own personal satisfaction. There is also the gold medal at Worlds and a new world record in the SP that might just keep her going. Plus, she has that fighter instinct to defy the judges bad scores and calls and win anyway, like she did at Worlds.  

I also agree with this post that the JSF has done nothing to help her cause. They should have let her focus only on the single's competition and let her train in the world class rink back in Japan, if they wanted her to win. But beyond that, they may be powerless because they didn't pay a bribe as Putin almost certainly did in Russia, with Sleazy Speedy cozying up to his pal Putin in the Sochi stands. For example,  one Russian businessman said that only $20 billion of the $51 billion spent on the Sochi Olympics can be accounted for.

I read and heard that the composition of judges and tech panel in Japan was exclusively European, North American and 3 ex Soviet Union countries. Does anyone know if this is in fact true? Since there are so many judges from ex-Soviet countries, Slovakia, Lithuania, Estonia and the Ukraine, it's like Russia has 5 or 10 judges it can put on a judging panel. Even Soviet countries that don't like Russia have many Russian sympathizers left over from Communist times. How can scoring be fair for Mao with this "set up" in place?  

But, it seems to me that the JSF and Mao herself have a means to get fair scoring. I read an article that  I can't find now, so please correct me if my numbers are wrong; it stated that something like 11 out of 13 advertisers or promoters for the ISU compettions come from Japan and that at least 2 of these will leave once Mao retires. Mao's representatives and the JSF should play hard ball with the ISU by saying that they will pressure the rest of the Japanese promoters to quit promoting the ISU's competitions unless all skaters are scored fairly, with emphasis placed on Mao, Murakami and other Japanese skaters, since they were so obviously low-balled at Sochi and Worlds.

Then, if a behind-the-scenes agreement is made, Mao would be in great position for another World title, after sitting out the Grand Prix season. Winning another world title again would be a great goal. Then, she can take it year by year. If no agreement on fair scoring can be made or Mao has the sense that she won't be scored fairly relative to her competition, then for the sake of her mental and physical health, I think it would be better for her to retire. But, it's her decision and she may decide to be a fighter, or she may quit in any case. This is just my opinion, and I am only guessing. What do the rest of you think? Sorry about the length.

^great post. While part of me agrees with your idea of JSF "blackmailing" ISU with threats of pressuring japans sponsors to stop supporting ISU, unless they start to score everyone fairly, the other part of me doesn't want this. It leaves a really bad taste. Not that this will ever happen, since JSF has never stuck to its skaters that way, I don't know whether this is due to culture, or they simply don't know how to play the game.

I really feel for russian people, having to pay off that monstrous Olympic debt. officially it's 51 billions, however unofficial rumours suggest that it was a lot more than that. According to a documentary I've watched before Sochi (it was on a german channel ARTE) the cost is so high because everyone was stealing money left and right. I don't know if Putin paid any money for having russian skaters being scored very generously, I'd think him demanding so would be enough   , the fact is, they were really overscored. I know this happens at every Olympics, they always generously score their own competitiors, but what happened in Sochi, was really a travesty. And I agree with Yuna NOT winning, not because I can't stand her, but because she didn't deserve it, however neither Yulia nor Adelina deserved those scores.

WowMao wrote:

Compare the suffering that Kim had to endure and how she said she was just glad Sochi was over to the far greater suffering that Mao has had to endure. Kim received a silver medal and scores that were higher than Mao's, despite most everyone other than the judges saying Mao's skate was superior. She also received recognition from the entire world as the rightful gold medalists, and a signed petition from over 2 million people.

Oh boo hoo. This isn't aimed at you WowMao, but every time I hear how poor Yuna had to suffer in Sochi, it really boiles my blood. For ONCE she wasn't grossly overscored and the world is supposed to end? She still received a very generous score for what she showed, with Lakernik conveniently turning a blind eye to her landings. She wants the gold, well next time bring your A game with level 4 on everything, and a TES that's higher than what juniors are producing. And while you're at it, try to skate to your program like you care. Koreans are whining because their precious queen was (rightfully) dethroned, well what did they expect? Everyone skated their heart out, really brought their everything to that ice, what did team Yuna expect? That she'll be given the gold simply because she was overhyped and overscored for years? Not when the host country has some skating geniouses on their own. I honestly wonder how Yuna would've handled the treatment Mao has been getting since 2008, if she's glad Sochi is over. She was breaking WR with three 2A, while Mao HAD to bring two 3A if she even wanted to stand a chance. So no, i have no sympathy for poor Yuna.

That being said, I wonder how the russians are going to be scored next season? And more importantly, will koreans have their revenge in Pyong Chang?

zarinaballerina wrote:

^great post. While part of me agrees with your idea of JSF "blackmailing" ISU with threats of pressuring japans sponsors to stop supporting ISU, unless they start to score everyone fairly, the other part of me doesn't want this. It leaves a really bad taste. Not that this will ever happen, since JSF has never stuck to its skaters that way, I don't know whether this is due to culture, or they simply don't know how to play the game.

I really feel for russian people, having to pay off that monstrous Olympic debt. officially it's 51 billions, however unofficial rumours suggest that it was a lot more than that. According to a documentary I've watched before Sochi (it was on a german channel ARTE) the cost is so high because everyone was stealing money left and right. I don't know if Putin paid any money for having russian skaters being scored very generously, I'd think him demanding so would be enough   , the fact is, they were really overscored. I know this happens at every Olympics, they always generously score their own competitiors, but what happened in Sochi, was really a travesty. And I agree with Yuna NOT winning, not because I can't stand her, but because she didn't deserve it, however neither Yulia nor Adelina deserved those scores.

