Mirai Nagasu made her own butt pads for triple axel training
Mirai Nagasu is the first U.S. woman to land a triple axel at the Olympics, which is an incredible accomplishment. But for that one moment, Nagasu trained for thousands and thousands of hours to get it right.
And when skaters like Nagasu train to make jumps like the triple axel, there are falls. Lots and lots of falls. Falls on every body part imaginable, but especially the butt. Attempting a figure skating jump involves both speed and height, so these are hard falls on a hard, icy surface.
Even though figure skaters have more muscular behinds than most people, it still hurts to fall on it. In the video above, Nagasu talked to Yahoo Sports about what she did to train for her triple axel, and what she did to protect herself — and her butt — during the many falls she took. If you ever wanted to know how to make your own homemade butt pads for figure skating training, Nagasu has all the info you need.
– – – – – –
Liz Roscher is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
More Olympic coverage from Yahoo Sports:
• Chen eyes jump that’s ‘not physically possible’
• Foes’ icy reactions to gold medal winners
• Is Russian curler a ‘victim of an act of sabotage’?
• Tears of joy after skater’s humiliating malfunction
• What’s going on with Team USA’s ‘crotch pants’?
