Everyone's reaction to Mao's Olympic Free Skate

Please post reactions and news here regarding Mao's historic performance in Free Skate event. Including here are tweets from Figure Skating personalities, media and others.

From Yahoo Sports News: Mao Asada has redemptive night in Sochi
http://sports.yahoo.com/video/mao-asada-redemptive-night-sochi-211608567.html

Her performance was absolutely breathtaking. I was able to see her struggles, difficulties and she was able to have courage and strength to fight up to the very end. A strong yet gentle MAO.
Her performance was really a great lesson and inspiration. It was amazing. I am so happy to have witnessed such a historic event.  

Praise from a legend to a legend   

@EvgeniPlushenko Mao - you was great, special thanks for Axel 3,5! You're real fighter!! #Sochi2014
https://twitter.com/EvgeniPlushenko/status/436580238446034944

Evgeni Plushenko - a Russian skater and only male figure skater in the modern history of the sport to have won four Olympic medals competing in four Olympics

Mao Asada as TOP MENTIONED ATHLETE in TWITTER during Sochi Olympics

Quote :

Oddly though, Hanyu wasn't even the most-mentioned figure skater from Japan on Twitter during the games. That crown belongs to Japanese figure skater Mao Asada, who was the most-mentioned athlete from any sport despite failing to medal. She also doesn't have a Twitter account.

http://mashable.com/2014/02/24/sochi-social-media/

Quote :

MOST TWEETED: You don't have to win gold medals to drive social media conversation. Going into Sunday, Twitter said that the Winter Olympic athlete mentioned most in tweets throughout the Sochi games was Japan's Mao Asada, who finished sixth in women's figure skating. Second was Yuna Kim, the silver medal-winning figure skater from South Korea, followed by American hockey player T.J. Oshie and snowboarder Shaun White. The Sochi Olympics were mentioned in 38.1 million tweets since the beginning of the games, Twitter said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20140223/oly-armchair-olympics/?utm_hp_ref=sports&ir=sports

Mao Asada earns career-high marks for dazzling free skate - by Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/olympics/wp/2014/02/20/mao-asada-earns-career-high-marks-for-dazzling-free-skate/

From JEFFREY BUTTLE - Canadian figure skater, 2006 Olympic Bronze Medalist & 2008 World Champion

@J_Butt
I had tears in my eyes.  Thank you Mao!  Magnificent.
https://twitter.com/J_Butt/statuses/436546076045103104

Michelle Kwan - former American figure skater, two-time Olympic medalist & five-time World Champion

@MichelleWKwan  Feb 20
Mao Asada - made me cry.... a performance that we will all remember forever!

Sasha Cohen - former American figure skater, 2006 Olympic Silver medalist & three-time Worlds medalist

‏@SashaCohenNYC  Feb 20
.@peoplemag Wow! Mao Asada just pulled of a 3axel and a triple triple… Way to come back strong after a tough short. That shows real strength

Elvis Stojko - former Canadian figure skater, two-time Olympic silver medalist & three-time World Champion

Elvis Stojko ‏@Therealestojko  Feb 20
I just have to say I am teary eyed for Mao Asada, makes my heart smile! :-)  @YahooSports @CBCOlympics #FS

Elvis Stojko ‏@Therealestojko  Feb 20
Mao Asada Simply brilliant skate tonight! SO awesome for her! Making Japan proud! @YahooSports @CBCOlympics #FS

Joannie Rochette - Canadian figure skater, 2010 Olympic bronze medalist & 2009 Worlds silver medalist

Joannie Rochette ‏@JoannieRochette Feb 20
Mao Asada, WOW!!! What a skate! What a fighter! 142,71

Alexei Yagudin - former Russian figure skater, 2002 Olympic gold medalist & four-time World champion

Alexei Yagudin ‏@yagudinofficial Feb 20
Sochi. Ladies free skate! Mao Asada! WOW!!! Bravo!!! So sad for her short! :-(

David Lease of The Skating Lesson (TSL)

The Skating Lesson ‏@SkatingLesson  Feb 20
This is the Mao Asada we wanted to see, that program was simply breathtaking. And now I'm weeping.


@SkatingLesson
People who are better than Sotnikova...Mao Asada #Olympics2014 #Sochi2014

From U.S. Figure Skating

U.S. Figure Skating ‏@USFigureSkating Feb 20
No other lady in the world is doing the triple Axel, but Mao Asada is. Tons of respect for that.

From one of my favorite commentator, Dick Button (twice Olympic champion and five-time World Champion)

Dick Button ‏@PushDicksButton Feb 20
Hate to say I told you so Beautiful triple axel Great performance doesn't everyone need a tension release?

Dick Button ‏@PushDicksButton Feb 20
Tatiana Tarasova choregraphed her program Mao is happy with this did the best she could and will have satisfaction for years

Dick Button ‏@PushDicksButton Feb 20
Good for you, Mao Asada!

From Tony Wheeler


@tony_wheeler 19m
Congrats Mao! What a completely different skater than she's been in a long time


@tony_wheeler 15h
Here are my scores using the same levels/edge calls/< calls.. 1. Asada 144.84 /2. Kostner 139.75 / 3. Sotnikova 137.53 / 4. Kim 137.09

Liza also wrote her impressions! Summary picture)

polosatik wrote:

Liza also wrote her impressions! Summary picture)

I would like to sue polosatik for draining my tear ducts. Everything re: Mao's Sochi performances has me   . 

But really...  polosatik for posting these wonderful, inspirational, beautiful, and heartfelt well wishes and positive messages for Mao. I'm going to    back to bed and    some more.  

