Ami Nakai

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Ami Nakai
Native name中井 亜美
Born (2008-04-27) April 27, 2008 (age 16)
Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan
HometownFunabashi, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Height1.45 m (4 ft 9 in)
Figure skating career
CountryJapan Japan
CoachKensuke Nakaniwa, Makoto Nakata, Momoe Nagumo, Aya Tanoue, Akane Seo
Skating clubMF Figure Skating Academy
Began skating2013
Medal record
Figure skating: Women's singles
Representing  Japan
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Calgary Women's singles

Ami Nakai (中井 亜美, Nakai Ami, born April 27, 2008) is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2023 World Junior bronze medalist, a three-time gold medalist on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (at the 2022 JGP Poland II, the 2023 JGP Thailand, and the 2023 JGP Turkey), and the 2022–23 Japanese junior bronze medalist.

Personal life[edit]

Nakai was born on April 27, 2008 in Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan.[1]

As a young child, she practiced rhythmic gymnastics before ultimately switching to figure skating.[2]

Nakai currently attends Ichikawa Municipal Junior High School in Ichikawa, Chiba.[3]

Career[edit]

Nakai began skating in 2013 at the age of five after being inspired by watching Mao Asada skate on TV.[1][2] She originally trained at the Ibis SC in Niigata under coaches, Kousuke Watabe and Izumi Watabe.[3]

As the 2018 Japanese national novice B champion, she was invited to skate in the gala at the 2019 World Team Trophy.

In spring 2021, Nakai moved with her mother from her hometown of Niigata, Niigata Prefecture to Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture so that Nakai could train at the MF Figure Skating Academy, while her father remained in Niigata due to his work. Kensuke Nakaniwa, Makoto Nakata, Momoe Nagumo, Aya Tanoue, and Akane Seo became Nakai's new coaching team.[2][3]

2021–22 season[edit]

Nakai placed seventh at the 2021–22 Japan Junior National Championships but was invited to compete at the 2021–22 Japan Senior National Championships because the junior champion Mao Shimada was still a novice skater.[4] She popped her planned triple Axel in the short program and struggled on the landing of the triple Lutz, finishing in twenty-seventh and not advancing to the final.

Nakai was sent to 2022 Coupe du Printemps to compete at the junior category. She won and became the twentieth woman to land a triple Axel in international competition.

2022–23 season[edit]

In September 2022, Nakai debuted on the Junior Grand Prix circuit at the 2022 JGP Latvia in Riga. She landed all her jumps cleanly in her short program and placed third with 63.87 points.[5] Nakai attempted a triple Axel but was marked as under-rotated during the free skate. She popped two jumps and finished third overall.[6][7] At the second of two Polish Junior Grand Prixes held in Gdańsk, she won the gold medal and qualified to the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final. Nakai landed a clean triple Axel in the free skate and said afterward that she hoped to do two in the free skate at the Final.[8]

Fourth in the short program at the 2022–23 Japan Junior Championships, Nakai landed a triple Axel in the free skate and made only one jumping error, a fall on her triple loop. She placed third in that segment, moving up to take the bronze medal.[9]Two weeks later, at the Junior Grand Prix Final, Nakai finished in fourth place, 1.16 points behind bronze medalist Kim Chae-yeon of South Korea.[10] Despite narrowly missing the podium, she described the Final as "a dream stage."[11]

Nakai appeared at her second senior Japan Championships, finishing eighth in the short program.[12] She finished fourth in the free skate, successfully landing two triple Axel jumps, and rising to fourth place overall. She said she was "happy to have challenged two Axels on this big stage, and landed them both! It's the first time I have been able to land both in the same program." Nakai was assigned to Japan's second berth at the 2023 World Junior Championships, alongside Shimada.[13]

Competing at the World Junior Championships in Calgary, Nakai was third in the short program with a clean skate. With a score of 67.28, she finished 3.96 points back of second-place Shin Ji-a of South Korea, and 3.31 points ahead of Kim Yu-jae in fourth.[14] Nakai fell on her triple Axel attempt at the beginning of the free skate, but delivered the rest of the program cleanly, finishing third in that segment as well and winning the bronze medal.[15][16]

2023–24 season[edit]

Nakai began the season by competing on the Junior Grand Prix at the 2023 JGP Thailand, skating a clean short program to lead the segment. In the free skate she doubled her planned triple Axel and as a result performed too many double Axels in the segment, in violation of the Zayak rule, but still finished first in that segment as well and won the gold medal.[17] She secured another gold medal at the 2023 JGP Turkey in Istanbul, despite struggling with jump combinations in the free skate, which she said left her "a little bit disappointed," but adding she was "happy to be in first place." Her results qualified her for her second Junior Grand Prix Final.[18]

