Mao Asada to compete at Nationals just weeks after mother's death
Mao Asada will compete at the Japanese National Championships just weeks after the death of her mother, Kyodo News reports.
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The 2010 Olympic silver medalist was in Quebec City to compete at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final when she got the call that her mother was critically ill. Asada did not make it back to Japan before her mother, Kyoko, passed away after a long battle with liver cirrhosis.
"When I got to Narita and checked my e-mail, I had a text from my father that said, ‘Mom couldn't make it.' I just cried and cried," Asada told Kyodo News.
But the 21-year-old is determined to compete at Nationals in Osaka, which begin on December 23.
"My mother would rejoice that I'm determined to do what I must do as I aim to achieve my dreams for the future," Asada said in a statement.
Nationals determines who will qualify for the World Championships in Nice, France in March 2012.
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