Me: I can't watch... *crosses fingers and opens stream*  

 polosatik I'm    again, tears of joy for Mao, off course   

I was wondering, if i could choose between:
A. A beautiful SP, like Skate America, NHK, GPF or Japanese Nats, all of them over 70 points, and a beautiful LP (with some not visible mistakes…) that would give the silver/gold medal at Sochi; or
B. The disastrous SP and the divine LP at Sochi, with no medal for Mao!!!!

The answer is immediate, I don't change that LP for nothing, it is one of those things because of i'm happy to be alive to see, like John C. said: "Where were you when Mao threw it down in Sochi!!!!" OMG, just priceless!!!!!

"Mao-chan gambaryeeee !!!!" .... Yuzu
The voice may not be his, though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uaB2f7f_Sw

Dai & Yuzu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKIu67TQqvQ

Naked Ice

"Mao Asada (JPN; 198.22, 6th): Mao's Olympic performances ran the gamut of
human emotion. Her SP was various forms of devastation and heartbreak. Mao
skated last in the segment and I don't know if it was the long wait or what,
but her program was disastrous. She fell on her opening 3A(<), got dinged
on her 3F(<), and then doubled her 3L without completing the combo which was
an automatic -3 GOE across the board. In the end Mao's jumps only earned
her 7.08 points. She lost levels on a spin and her footwork (level 3s
instead of 4s) and earned a total SP score of only 55.51 which left her in
16th place heading into the FS. I was absolutely gutted for her. She'd
been skating so well all season long and in less than three minutes, four
years worth of work became all for nothing. Olympic gold was not a
possibility.

I think the realization that a medal was out of reach freed Mao. She had
absolutely nothing left to lose, nothing to fear, no reason to hold back.
She went for it and by it I mean that impossible 8-triple program she's been
talking about for years. She opened with a beautiful and easy 3A, then a
3F-3L, 3Lz, 2A-3T, 3S, 3F-2L-2L and finally a 3L...8 triple jumps. The
footwork was as spectacular as ever and the spiral sequence was beautiful.
At the end of the program, Mao broke down...and so did I. It was the most
memorable moment of the event for me. I boo-hooed, I really did. It was
such a beautiful thing to witness and even though I feel the judges held her
back in PCS and didn't give her the favorable calls others got, I didn't
care because a moment like that can't be defined with a number. That
performance was so far beyond a placement or a score...it was cathartic. It
was what Mao needed to prove to herself that she's capable of having that
Olympic moment she dreamed of. She gave it her all and skated her heart
out. No, she didn't win a medal here...but in my opinion, that performance
was worth five Olympic gold medals."

http://thenakedice.blogspot.jp/2014/02/2014-sochi-olympics-ladies-event-review.html

Sonia Bianchetti Garbato

"I want to pay tribute to Mao Asada of
Japan. She has proven to be a real champion, able to overcome her great
sorrow after her appalling short program and come back and execute a
fantastic free program, technically very strong, even with a successful
triple Axel, and very emotional and captivating. Thank you, Mao, for all you
did for our sport and for the joys you gave to all your millions of skating
fans."

http://soniabianchetti.com/writings_sochi2014.html

At a very popular Russian tv-show Adelina said that she considers Mao as her friend (along with Carolina Kostner) and that she really wanted Mao to be on the Olympic podium too, and that she cried a lot after Mao skater her long program.

silenceisgolden wrote:

"Mao-chan gambaryeeee !!!!" .... Yuzu
The voice may not be his, though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uaB2f7f_Sw

Dai & Yuzu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKIu67TQqvQ

Dai was also crying after Mao's skate       and to see yuzuru scream and say yes repeatedly during Mao's program was soo heartwarming to see

I started to be a fan of Mao only a few weeks before Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, so I really wanted her to win that competition. When she only got the silver medal (Totally unfair ) I was soooo sad, but at that time, I thought It’s OK; next time, she’ll have it for sure …

During the last 4 years, I followed Mao’s progress and learned to really appreciate her true value. Like many of you here, I didn’t want Mao to win the gold any more, I just wanted her to perform a clean program and be satisfied of her performance because she REALLY deserved it. I also wanted the whole world to see how AMAZING she was, as an athlete but also as a person …

Finally, the sochi olympic games started, first, with the team event, when Mao did not land her 3A, I was not too disappointed cause I thought “at least, everybody will be nicely surprised when she will perform in ladies event !”, but then, there was this terrible SP. I was in my office, couldn’t miss mao so I turned on live streaming and watched (didn’t care of looking unprofessional in front of my boss or colleagues ). I ended up crying ; felt sooo bad, sooo sad, I was worried about Mao, how she would feel. I was just hoping that she could overcome the pain and do her best in the FS. And that’s what she did ! I was in my office again, turned on the live streaming, asked my colleagues to stay quiet and closed the door of our office and then … oh my god, sooo MAGICAL    after the first jump, the tears just started dropping; after every jump, I was laughing harder and crying harder, it was the best performance I have ever seen in my life, the most emotional one and probably my favorite (until Mao’s next performance :p). I just wanted to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Mao, she is younger than me but is my model in so many ways, her strength, her courage, her gentle heart that did didn’t turn dark even after all the unfair things she has been facing in her career….
Now I still secretly hope she will have that World record she deserves so much!!I still hope she’ll get the Olympic gold medal too, but I know all this doesn’t matter any more; I just wish her a good happy life 
As for me, the day the free skate, I got the medal of the “weirdo & craziest” member of our team :p one of them asked me “hey, when is the world championships ? IN ONE MONTH !! Yeah, this is gonna be scary ! this time, please, just watch it from home    “

I will never forget that day   
Mao, thank you again for everything !!