WowMao wrote:

Compare the suffering that Kim had to endure and how she said she was just glad Sochi was over to the far greater suffering that Mao has had to endure. Kim received a silver medal and scores that were higher than Mao's, despite most everyone other than the judges saying Mao's skate was superior. She also received recognition from the entire world as the rightful gold medalists, and a signed petition from over 2 million people.

Oh boo hoo. This isn't aimed at you WowMao, but every time I hear how poor Yuna had to suffer in Sochi, it really boiles my blood. For ONCE she wasn't grossly overscored and the world is supposed to end? She still received a very generous score for what she showed, with Lakernik conveniently turning a blind eye to her landings. She wants the gold, well next time bring your A game with level 4 on everything, and a TES that's higher than what juniors are producing. And while you're at it, try to skate to your program like you care. Koreans are whining because their precious queen was (rightfully) dethroned, well what did they expect? Everyone skated their heart out, really brought their everything to that ice, what did team Yuna expect? That she'll be given the gold simply because she was overhyped and overscored for years? Not when the host country has some skating geniouses on their own. I honestly wonder how Yuna would've handled the treatment Mao has been getting since 2008, if she's glad Sochi is over. She was breaking WR with three 2A, while Mao HAD to bring two 3A if she even wanted to stand a chance. So no, i have no sympathy for poor Yuna.

That being said, I wonder how the russians are going to be scored next season? And more importantly, will koreans have their revenge in Pyong Chang?

Thanks for the thoughtful and impassioned reply. I meant to put "suffering" in quotations to show it was a bit tongue and cheek.  My focus was on Mao's truly awful treatment at Sochi, not Kim who I only used as a reference point. By contrast, as you said, Mao has been truly stiffed in underscoring for years, and Sochi and the World's FS tech score gutting are just the the most recent examples. This combined with Lipnitiskaya's inflated 207 with a fall and merely good performances at Worlds shows that there is still a problem with score manipulation. At 15, Mao won the Grand Prix Final with 189 and her clean FS with a triple axel scored 5 points less than Lip's with a fall. Mao's beautiful ballet at that age was better as well. While I can understand why you wouldn't want to do it this way, I think JSF should use hardball tactics by threatening to take away sponsors. if they really want Mao to continue. Sleazy Speedy is greedy and hitting him in the pocket book is the hook and bait that could change the scoring in figure skating.   

In answer to your question, I think this is one way to get the Russian inflation in order next season, though I have heard that the Americans have a proposal to do away with anonymous judging, against Speedy's wishes, which could help get the inflation in line. I wonder how this would effect Gold's score inflation.  About the bribes in Sochi- I have lived in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan for many years and speak decent Russian , though I only spend about 2-3 months a year in Kazakhstan now. But unless you live there, you have no idea how widespread bribes are in the former USSR and Russia. It's almost like breathing air it's so prevalent: from students, to apartment buyers, to every business deal.  So billions of dollars disappearing and score inflation and deflation in Russia points to only one thing. I like to think the "monetary gift" was an incentive to avoid the "accidental alternative," but maybe I've just seen too many Mafia movies.      

In answer to your question about scoring in South Korea, I think every elaborate effort will be used to deflate Russian skaters and to inflate Koreans like Seo Youn Park. If Mao sticks around for 2018, which I hope she doesn't, I think there will be efforts to prevent her from getting the Gold because I have read articles in the Korean press that tried to say she didn't deserve a Gold at Worlds or the world record score in the Sp, and there are so many nasty comments about her on the comments section of youtube. The Olympics has become too political. so it appears that the World championships are the only place where a relatively fair competition can take place. I hope Mao will only try to win Worlds and not focus on the Olympics, if she continues.

WowMao wrote:

zarinaballerina wrote:

^great post. While part of me agrees with your idea of JSF "blackmailing" ISU with threats of pressuring japans sponsors to stop supporting ISU, unless they start to score everyone fairly, the other part of me doesn't want this. It leaves a really bad taste. Not that this will ever happen, since JSF has never stuck to its skaters that way, I don't know whether this is due to culture, or they simply don't know how to play the game.

I really feel for russian people, having to pay off that monstrous Olympic debt. officially it's 51 billions, however unofficial rumours suggest that it was a lot more than that. According to a documentary I've watched before Sochi (it was on a german channel ARTE) the cost is so high because everyone was stealing money left and right. I don't know if Putin paid any money for having russian skaters being scored very generously, I'd think him demanding so would be enough   , the fact is, they were really overscored. I know this happens at every Olympics, they always generously score their own competitiors, but what happened in Sochi, was really a travesty. And I agree with Yuna NOT winning, not because I can't stand her, but because she didn't deserve it, however neither Yulia nor Adelina deserved those scores.

WowMao wrote:

Compare the suffering that Kim had to endure and how she said she was just glad Sochi was over to the far greater suffering that Mao has had to endure. Kim received a silver medal and scores that were higher than Mao's, despite most everyone other than the judges saying Mao's skate was superior. She also received recognition from the entire world as the rightful gold medalists, and a signed petition from over 2 million people.

