Ito started skating at age 5 and won her first of eight consecutive     All-Japan Championships in 1985. She placed fifth at the 1988 Winter     Olympics, and later that year became the first woman to land a triple axel     in a competition. In 1989, Ito won the World Championship title. She won a     silver medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics, where she became the first woman     to successfully complete a triple axel in Olympic competition. Ito earned     wide praise for her powerful and energetic skating.