U.S. Figure Skater Lands Historic Triple Axel at the Olympics

U.S. figure skater Mirai Nagasu leaped into Olympic history early Monday morning in Pyeongchang by becoming the first American woman to land a notoriously difficult triple axel jump at the Winter Games. Nagasu began her routine with the triple axel—the most challenging jump in figure skating—and followed it up with eight other triple jumps as she helped the U.S. win bronze in the Team Skate event. Nagasu became only the third woman ever to land the triple axel at the Olympics—the only other two women to land it in Games history are Japanese skaters Midori Ito and Mao Asada. Nagasu, the daughter of Japanese immigrants, joked after the feat: “Maybe it’s the Japanese genetics—but lucky for me I’m American, so I’ll be the first U.S. lady.”