Oh boo hoo. This isn't aimed at you WowMao, but every time I hear how poor Yuna had to suffer in Sochi, it really boiles my blood. For ONCE she wasn't grossly overscored and the world is supposed to end? She still received a very generous score for what she showed, with Lakernik conveniently turning a blind eye to her landings. She wants the gold, well next time bring your A game with level 4 on everything, and a TES that's higher than what juniors are producing. And while you're at it, try to skate to your program like you care. Koreans are whining because their precious queen was (rightfully) dethroned, well what did they expect? Everyone skated their heart out, really brought their everything to that ice, what did team Yuna expect? That she'll be given the gold simply because she was overhyped and overscored for years? Not when the host country has some skating geniouses on their own. I honestly wonder how Yuna would've handled the treatment Mao has been getting since 2008, if she's glad Sochi is over. She was breaking WR with three 2A, while Mao HAD to bring two 3A if she even wanted to stand a chance. So no, i have no sympathy for poor Yuna.

That being said, I wonder how the russians are going to be scored next season? And more importantly, will koreans have their revenge in Pyong Chang?

Thanks for the thoughtful and impassioned reply. I meant to put "suffering" in quotations to show it was a bit tongue and cheek.  My focus was on Mao's truly awful treatment at Sochi, not Kim who I only used as a reference point. By contrast, as you said, Mao has been truly stiffed in underscoring for years, and Sochi and the World's FS tech score gutting are just the the most recent examples. This combined with Lipnitiskaya's inflated 207 with a fall and merely good performances at Worlds shows that there is still a problem with score manipulation. At 15, Mao won the Grand Prix Final with 189 and her clean FS with a triple axel scored 5 points less than Lip's with a fall. Mao's beautiful ballet at that age was better as well. While I can understand why you wouldn't want to do it this way, I think JSF should use hardball tactics by threatening to take away sponsors. if they really want Mao to continue. Sleazy Speedy is greedy and hitting him in the pocket book is the hook and bait that could change the scoring in figure skating.   

In answer to your question, I think this is one way to get the Russian inflation in order next season, though I have heard that the Americans have a proposal to do away with anonymous judging, against Speedy's wishes, which could help get the inflation in line. I wonder how this would effect Gold's score inflation.  About the bribes in Sochi- I have lived in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan for many years and speak decent Russian , though I only spend about 2-3 months a year in Kazakhstan now. But unless you live there, you have no idea how widespread bribes are in the former USSR and Russia. It's almost like breathing air it's so prevalent: from students, to apartment buyers, to every business deal.  So billions of dollars disappearing and score inflation and deflation in Russia points to only one thing. I like to think the "monetary gift" was an incentive to avoid the "accidental alternative," but maybe I've just seen too many Mafia movies.      

In answer to your question about scoring in South Korea, I think every elaborate effort will be used to deflate Russian skaters and to inflate Koreans like Seo Youn Park. If Mao sticks around for 2018, which I hope she doesn't, I think there will be efforts to prevent her from getting the Gold because I have read articles in the Korean press that tried to say she didn't deserve a Gold at Worlds or the world record score in the Sp, and there are so many nasty comments about her on the comments section of youtube. The Olympics has become too political. so it appears that the World championships are the only place where a relatively fair competition can take place. I hope Mao will only try to win Worlds and not focus on the Olympics, if she continues.

I do understand you point, but if they continue to do it the Olympics will just loose all it's credibility, if it hasn't already for the majority of viewers who have followed the sport. I want Mao to continue not just at worlds but at every big competition including the next Olympics, mainly because it would not make sense for her to boycot the Olympics, the fishy judging at Vancouver and Sochi and many past olympics has nothing to do with her, it's really not her problem. Instead the JSF should stand behind their skaters more and support them against the unfair judging, there has been countless of times when Mao scores were beyond ridiculously underscored and when she got underrotation calls many skaters, commentators,blogger and even when part of the technical panel didn't agree on , but never have I seen the JSF step up and defend her. I understand that it may be a cultural thing, but at times things have gone too ridicules, this season alone I recall Mao being robbed of three world records, one at the GPF sp, one at the Olympics fs, and one at the World championships fs, and I can't help wonder what if the JSF had reacted the first time, what if they had protested instead of ignored it, would it have prevented the following robberies and underscorement, who knows?
I think part of the reason why so many of yuna underrotated jumps were overlooked was because she usually never let it slip by she always showed her dissatisfaction and if she didn't do it, then her coach or federation took action.

BOTH SISTERS LOOK BEAUTIFUL!!! Mao looks especially pretty here. We don't often see her with her hair down, but whenever she does, she looks quite appealing!

I do understand you point, but if they continue to do it the Olympics will just loose all it's credibility, if it hasn't already for the majority of viewers who have followed the sport. I want Mao to continue not just at worlds but at every big competition including the next Olympics, mainly because it would not make sense for her to boycot the Olympics, the fishy judging at Vancouver and Sochi and many past olympics has nothing to do with her, it's really not her problem. Instead the JSF should stand behind their skaters more and support them against the unfair judging, there has been countless of times when Mao scores were beyond ridiculously underscored and when she got underrotation calls many skaters, commentators,blogger and even when part of the technical panel didn't agree on , but never have I seen the JSF step up and defend her. I understand that it may be a cultural thing, but at times things have gone too ridicules, this season alone I recall Mao being robbed of three world records, one at the GPF sp, one at the Olympics fs, and one at the World championships fs, and I can't help wonder what if the JSF had reacted the first time, what if they had protested instead of ignored it, would it have prevented the following robberies and underscorement, who knows?
I think part of the reason why so many of yuna underrotated jumps were overlooked was because she usually never let it slip by she always showed her dissatisfaction and if she didn't do it, then her coach or federation took action.



