Miki Ando’s 20-Year Confession: Sports Inspire and Empower Imperfect Humans
A Time to Restart - Thoughts that led her to the end of her "days of suffering," having been in the spotlight since her high school days.
“I never felt at ease, I was scared.”
Staring straight into the interviewer’s eyes, she carefully selected her words one by one. Her demeanor seemed far removed from the “determined” image the public had of her.
“Since the Torino Olympics, I might have stopped trusting anyone deeply. I particularly feel that way now. There were many times when I trusted others unilaterally, only to end up in a painful situation.”
In 2007 and 2011, Miki Ando became the world champion twice, and also participated in two consecutive Winter Olympics in Torino and Vancouver. Despite her brilliant achievements as a professional figure skater, she was not always met with positive attention from the public.
She often performed roles like Carmen and Cleopatra, portraying “strong and seductive women,” which led to a created image of her walking on its own.
“My best friend says, ‘Miki laughs a lot, but she has a weak side mentally, and I’ve never thought she’s competitive or scary.’ I think there’s a gap between the public’s image of me and the real me. Even so, I feel like it’s up to the public to judge. I don’t think it’s right to loudly deny it by saying, ‘I’m not that kind of person!'”
Ando has been in the public eye since her teenage years. At 14, she became the first female athlete to land a quadruple jump in an official competition, and at 16, she won her first national title. When she qualified for the 2006 Torino Olympics, her status as a high school student added to the national excitement. From then on, every move she made off the ice garnered attention.
“There were reporters and cameramen waiting in front of my house or school, and they would talk to me. No matter where I went, it felt like I was being followed, and I couldn’t find peace, which was scary.”
During a period of physical changes due to age, cruel bashing from the audience about her body—calling her “too fat” or telling her to “lose weight”—also tormented her.
“I drastically reduced my carbohydrates, even worried about the little oil I used for the omelette and made it in the microwave. But still, my weight wouldn’t drop. It was natural for me to gain weight during my growth period, but at that time, I couldn’t stand my body shape.”
At the Torino Olympics, Ando finished 15th due to a foot injury right before the event and faced severe criticism, including statements like, “We don’t need athletes who can’t produce results.” Ando chuckled bitterly, saying, “I don’t really have any memories of that time.”
“I think it was so painful that I had to erase it from my memory in order to move forward. I didn’t want to go outside at all. I didn’t even want to face my family, and there was a time when I secluded myself in my room.”
Though social media didn’t exist at the time, Ando received thousands of hateful letters directly.
“Right after Torino, I honestly thought about quitting skating. I loved skating, but if continuing would ruin my life, then I had no choice but to quit. I was pushed to that point.”