Dealing with a back injury with painkiller and injections, Nakai withdrew from the domestic sectionals competition in early November.[19] Despite this, she was considered a podium contender heading into the 2023–24 Japan Junior Championships.[20] After falling and failing to executive a jump combination in the short program, she finished fourteenth in that segment.[21] She was tenth in the free skate, and rose to tenth overall, as a result missing qualification for both the senior national championships and the Japanese team for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics.[22]

Nakai next appeared at the Junior Grand Prix Final in Beijing, placing fourth in the short program. In the free skate she fell on her triple Axel, but landed six other triple jumps. She was fifth in that segment, and came fifth overall. Nakai explained that she "thought it would be the last competition of the season, so a part of me was nervous."[23][24]

Programs[edit]

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2023–2024
[25]
  • Baby, God Bless You
    by Shin'ya Kiyozuka
    choreo. by Akiko Suzuki
2022–2023
[26][27]
  • O Holy Night
    by John Sullivan Dwight
    performed by Jackie Evancho
    choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto
2021–2022
[28][29]
2020–2021
[30]
  • To Believe
    by Jackie Evancho
    choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto
2018–2019
[31]

Competitive highlights[edit]

International: Junior[1]
Event 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21 21–22 22–23 23–24
Junior Worlds 3rd
JGP Final 4th 5th
JGP Latvia 3rd
JGP Poland 1st
JGP Thailand 1st
JGP Turkey 1st
Coupe Printemps 1st 1st
National [32]
Japan 27th 4th
Japan Junior 6th 7th 3rd 10th
Japan Novice 14th B 1st B 5th A 3rd A
Japan Eastern Sect. 4th J 1st J WD
Tohoku-Hokkaido Reg. 2nd B 1st A 1st A
Tokyo Reg. 2nd J
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Cancelled
Levels: A = Novice A; B = Novice B; J = Junior

Detailed results[edit]

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [32]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 205.90 2022 JGP Poland II
Short program TSS 69.00 2022 JGP Poland II
TES 39.26 2022 JGP Poland II
PCS 30.04 2023 JGP Turkey
Free skating TSS 136.90 2022 JGP Poland II
TES 76.85 2022 JGP Poland II
PCS 61.04 2023 World Junior Championships

Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships.

Senior level[edit]

2022–23 season
Date Event SP FS Total
December 21–25, 2022 2022–23 Japan Championships 8
64.07 		4
137.42 		4
201.49
2021–22 season
Date Event SP FS Total
December 22–26, 2021 2021–22 Japan Championships 27
52.65 		– 27
52.65

Junior level[edit]

2023–24 season
Date Event SP FS Total
December 7–10, 2023 2023–24 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 4
65.04 		5
122.00 		5
187.04
November 17–19, 2023 2023–24 Japan Junior Championships 14
55.06 		10
105.83 		10
160.89
September 6–9, 2023 2023 JGP Turkey 1
67.07 		1
127.58 		1
194.65
August 23–26, 2023 2023 JGP Thailand 1
67.49 		2
123.16 		1
190.65
2022–23 season
Date Event SP FS Total
March 17–19, 2023 2023 Coupe du Printemps 1
64.42 		1
133.81 		1
198.23
February 27–March 5, 2023 2023 World Junior Championships 3
67.28 		3
130.12 		3
197.40
December 8–11, 2022 2022–23 JGP Final 4
65.97 		4
123.26 		4
189.23
November 25–27, 2022 2022–23 Japan Junior Championships 4
65.12 		3
125.58 		3
190.70
October 5–8, 2022 2022 JGP Poland II 1
69.00 		1
136.90 		1
205.90
September 7–10, 2022 2022 JGP Riga 3
63.87 		3
121.75 		3
185.62
2021–22 season
Date Event SP FS Total
March 18–20, 2022 2022 Coupe du Printemps 2
55.73 		1
126.68 		1
182.41
November 19–21, 2021 2021–22 Japan Junior Championships 7
56.78 		6
108.98 		7
165.76

Novice level[edit]

2020–21 season
Date Event FS Total
October 24–25, 2020 2020–21 Japan Novice A Championships 3
102.03 		3
102.03
2019–20 season
Date Event FS Total
October 18–20, 2019 2019–20 Japan Novice A Championships 5
80.07 		5
80.07
2018–19 season
Date Event FS Total
October 18–20, 2018 2018–19 Japan Novice B Championships 1
73.51 		1
73.51
2017–18 season
Date Event FS Total
October 20–22, 2017 2017–18 Japan Novice B Championships 14
59.48 		14
59.48