I totally agree with the bogus tech calls. The Worlds LP 2014 call on her triple axel is the obviously criminal- I know I have said it before, but it should be in the record book along with her SP score because I am sure that it is the first time ever that a jump with +1.6 GOE was downgraded because of an under-rotation the tech panel saw, that the judges and nobody else did. Also, I agree with the JSF not helping Mao in the past. Another example is not lobbying for her to take part in the 2006 Olympics, where she had an excellent chance of winning because she had beaten two of the top competitors, Sasha Cohen and Irina Slutskaya, during the Grand Prix season. If they had pushed, there is a good chance she could have gone. Now is the chance to push for her as I already mentioned.  

I didn't make myself clear in the last post. I didn't mean that Mao should boycott the Olympics in 2018 but that she should retire before then, so she doesn't focus on it: just take it year by year and retire before 2018, if she wants to continue. I think the Olympics has caused her so much pain and now she is somewhat satisfied because she finally skated the perfect LP and she knows that she couldn't have won a Gold medal anyway because it was rigged, so she has found some measure of peace in regards to her Olympic dream. I posted a link a couple of pages back called the Last Dance of Mao Asada. I recommend that you read and look at the pictures at that link. It made me realize how much of a struggle she has been through in trying to realize her dream of Olympic Gold. It was very emotional to read through all of her quotes. I don't know if she wants to go through all that again.  I just remember the tears after Vancouver and the tears after the Sochi LP and the poker face that she had for so many years after Vancouver, even when she won Worlds in 2010. I think she said after Sochi that her heart was so tired, even though she was satisfied. It seemed like the happiness of a runner who had just finished a marathon and now wants to rest. These are just my thoughts. What do you think?

Speaking of Poker face here is an excellent video I found at youtube of rapid video clips of Mao warming up, training and skating with a poker face with the Lady Gaga song playing along.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOnhTKKBx9Q

Here are some of Mao's quotes from the Last Dance link I posted on page 16 about her feelings between Vancouver and Sochi:  

I want to do my best in my daily practices in order to end the Olympics with my best performance.

March 3, 2010- I want to do my best while seeking to gain a spot at Sochi. I want to keep the silver medal where I can always look at it so I do not forget my  frustration.  

After world championships 2010- I don't think I can smile again while I'm competing.

April 2013 I want to take out my feelings over the four years from Vancouver to Sochi. I feel I can do my utmost because it will be the last time.

Sept, 2010 - I always want to remember how much I love skating and to hold the feeling that skating is fun.

Nov. 24 2010-  While it is mortifying to have people see my mistakes, I feel there is meaning competing while I am in that condition. What should I write as a message to children? It may be, "You can do it!" But, they may feel, "We don't want to hear that from Mao now." I think I will stick to improve constantly.

July 4, 2013 = My unchanging objective has been to become a skater who can give small children a dream.

Dec. 26 2010 - I have been encouraged by the many people who have said, "Do your best" and "You can do it."  

May 7, 2011 - I hope people who watch my performance can take something out of it and become encouraged."

April 23, 2012 - I feel myself becoming stronger when I jump (the triple axel). My overall motivation drops when I don't use it.

Dec, 8 2012 Grand Prix Final - I love skating because I want to feel the happiness.

Jan, 2013-  In order to reach my goal, I have come to accept as unavoidable not being able to turn in a good performance during competition in front of me.

April 2013 - I have suffered over the past two years for competitive and technical reasons as well as due to my psychological condition.

Nov. 2013 Cup of China - I felt I wanted to approach how I was when I was 15.  

Feb. 5  2014 - These are the Olympics I have been waiting for these 4 years. I want to end it with a smile.

After Sochi free-skate - With the encouragement I received from many people and with a strong resolve, I thought to myself alright.  









 








     

I know Mao has worked very hard and sacrificed alot for this sport, without getting much in return. The comments you posted really made me very thoughtful and reminded me of all the up and down she has faced, but I think in the end it only made her become stronger and push the limits to reach heights and accomplishment in the sport no one has, and with every challenge and every obstacle she overcome my respect and admiration just grew bigger and bigger. The Olympics this year is no exemption there she made history twice, one for landing the 3A again in the Olympic games, and for landing a total of 8 triples in the fs, that include every difficult combination and jumps this sport has. she wasn't rewarded a medal for what she did, but we can all agree that if the medal is an easy way to be sure your programs will be remembered and re-watched then Mao took the hard road and made sure even without a medal her performance will be re-watched and remembered as the greatest ever and the main highlight during the games.
Mao is soo young that by the 2018 she will only be around 27 and could give another outstanding performance, and just the thought of it makes me eager to see her attend, I may be selfish but I simply don't want any of her huge talent and hard work to go to waste, just thinking what kind of mesmerizing performances we might be missing because she decides to leave early makes my heart ache, and believe me when I say this if I wasn't confident that Mao will do well and fully believe in her, I wouldn't have these wishes.

ballerinamao- your last post is beautifully written and I think it truly shows how deeply Mao's skating has impacted your life. I know that for myself her Sochi LP was (and still is when I watch it) a very powerful and unexpected spiritual experience that inspired me to make 2 drawings that I know I would have never done without her overwhelming performance because I rarely drew before. I almost feel like she is the one who drew them. It is definitely the best performance I have ever seen and the Worlds LP wasn't far behind. I also agree that she has finally realized the full depth of her great talents by reworking her jumps and perfecting an unprecedented wave-like balletic flow to her skating that I feel nobody after her will ever be able to do because I have never seen anyone else ever do it, and it took her as a prima ballerina so long to perfect it. It is totally unique and it, along with her triple axel, will leave a legacy more profound than anything Kim will leave behind. Mao's skating has inspired and enriched my life and I know how much Mao values what her fans and the general public think of her skating.

