World champion Mao Asada came up short in her bid to make history again Saturday night, trying to land two triple axels in her free skate to become the first female ever to accomplish the feat in the same program in international competition, but was still good enough to lead a Japanese sweep in the ladies singles at the NHK Trophy.
Skating before a full house at Yoyogi Gymnasium, Mao opened with a clean triple axel, then tried a triple axel/double toe loop combination jump that had the crowd roaring when it looked like she had hit it. However, the second triple axel was downgraded in scoring by the judges, because they felt it wasn't fully rotated.
Mao performed to "Masquerade Waltz" and had a consistent outing, faltering only at the very end when she wobbled her final element — a foot-changing combination spin — and briefly touched the ice to regain her balance.