She could have taken the easy way out, played it safe, and walked away with another medal at the world championships.
But that would have been out of character for Mao Asada. Instead, the 18-year-old decided to go all out to try and retain her world title after finishing third in the short program last week.
It proved that even in defeat, Mao is still a champion.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.