However, I think she also feels that she needs to be awarded by the judges in a way that fits her exceptionally high standards; she also said that she needs to find a definite goal and inspiration. My concern is what you mentioned "I simply don't want any of her huge talent and hard work to go to waste," I totally agree. When I watched the Sochi LP and Worlds LP that is exactly what I saw from the judges;- they belittled her achievement in a blatantly corrupt and obvious manner. There is one record that Mao would have easily gotten had she just been given credit for her triple axel with a 1.6 GOE from the judges in the Worlds LP: the record for the highest overall score in the World Championships (218) held by Yuna Kim. She would have had 220 points, if she had just been given credit for that obviously fully rotated jump as the judges graded it.

The tech panels at this point are just being used to increase the corruption in the sport with no real accountability. It's almost like the tech panel wanted to rob her of this record on purpose because she had already broken Kim's SP record, and they felt she was simply unworthy of overtaking the "Great Queen." again. It is really disgusting and I think it is a waste of Mao's great energy and supreme talent to be treated so cruelly and ungratefully when she could do ice shows, enjoy her life while she is still young,  and make more money instead of giving it to the complacent JSF  and the corrupt ISU that do absolutely nothing to help her, unlike the Russian Skating Federation. If anything they hurt her by purposely deflating her scores and inflating some of her competitors. How must it feel to give your earnings to people who purposely hurt you in this way? Sometimes I think that the JSF is more loyal to Speedy than it is to its own skaters. How else could Japanese skaters be underscored and Lipnitskaya, Gold and Kostner be over-scored in Japan?  If it bothers me and other fans so much, how much more must it bother her? Life is too short to be held captive by such sleazy people. Why throw pearls before the swine judges, tech panel and ISU? Anyway, this is what I think, though there is a strong side of me, that like you, selfishly wants her to keep skating so I can see her inspirational performances. I appreciate what you say, and if she can pressure the JSF to stop the scoring travesty, I would agree with her continuing. Of course, the choice is up to her.  Sorry for repeating information from previous posts.

WowMao wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

I know Mao has worked very hard and sacrificed alot for this sport, without getting much in return. The comments you posted really made me very thoughtful and reminded me of all the up and down she has faced, but I think in the end it only made her become stronger and push the limits to reach heights and accomplishment in the sport no one has, and with every challenge and every obstacle she overcome my respect and admiration just grew bigger and bigger. The Olympics this year is no exemption there she made history twice, one for landing the 3A again in the Olympic games, and for landing a total of 8 triples in the fs, that include every difficult combination and jumps this sport has. she wasn't rewarded a medal for what she did, but we can all agree that if the medal is an easy way to be sure your programs will be remembered and re-watched then Mao took the hard road and made sure even without a medal her performance will be re-watched and remembered as the greatest ever and the main highlight during the games.
Mao is soo young that by the 2018 she will only be around 27 and could give another outstanding performance, and just the thought of it makes me eager to see her attend, I may be selfish but I simply don't want any of her huge talent and hard work to go to waste, just thinking what kind of mesmerizing performances we might be missing because she decides to leave early makes my heart ache, and believe me when I say this if I wasn't confident that Mao will do well and fully believe in her, I wouldn't have these wishes.

I think your post is written very beautifully and I think it truly shows how deeply Mao's skating has impacted your life. I know that for myself her Sochi LP was (and still is when I watch it) a very powerful and unexpected spiritual experience that inspired me to make 2 drawings that I know I would have never done without her inspiration. I almost feel like she is the one who drew them.  I also agree that she has finally realized the full depth of her great talents by reworking her jumps and perfecting an unprecedented wave-like balletic flow to her skating that I feel nobody after her will ever be able to do because I have never seen anyone else ever do it. It is totally unique and it, along with her triple axel, will leave a legacy more profound than anything Kim will leave behind. Mao's skating has inspired and enriched my life and I know how much Mao values what her fans and the general public think of her skating.

However, I think she also feels that she needs to be awarded by the judges in a way that fits her exceptionally high standards. My concern is what you mentioned "I simply don't want any of her huge talent and hard work to go to waste," I totally agree. When I watched the Sochi LP and Worlds LP that is exactly what I saw from the judges;- they belittled her achievement in a blatantly corrupt and obvious manner. There is one record that Mao would have easily gotten had she just been given credit for her triple axel with a 1.6 GOE from the judges in the Worlds LP: the record for the highest overall score in the World Championships (218) held by Yuna Kim. She would have had 220 points, if she had just been given credit for that obviously well-executed jump as the judges graded it.

The tech panels at this point are just being used to increase the corruption in the sport with no real accountability. It's almost like the tech panel wanted to rob her of this record on purpose because she had already broken Kim's SP record, and they felt she was simply unworthy of overtaking the "Great Queen." It is really disgusting and I think it is a waste of Mao's great energy and supreme talent to be treated so cruelly and ungratefully when she could do ice shows, enjoy her life while she is still young,  and make more money instead of giving it to the complacent JSF  and the corrupt ISU that do absolutely nothing to help her, unlike the Russian Skating Federation. If anything they hurt her by purposely deflating her scores and inflating some of her competitors. How must it feel to give your earnings to people who purposely hurt you in this way? Sometimes I think that the JSF is more loyal to Speedy than it is to its own skaters. How else could Japanese skaters be underscored and Lipnitskaya, Gold and Kostner be over-scored in Japan?  If it bothers me and other fans so much, how much more must it bother her? Life is too short to be held captive by such sleazy people. Why throw pearls before swine? Anyway, this is what I think. I appreciate what you say and if she can pressure the JSF to stop the scoring travesty, I would agree with her continuing. Of course, the choice is up to her.  Sorry for repeating information from previous posts.

