Mirai Nagasu became the first American female figure skater to hit the triple axel during an Olympic event when she nailed the move in the women's free skate portion of the team figure skating event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
NBC Olympics shared a replay of the history-making jump:
Nagasu finished with a 137.53 overall score, which was second-best of the ladies free skate, giving the United States nine points in the team competition. Her reaction after completing her routine showed how much the triple axel had meant to her:
Olympic gold medalists Kristi Yamaguchi and Meryl Davis were among those who watched Nagasu forever leave her stamp on United States figure skating:
Japanese skaters Midori Ito and Mao Asada are the only other women to successfully complete the triple axel at the Olympics.
"It's just one jump in the program," Nagasu said of the triple axel in an interview with the Washington Post's Chelsea Janes before the Olympics. "But at the same time, it's really cool for me because I am one of the few who has the ability to land it."
Nagasu added the difficulty associated with attempting the move was "worth the risk" and "worth going down in history for."
by Joseph Zucker