Ami Nakai Explained

Ami Nakai
Native Name:中井 亜美
Native Name Lang:ja
Country: Japan
Birth Date:27 April 2008
Birth Place:Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Hometown:Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Height:1.50 m
Coach:Kensuke Nakaniwa, Makoto Nakata, Momoe Nagumo, Aya Tanoue, Akane Seo
Formercoach:Kousuke Watabe, Izumi Watabe
Choreographer:David Wilson, Akiko Suzuki
Formerchoreographer:Kenji Miyamoto
Skating Club:MF Figure Skating Academy
Currenttraininglocations:Chiba
Beganskating:2013
Combined Total:205.90
Combined Date:2022 JGP Poland II
Sp Score:69.00
Sp Date:2022 JGP Poland II
Fs Score:136.90
Fs Date:2022 JGP Poland II
Show-Medals:yes

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

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

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

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

Career

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

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.

2021–22 season

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. 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

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. Nakai attempted a triple Axel but was marked as under-rotated during the free skate. She popped two jumps and finished third overall. 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.

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.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. Despite narrowly missing the podium, she described the Final as "a dream stage."

Nakai appeared at her second senior Japan Championships, finishing eighth in the short program. 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.

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. 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.

2023–24 season

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. 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.

Dealing with a back injury with painkiller and injections, Nakai withdrew from the domestic sectionals competition in early November. Despite this, she was considered a podium contender heading into the 2023–24 Japan Junior Championships. After falling and failing to executive a jump combination in the short program, she finished fourteenth in that segment. 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.

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."

Programs

SeasonShort programFree skatingExhibition
2024-2025
2023–2024
  • Baby, God Bless You
2022–2023
  • O Holy Night
2021–2022
2020–2021
  • To Believe
2018–2019

Competitive highlights

International: Junior
Event17–1818–1919–2020–2121–2222–2323–2424–25
align=left bgcolor=cc9966 3rd
align=left 4th 5th
align=left bgcolor=cc9966 3rd
align=left bgcolor=gold 1st
align=left bgcolor=gold 1st
align=left bgcolor=gold 1st TBD
align=left bgcolor=gold 1st bgcolor=gold 1st
National
align=left 27th 4th
align=left 6th 7th bgcolor=cc9966 3rd 10th
align=left Japan Novice 14th B bgcolor=gold 1st B 5th A bgcolor=cc9966 3rd A
align=left Japan Eastern Sect. 4th J bgcolor=gold 1st J WD
align=left Tohoku-Hokkaido Reg. bgcolor=silver 2nd B bgcolor=gold 1st A bgcolor=gold 1st A
align=left Tokyo Reg. bgcolor=silver 2nd J
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Cancelled
Levels: A = Novice A; B = Novice B; J = Junior

Detailed results

Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.

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

Senior level

2022–23 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
December 21–25, 20222022–23 Japan Championshipsalign=center 8
64.07
align=center 4
137.42
align=center 4
201.49
2021–22 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
December 22–26, 2021 2021–22 Japan Championshipsalign=center 27
52.65
align=center align=center 27
52.65

Junior level

2023–24 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
December 7–10, 20232023–24 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Finalalign=center 4
65.04
align=center 5
122.00
align=center 5
187.04
November 17–19, 20232023–24 Japan Junior Championshipsalign=center 14
55.06
align=center 10
105.83
align=center 10
160.89
September 6–9, 20232023 JGP Turkeyalign=center 1
67.07
align=center 1
127.58
align=center bgcolor=gold 1
194.65
August 23–26, 20232023 JGP Thailandalign=center 1
67.49
align=center 2
123.16
align=center bgcolor=gold 1
190.65
2022–23 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
March 17–19, 20232023 Coupe du Printempsalign=center 1
64.42
align=center 1
133.81
align=center bgcolor=gold 1
198.23
February 27–March 5, 20232023 World Junior Championshipsalign=center bgcolor=cc9966 3
67.28
align=center bgcolor=cc9966 3
130.12
align=center bgcolor=cc9966 3
197.40
December 8–11, 20222022–23 JGP Finalalign=center 4
65.97
align=center 4
123.26
align=center 4
189.23
November 25–27, 20222022–23 Japan Junior Championshipsalign=center 4
65.12
align=center 3
125.58
align=center bgcolor=cc9966 3
190.70
October 5–8, 20222022 JGP Poland IIalign=center 1
69.00
align=center 1
136.90
align=center bgcolor=gold 1
205.90
September 7–10, 20222022 JGP Rigaalign=center 3
63.87
align=center 3
121.75
align=center bgcolor=#cc9966 3
185.62
2021–22 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
March 18–20, 20222022 Coupe du Printempsalign=center 2
55.73
align=center 1
126.68
align=center bgcolor=gold 1
182.41
November 19–21, 20212021–22 Japan Junior Championshipsalign=center 7
56.78
align=center 6
108.98
align=center 7
165.76

Novice level

2020–21 season
DateEventFSTotal
October 24–25, 20202020–21 Japan Novice A Championshipsalign=center 3
102.03
align=center bgcolor=cc9966 3
102.03
2019–20 season
DateEventFSTotal
October 18–20, 20192019–20 Japan Novice A Championshipsalign=center 5
80.07
align=center 5
80.07
2018–19 season
DateEventFSTotal
October 18–20, 20182018–19 Japan Novice B Championshipsalign=center 1
73.51
align=center bgcolor=gold 1
73.51
2017–18 season
DateEventFSTotal
October 20–22, 20172017–18 Japan Novice B Championshipsalign=center 14
59.48
align=center 14
59.48

External links