Thanks for the comment, I really love Mao's skating very deeply and it always makes me happy when people can feel my love and appreciation of her, I also have to say that after reading your comments and thoughts I can't help but also feel your appreciation of Mao.
I totally agree with practically everything, and I also think you are spot on many aspects. The bolded text in particular was SO SPOT ON. The passiveness of the JSF really does give the impression that they are much more royal to speedy and ISU then their skater. and like you said they did "belittle her achievement in a blatantly corrupt and obvious manner" but their corruption was exposed to the whole world, Mao's scores in particular were so obviously fixed in the most obvious way, that it was hard for the general public to oversee, and the purpose for that was also clear to everyone.
I also totally understand why you think Mao should just leave the competitive skating, why continue skating in an environment where your skating isn't fully rewarded for it's greatness and completeness, why give money to the same people who didn't protect her and stand behind her when she faced this kind of corruption. sometimes I ask myself the same question, but then I always remind myself that her fans and people who generally love this sport and beautiful skating will always treasure her performances, eventhrough we are not able to show our appreciation in the same way the judges can by giving her scores, but her popularity and impact in the sport and in her country in particular is evident when you see how many viewers have watched her performance on youtube, and on the internet in general as well as how well  anything related to Mao like shows,exhibitions, products are selling. in the end I have a hard time deciding what is best for her, I just know that I simply love her skating and would love to see her continue, but the choice is up to her.

@WowMao:

Yuna's highest overall score is 228, not 218 (which is the 3rd highest overall score) 78.50 in SP and 150.05 in LP in Vancouver. And the second highest is held by Sotnikova at 224.59 in Sochi. 74.62 in SP and 149.95 in LP. And all 3 scores were massively overinflated.

shar wrote:

@WowMao:

Yuna's highest overall score is 228, not 218 (which is the 3rd highest overall score) 78.50 in SP and 150.05 in LP in Vancouver. And the second highest is held by Sotnikova at 224.59 in Sochi. 74.62 in SP and 149.95 in LP. And all 3 scores were massively overinflated.

I was aware of that, but thanks for pointing out how inflated they were. I was talking about the highest score in the World Championships held by Kim (218), not the Olympics, because massive inflation due to political affiliation and corruption is too prevalent in the Olympics for the scores to have any meaning to me anymore. Brain Orser was Canada's homegrown boy in Vancouver 2010, so naturally the inflated scores went to Kim since he coached her.

I already mentioned the 31 billion disappearing from the Russian government, a smidgen of which likely enticed the ISU. Therefore, Sotnikova's scores were not inflated; they were fabricated. Her PCS was increased by almost 19 from the Grand Prix Season average, the number of +3 GOE's increased from 1 to 21 percent in the FS and 1 to 15 percent in the SP over the previous yearly average, no ur's or flutz calls for the first time all season, step out given -1 instead of mandatory deduction of -2, level 4 on step sequence for the first time all season in both SP and LP, when she always  received 2's and 3's before. This added around a 25-30 point layer of fabrication to her actual scores, which should have been around 194-199 and would have put her below Mao, even with Mao's low-balled score of 198. As I already mentioned, Mao should have gotten the bronze. The difference in PCS in the Sochi LP compared to the Grand Prix average was +13 for Sotnikova compared to +.1 for Mao!!!!     

   
However, the fixings served up at Worlds for Mao's free-skate was "A Tale of Two Performances. " The judges saw a performance worthy of over +1 GOEs on jumps, while the tech crew saw 5 ur's and an edge call reducing her base score from 66 to 59, resulting in the judges changing the positives to negatives, 4 jumps ended up negative and the triple axel was downgraded to a double with a whopping 0 grade of execution (-11 lost in tech total). The first time in history a skater went from 0 tech deductions to -11 in one day. Did she suddenly become an awful tech skater overnight? Despite all this and the youngster Lipnitskaya being propped up in baby chair with high PCS and low tech deductions (only -4), Mao STILL won by almost 10 points with (216)!!!! Now, that's what I call the beautiful genius of a samurai, rising to the occasion to overcome a massive handicap!!        



,

ballerinamao wrote
Thanks for the comment, I really love Mao's skating very deeply and it always makes me happy when people can feel my love and appreciation of her, I also have to say that after reading your comments and thoughts I can't help but also feel your appreciation of Mao.
I totally agree with practically everything, and I also think you are spot on many aspects. The bolded text in particular was SO SPOT ON. The passiveness of the JSF really does give the impression that they are much more royal to speedy and ISU then their skater. and like you said they did "belittle her achievement in a blatantly corrupt and obvious manner" but their corruption was exposed to the whole world, Mao's scores in particular were so obviously fixed in the most obvious way, that it was hard for the general public to oversee, and the purpose for that was also clear to everyone.
I also totally understand why you think Mao should just leave the competitive skating, why continue skating in an environment where your skating isn't fully rewarded for it's greatness and completeness, why give money to the same people who didn't protect her and stand behind her when she faced this kind of corruption. sometimes I ask myself the same question, but then I always remind myself that her fans and people who generally love this sport and beautiful skating will always treasure her performances, eventhrough we are not able to show our appreciation in the same way the judges can by giving her scores, but her popularity and impact in the sport and in her country in particular is evident when you see how many viewers have watched her performance on youtube, and on the internet in general as well as how well  anything related to Mao like shows,exhibitions, products are selling. in the end I have a hard time deciding what is best for her, I just know that I simply love her skating and would love to see her continue, but the choice is up to her.

