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Miki Ando wins free skate world title

Miki Ando of Japan performs during her exhibition program at the World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo yesterday. Miki Ando won the gold medal at the women's event. PHOTO: EPA

In Turin, she was overshadowed by teammate Shizuka Arakawa, who won Japan's first and only Olympic gold. Until the final skate of the world championships, it was teammate Mao Asada, the 16-year-old wonderkid who was the darling of the nation.

But then it was Miki Ando's turn to shine. And she didn't even need her quad.

Ando, 19, the 2004 junior world champion, came out from the shadows of Asada and South Korea's new star, Kim Yu-na, with a beautiful free skate on Saturday to win her first world title with a score of 195.09 points.

Asada, who bobbled a jump but had an otherwise strong performance, took the silver with 194.45. Kim, who fell twice, dropped from the lead she took with a near flawless short program to finish third with 186.14.

Defending champion Kimmie Meissner of the US was fourth, with 180.23.

"As the women's singles is the last event and I skated last, it was hard to keep my concentration," Ando said. "I'm very happy to have won the title in my home country."

Known more for her jumps than her artistry, Ando had a triple-triple for starters and landed all her jumps cleanly. But her routine was also smooth and graceful, and her best ever. Even so, she saved her tears until she saw the final scores.

Until winning the world title, Ando's main accomplishment had been her quadruple salchow. She is the only woman to land one in competition, though that was more than four years ago.
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