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Competition Results: Ami NAKAI". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "フィギュアスケーターのオアシス♪ KENJIの部屋 中井亜美選手「スケートをはじめたきっかけは浅田真央さん」". JSports. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "中井亜美の小学校や中学校はどこ？身長などプロフィールが知りたい！父親と母親はどんな人？". Nagaikishitaize. Nagaikishitaize. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  4. ^ [Official] Fuji TV Skating [@online_on_ice] (November 22, 2021). "全日本ジュニア男女6名が全日本への推薦出場を決めました" [All Japan Junior six men and women selected for All Japan announced] (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ "JGP Riga 2022 Judges Details Per Skater, Women's Short Program" (PDF). International Skating Union.
  6. ^ "JGP Riga 2022 Judges Details Per Skater, Women's Free Skate" (PDF). International Skating Union.
  7. ^ "Memola (ITA), Smith/Deng (USA) sealing spots in Junior Final with win at ISU JGP Riga". International Skating Union. September 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "More Skaters secure spots for the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final". International Skating Union. October 10, 2022.
  9. ^ Gallagher, Jack (November 28, 2022). "Mao Shimada Lands Quad Toe Loop, Retains Japan Junior Championships Crown". Japan Forward.
  10. ^ McCarvel, Nick (December 9, 2022). "Junior Grand Prix Final - Shimada Mao captures title, becoming first Japanese woman to do so in 13 years". Olympic Channel.
  11. ^ Gallagher, Jack (December 9, 2022). "Mao Shimada Captures Junior Grand Prix Final Title With Strong Showing". Japan Forward.
  12. ^ Gallagher, Jack (December 22, 2022). "Kaori Sakamoto Seizes Lead after Short Program at Japan Championships". Japan Forward.
  13. ^ Gallagher, Jack (December 24, 2022). "Kaori Sakamoto Captures Third National Title at Japan Championships". Japan Forward.
  14. ^ "Lioness Mao Shimada (JPN) begins her gold medal hunt in the Junior World Women's Short Program". International Skating Union. March 2, 2023.
  15. ^ "Spectacular Mao Shimada (JPN) soars to World Junior title". International Skating Union. March 4, 2023.
  16. ^ Slater, Paula (March 4, 2023). "Mao Shimada impresses in Calgary; takes Junior World title". Golden Skate. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  17. ^ "Exciting start into the ISU Junior Grand Prix season in Bangkok (THA)". International Skating Union. August 28, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  18. ^ "Ami Nakai (JPN) and Rio Nakata (JPN) secure Junior Grand Prix Final spot in Istanbul (TUR)". International Skating Union. September 11, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  19. ^ "【フィギュア】中井亜美号泣　ジャンプ転倒響きSP55・06「不安が演技に…」全日本ジュニア". Nikkan Sports. November 18, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  20. ^ Gallagher, Jack (November 17, 2023). "Mao Shimada Aims for a Three-peat at the Japan Junior Championships". Japan Forward. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  21. ^ Gallagher, Jack (November 19, 2023). "Ikura Kushida Leads at the Japan Junior Championships After the Short Program". Japan Forward. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  22. ^ Gallagher, Jack (November 20, 2023). "Mao Shimada Catches Up to Arakawa and Ando with 3rd Japan Junior Crown". Japan Forward. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  23. ^ Slater, Paula (December 8, 2023). "Shimada defends Junior Grand Prix Final title". Golden Skate. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  24. ^ Gallagher, Jack (December 9, 2023). "Mao Shimada Achieves Historic First with Second Straight Victory at the JGP Final". Japan Forward. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  25. ^ "Ami NAKAI: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 11, 2023.
  26. ^ "Ami Nakai "Star of Milan" Lands Stable Quadruple Toe Loop and Lutz in practice". Nikkan Sports.
  27. ^ "Ami NAKAI: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023.
  28. ^ "Ami NAKAI: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022.
  29. ^ "Ami Nakai Profile". Fuji TV.
  30. ^ "Since Mao Asada, Ami Nakai is the second skater to attempt but the first to rotate a triple axel in the final of the Japanese novice National Championships". @max_ambesi on Twitter.
  31. ^ "Ami NAKAI. Ex". md1tv on YouTube. April 14, 2019.
  32. ^ a b "JPN-Ami NAKAI". SkatingScores.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ami_Nakai&oldid=1218158236"