[/quote]

Thank you for your kind words. Yes, her skating was and has become even more important to me since Sochi because it was the first time that I really felt that figure skating was an art like  literature, music and painting. Few things outside profound personal experiences had ever moved me so overwhelmingly with such a contradictory range of emotions: from the depths of melancholy to the heights of redemptive jubilation in merely 4 minutes, with acrobatic jumps, spins and step sequences that reminded me of a sword fight in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, as if she were an angel or spirit descended from the Heaven or sky with the express purpose of giving that one performance to mankind.  

Yet, I was really impressed with Mao from the first time I saw her perform Czardas at Worlds in 20007. Besides her triple axel, flexible spins, prima ballerina movements and posture, it was how her soul shone through in her skating that really drew me in and how she broke down in tears when she finished. I just had never seen someone give that much of themselves in a performance.  I also noticed that she has the totally unique ability of making you feel as if you know her even though you have never met her, which I attribute to the depth of personal emotion and physical effort she puts into her performances. I guess that's why so many people in Japan think of her as part of the family. It’s also what makes it so difficult sometimes to watch her skate because it’s almost as if you can feel the same extreme emotions she does. This was especially true during the darker times from late 2010- 2012 and again with the SP at Sochi. She has a profound emotional resonance like all great artists. However, it is her mastery of the technical and artistic sides of the sport that gives her this ability, not pity for her.

I am also impressed with how long she sacrificed to rework her jumps and was willing to still perform despite her mistakes. It paid off in the end. Here is my description of why I like her skating so much that I posted at golden skate:

Mao Asada - exquisite, playful, care-free and innocent; emotionally resonant, tragically poignant; alternately ethereal, sultry and fiery; fully spans the emotional and spiritual spectrum;  persistent commitment to high artistic and technical ideal; remarkable perseverance, redemption and resilience; wonderful whip-like revolutions on tightly spiraled jumps, with hand and arm gestures that captivate with wave-like grace; peerless beauty, prima-ballerina posture and movements; entranced by the alluring flexibility of her arabesque, Biellmann and leg extensions; gutsy and suspenseful- waiting with bated breath for the smooth landing on her triple axel when the soul of Ito skates by her side, and Sochi- the greatest performance of all time.    

Perhaps you are right about her continuing. I realize that she really has nothing to lose, since she has already won so much. Besides, the great outpouring of praise she received for her Sochi free-skate and the adoration of her entire home country, she now has the most Gold medals in the World Championships of any Asian skater in history, which is an incredible achievement for someone who has been so consistently underscored. Besides, executing a great performance that satisfies her high standard seems the most important to her anyway. But, the choice is hers.

^  exactly Mao really has nothing to lose if she decides to continue afterall skating in shows and all the other activities can wait.

I first fell in love with Mao's skating after Vancouver 2010 FS, for some reason she was the only skater that really captured me, I just loved everything in her programs and was totally blown away by how effortless she made everything look. There was no awkward moment, no hesitation and everything she did felt natural.  Her elements just were sooo beautifully done. from her two 3A in the beginning (that I clearly remember made me scream out of excitement) to her amazing spins and the different picture perfect position she reached in them, to her beautifully extended spirals with the most amazing variety in position, to her intense and dramatic steps that for me totally captured the music. All in all seeing her execute all these different and difficult elements so effortlessly made me feel like I was not only watching an athlete but an artist at work. her wide range of skills and talent was evident from the very first time I saw her, and from then on my curiosity just grew bigger and bigger, I simply could not help but want to watch more and more performances of her, that's when began to follow her through her amazing journey

by the way I too have had times where I became soo inspired and mesmerized watching her that I made some drawing trying to capture her elegant movements and positions in her spins and spiral that totally captured me, I recently even began thinking that maybe making a bigger version of it painted to put on my wall would be quite nice.

Mr. Sato's pupils words to him
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNzAxNTE4MjEy.html
Source: http://weibo.com/u/1649299867

Translation of a translation:
Mao:This season has been very hard, piled up with lots of pressure on "teacher". Thank you "teacher." Being about to see "teacher's" smile at the end was wonderful.


It looked like Mr. Sato started crying when Koz started talking. Awww, love team Sato

Mao, Mai, and Taka's interview..about pair programs on tour?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6fNrsjWHdk

This seems like a short version of a full interview...
hopefully there is a whole thing broadcasted

emory903 wrote:

Mao, Mai, and Taka's interview..about pair programs on tour?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6fNrsjWHdk

This seems like a short version of a full interview...
hopefully there is a whole thing broadcasted

The video is for promoting Mao's summer ice show 'The Ice'. They showed programs from The Ice in the past years.
Actually, Chukyo TV (in collaboration with promoting The Ice) tweeted before the broadcasting of this clip, that on the day they were recording for the promotion video, Koz overslept and was very late to arrive on time for recording the video. In the end, the Asada sisters were...not so happy about that and probably got    toward Koz...  

