Famous People in Japan



Ito Midori

Date of Birth 13 August 1969
Place of Birth Aichi

Ito Midori started to practice figure skating since she was four years old and very early showed that she was very gifted. She won prizes of various tournaments even as a child.

In the 15th Winter Olympic Games (1988), she won the fifth prize in the women's singles tournament. In her free skating event, she introduced feats such as a triple jump, which made the audience of 18,000 stand up and applaud her. In another international tournament, she succeeded in a triple and half jump, which was an extremely difficult routine. It was the first heroic deed in international athletic meetings, and surprised all persons in the figure skating world.

In the World Figure Skating Championship (1989), she finally broke a long time barrier when she became the first gold medalist from Asia. In the Winter Olympic Games (1992), she won second prize. Her skating was wonderful.

After that, she decided to retire from figure skating to become a professional skater. Many people regret her retiring.

Midori was a skater who had attracted many fans from all over the world.

References: Angel on the Ice --Ito Midori story-- Fujisaki Yasuo (12/21/92)

Reported by: Sachiko Yoshida
Data verified by: Yumiko Hosokawa
Date of Report: November 1995

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