Tonya Harding, 47, became the first U.S. woman to land a triple axel in competition at the 1991 Nationals, and now, the disgraced skater is back on the ice! Tonya is back in the spotlight thanks to the movie about her life, called I, Tonya, starring Margot Robbie, and in an interview with ABC News’ Amy Robach, Tonya says, “I just did it. Nobody else did it. Nobody helped me land that triple axel right there in that moment.” Japanese skater Midori Ito is credited as the first woman to land a triple-triple jump and a triple axel in competition, which she did in 1991.
Now, 27 years later, she’s back on the ice, and proving that she still has that crazy technical ability! “[I] want to get back and do the things that I love to do, which is my triples,” she says. She was filmed for the ABC piece doing some double-double combinations, so maybe her triple axel isn’t too far away? But let me tell you, a triple axel is HARD. Nathan Chen, who is America’s golden child on the 2018 Men’s Olympic team, FELL on his triple axel at the 2017 World Championships. He has FIVE QUADS in his program that he will perform at the Olympics. But the triple axel is sometimes harder than a quad, because it’s the only jump that had a forward-facing take-off. I skated for 10 years as a kid and never even felt super confident doing a SINGLE axel in competition.
For I, Tonya, producer Tom Ackerley told The Hollywood Reporter that they could not find a stunt double to do the triple axel from Tonya’s famous routine. “There’s been only six women since Tonya who have done a triple axel. Even if there was one who was doing it today, she’d be training for the Olympics and couldn’t risk doing it for the film.” They had to used a COMPUTER to show the jump on screen — insane. Watch Tonya on the ice in 2018 below:
HollywoodLifers, do you think Tonya Harding will get her triple axel back?