who was the first skater to land a triple Axel'

Male or female?

Norwegian skater Axel Paulsen (1855-1938) was the first to perform it in 1882.

The first woman to land the jump in competition was Midori Ito (1989 World Figure Skating Championship).

* Canadian skater Vern Taylor was the first to land a triple Axel in competition at the 1978 World Figure Skating Championships. It has since become a standard jump for male competitors, but it is rare for female skaters to successfully land them, or even to attempt them. The first women to land the jump in competition were Midori Ito (1989 World Figure Skating Championship) & Tonya Harding (1991 U.S. Figure Skating Championships). Yukari Nakano landed a triple Axel at Skate America in October 2002, thus becoming, together with Russian Liudmila Nelidina, the first skater to perform this element in competition since Midori Ito landed a triple Axel at the 1992 Winter Games. More recently, Kimmie Meissner landed a triple Axel at the 2005 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, & Mao Asada became the first female skater to land two triple Axels in the same program at the 2005 Japanese Championships.

* American pairs skaters Rena Inoue & John Baldwin, Jr. became the first pair to perform a throw triple Axel in competition at the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, & then made Olympic history landing it again at the 2006 Winter Olympics.:-)

In routine from women, Tonya Harding.