See that face? That's the fierce, fiery "fuck yeah!" you get to proclaim, right there in the middle of ice, when you make history. On Sunday, figure skater Mirai Nagasu became the first American woman to land a triple axel at the Olympics, helping the U.S. secure the bronze medal in team figure skating.
Nagasu, who landed the notoriously difficult jump in the first minute of her routine, joins Midori Ito and Mao Asada as the only women to ever complete the triple axel in Olympic competition. The judges rewarded her with a personal-best and season-best score of 137.53.
"HOLY COW!" You just witnessed a historic triple axel from Mirai Nagasu. #WinterOlympics https://t.co/NsNuy9F46h pic.twitter.com/jCMTb4LtXv
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 12, 2018
The near-perfect performance was also a moment of tremendous vindication for Nagasu, 24, who finished fourth at the 2010 Vancouver Games, but infamously did not make the U.S. roster for Sochi, despite finishing third at the national championship in 2014. It's pretty clear now she earned her spot to PyeongChang.
"Four years ago when I was left off the team, I wanted to make another Olympic team, and I knew I would really have to be something special," she told The New York Times. "So to become the first American to land a triple axel at the Olympic Games is historical, and no one can take that away from me."
.@mirai_nagasu is HYPE. #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/OOGZjlDjzU
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 12, 2018
But get this: Nagasu's parents, who a run a restaurant in Arcadia, California, didn't watch their daughter's historic performance. They were apparently in the middle of a dinner rush, so they opted to tape it and catch it later. Sure, their daughter's competing at the Olympics, but they have a restaurant to run.
"It was so busy at the restaurant so we are waiting to go home and watch (on DVR)," Mirai's father, Kiyoto Nagasu, told USA Today. "We are very happy because we heard it went well."
But Nagasu knew her parents would be there in spirit.
"Coming from an Asian background, my parents don't say things like 'I'm proud of you,'" Nagasu told KNBC before the competition. "But I received a text message from my papa daddy and it said 'I'm proud of you.' And I was like, screen shot, that has never happened before."
And that is pretty much the most Asian American thing ever to happen at the Olympics.
But don't worry, Nagasu's parents will be in PyeongChang when the women's figure skating competition resumes on February 21, when we'll likely see her attempt that fabulous triple axel again.
Get it, Mirai.
More here: Mirai Nagasu first American woman to land triple axel at an Olympics
