Mao Asada Captures Third World Title In Japan

Photo credit: AP/Koji Sasahara

So happy for Mao Asada and Carolina Kostner! After a shocking short program in Sochi that knocked her out of medal contention, Mao rebounded to capture gold at the World Figure Skating Championships. Meanwhile, Carolina Kostner matched her Sochi bronze medal showing, finishing just behind Yulia Lipnitskaya.

Mao’s indicated she might retire after these World Championships, but hasn’t seemed to definitively make up her mind. Her short program, in which she landed a triple axel, broke Yuna Kim’s world record from Vancouver 2010. For Kostner, this was her last competitive skate. Should this be the last time we see both women on the international stage, they both went out in style!