About the pair program, Mai revealed a surprising fact about it that Mao actually didn't have any idea the character she was portraying while skating with Koz...(it should be Fujiko Mine from Lupin III). So Koz asked Mao 'Isn't it very strange (watching it?) now?' and Mao agreed.

COHK wrote:

emory903 wrote:

Mao, Mai, and Taka's interview..about pair programs on tour?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6fNrsjWHdk

This seems like a short version of a full interview...
hopefully there is a whole thing broadcasted

The video is for promoting Mao's summer ice show 'The Ice'. They showed programs from The Ice in the past years.
Actually, Chukyo TV (in collaboration with promoting The Ice) tweeted before the broadcasting of this clip, that on the day they were recording for the promotion video, Koz overslept and was very late to arrive on time for recording the video. In the end, the Asada sisters were...not so happy about that and probably got    toward Koz...  

About the pair program, Mai revealed a surprising fact about it that Mao actually didn't have any idea the character she was portraying while skating with Koz...(it should be Fujiko Mine from Lupin III). So Koz asked Mao 'Isn't it very strange (watching it?) now?' and Mao agreed.

Thanks for the translation and the additional info!!!
It seems like Koz is the king of oversleeping, I remember Mao told a story about how Koz overslept and wore his pajamas to practice once.

Rosewood on FSU provided some nice news about Mao   

* * * * * * * * * *

I came across the link to this video on twitter. It seems it was the media day for Mao seeing her
in the same cloth on NHK's program. Mai is one of the regular members on this Nagoya local program,
she works as a sports caster.

Homeroom teacher of both of Mai & Mao was invited to the TV program. It was the first time for Mai & Mao
to see him after graduating from elementary school. So they are very happy to see him again.
At first he was Mai's homeroom teacher. Then Mao entered the school and he became her homeroom teacher.
It seems he was a very popular teacher among his students, both of Mao and Mai loved him a lot.
He was the leader of "primitive man club" in the school. Mao and Mai experienced primitive life with him
and enjoyed a lot. In this program the teacher shows how to start a fire with primitive tools.
Nice to see Mao and Mai's faces shine seeing him. Judging by his words,
he seems to be a warm-hearted and very unique teacher.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKmpJX9ZSFI

The teacher said Mai was a gentle girl and Mao was a smart one in their elementary school days.
About Olympics he said like "I don't know how Mao bumped from the hell in short program up to
the very best performance in the long. What a great athlete Mao is!" He also said
" Mai did a very good job too. Mai supported Mao as an older sister."
Maybe it was good for Mai to be given the words from the teacher who knows her very well.
Mai must be happy to be supported by someone. Happy for them all.

...I know it's a bad habit of me but this program reminded me of Mao's words.
Although the teacher talked very happily about how much they enjoyed their elementary school life,
I remembered Mao said "Mom may die at any time" when she was at the age of 11 or so(in 6-7th grade).
How far the sisters have come. (((Mao and Mai)))

random info:
Her exhibition drew over 100,000 people in 9 days in Tokyo. Today is the last day of the exhibition
in Tokyo and reportedly it drew more than 10,000 people each day.
So it would be around 140,000 people in total in Tokyo.
The exhibition will go across the country from now, such as Nagoya, Osaka, and Kyoto.

The lady with a baby who is the 100,000th person was given memorial present.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-IbxJ-by3U


ETA:

Nihonbashi Takashimaya department store announced that the total number of the people
who visited Mao's exhibition was 180,340(in 13 days).  
https://www.facebook.com/takashimaya...?stream_ref=10

Other scheduled exhibitions are:
Nagoya Takashimaya April 23-28th
Osaka Takashimaya May 1-12th
Yokohama Takashimaya June 5-16
Kyoto Takashimaya August 6-17th

Very beautiful window exhibitions in Nihonbashi Takashimaya.
https://www.takashimaya.co.jp/tokyo/...w/index02.html

* * * * * * * * * *


I like Mao's happy face when she unexpectedly met her elementary school teacher  

I enjoyed Mao's exhibition at Takashimaya department store so much that
I couldn't resist visiting there again  

Mr. Sato on Mao
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNzAyMDU2MzQ4.html
I think its the Mao-focused parts of the interview with Mr. Sato
Includes a backstory of what Mr. Sato told Mao after the SP in Sochi... from what I can tell
So weird to see Mr. Sato so emotional, but I love it; shows how much Mao means to him.
Can anybody translate what Mr. Sato said about what happen in Sochi and about Mao?
Thanks in advance!!!

Edit:
Smile Exhibition moved to Nagoya. Mao went to the opening



source: http://weibo.com/maoasada?from=myfollow_all

emory903 wrote:

Edit:
Smile Exhibition moved to Nagoya. Mao went to the opening

source: http://weibo.com/maoasada?from=myfollow_all

Video clip (not sure if it is geo-blocked though!):
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/tokai-news/20140423/3751011.html

Like the part when she's walking around and talk about some of the costumes...

Adding: another longer clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QPlhK3lgtM&feature=youtu.be

Hello all,

I am new to the forum (long time lurker) and I'm not sure if I am posting the following request in the right place so forgive me! I was wondering if any of you awesome sleuths have a link or video of Caro/Mao/Yuna/Akiko interacting backstage at Worlds 2013. I believe that in the video there is a beautiful moment when Akiko cries during Mao's Swan Lake and Caro has a funny interaction with Mao . Please let me know if you can find it - I think it is a wonderful display of friendship. Again, sorry if this is in the wrong place .

So guys apparently daesuke take next season off but not retired yet
Hope mao take this kind of approche too