Submitted by admin on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 05:54

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Mikitty has started a schoolgirl catfight, according to Josei Seven (2/23).

Mikitty, as 18-year-old ice rink roly-poly Miki Ando is warmly referred to across Japan, has sparked a huge spat at her school in Nagoya even as it officially joins as one to support her in the Turin Olympics, the women's weekly says.

And the bitter tiff all revolves around the gaudy, Kabuki cosmetics Mikitty likes to apply when performing, just as she did when she became the only female figure skater to ever complete a quadruple jump in competition.

"Actually, Ando was given a severe reprimand for disobeying school rules," a local reporter tells Josei Seven. "She used to turn up at school with the same flashy make-up she wears on the ice and all the other students started copying her."

Students at Ando's Chukyo High School are certainly dark on the quadruple jump queen who's rumored to be packing away too much Dairy Queen.

"Our school rules ban us from having dyed hair or perms, or from wearing make-up and accessories. But Ando gets special treatment and can get away with all that stuff," a girl studying in the third year at the high school tells Josei Seven. "There're plenty of girls who think she's a bit sneaky."

Chukyo High officials acknowledge the Olympian was told off.

"We realize that she needs to wear make-up for her performances, but if she turns up to school with her face done she will, like any other student, be told off," the school's head teacher tells Josei Seven.

"She was admonished for her cosmetics, but that was more than a year ago. Now, she's under enough strain by having to compete at the Olympics."

It's apparently the realization of the pressure on Mikitty that's prompting school officials to turn a blind eye to the chunky champ's infractions. But other students are much quicker to wield the ax at the angel of the axel.

"She got in trouble after her 'head and hair inspection' at the end of her second year. Teachers give us this inspection once or twice every term, but let us know a week in advance. Everybody spends that time dyeing their hair back to its original black, or buying spray that will change it back to the right color, but (Ando) turned up on the day of the inspection with her hair tinted the same color as always, justifying herself by saying, 'You need to have pretty hair for figure skating, so I can't change my style.' And the teachers let her get away with that excuse!" another third-year Chukyo High schoolgirl says.

"Everybody was really peeved at that. Some girls were really mad. They all complained about her getting favorable treatment and wanted to know why she could dye her hair when nobody else was allowed to."

Emi Watanabe, a former Olympic athlete who has struggled with her weight as Ando has done, has defended her stout successor, but also lashed out at the lard laden lady of the lutz.

"It's a fact that the young skaters really depend on their make-up, especially as they are being graded on their expressiveness in front of other people. And recently, there are lots more close-up photos of skaters being taken, which makes the cosmetics even more important," Watanabe tells Josei Seven.

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