Mirai Nagasu facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mirai Nagasu |
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Nagasu at the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard
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| Personal information | |
| Full name | Mirai Aileen Nagasu |
| Country represented |  United States |
| Born | April 16, 1993 Montebello, California, U.S |
| Home town | Arcadia, California, U.S |
| Height | 1.63 m |
| Former coach | Tom Zakrajsek, Wenxian Zhang, Takashi Mura, Wendy Olson, Amy Evidente, Christa Fassi, Frank Carroll, Charlene Wong, Sandy Gollihugh |
| Choreographer | Jeffrey Buttle, David Wilson |
| Former choreographer | Tom Dickson, Adam Rippon, Catarina Lindgren, Cindy Stuart, Lori Nichol, Susan Austin |
| Skating club | Pasadena FSC |
| Training locations | Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| Former training locations | Okayama, Japan Burbank, California Lake Arrowhead, California Pasadena, California |
| Began skating | 1998 |
| Retired | 2020 |
| World standing | 11 (2017–18) 7 (2016–17) 12 (2015–16) 27 (2014–15) 24 (2013–14) 21 (2012–13) 9 (2011–12) 12 (2010–11) 13 (2009–10) 14 (2008–09) 21 (2007–08) |
| Season's bests | 14 (As of September 23, 2016[ref]) 23 (2017-18) |
| ISU personal best scores | |
| Combined total | 194.95 2017 Four Continents Championships |
| Short program | 73.40 2016 CS Autumn Classic |
| Free skate | 137.53 2018 Winter Olympics Team Event |
Mirai Aileen Nagasu (born April 16, 1993) is an American figure skater. She is famous for being the first American woman to land a triple Axel at the Olympic Games. She won a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics team event.
Mirai has also won many other medals. She earned silver and bronze medals at the Four Continents competition. She was the champion of the JGP Final in 2007. She also won two medals at the World Junior championships. In the U.S. national competition, she won gold in 2008 and many other medals.
In 2008, Mirai became one of the youngest women to win the U.S. senior ladies' title. She was only 14 years old! She also made history by winning both the junior and senior national titles in a row. Mirai competed for the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics when she was 16, finishing 4th.
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About Mirai's Life
Mirai Aileen Nagasu was born in Montebello, California and grew up in Arcadia, California. Her parents moved from Japan and own a Japanese sushi restaurant. Mirai used to have dual citizenship (being a citizen of two countries), but she chose to be a U.S. citizen before she turned 22. She speaks both Japanese and English at home. The name Mirai (未来) means "future" in Japanese.
Mirai went to Foothills Middle School and then Arcadia High School. She later studied online and graduated from Capistrano Connections Academy in 2011. Around 2015, she started taking business classes at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She earned her business degree in December 2020.
During the 2015–16 NHL season, Mirai worked for the Colorado Avalanche hockey team. She was an "ice girl" and helped at events like "learn to skate" programs. In June 2024, Mirai shared that she got engaged to Michael Bramante and welcomed her son, Tai.
Mirai's Skating Journey
Starting Out
Mirai began skating when she was five years old. She looked up to famous skaters like Yuna Kim, Michelle Kwan, and Mao Asada. She started competing at a young age, moving up through different levels of skating.
Junior Success: 2006–2008
In the 2006–07 season, Mirai moved up to the junior level. She won the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships and then the Pacific Coast Sectional Championships. These wins qualified her for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which was a big step for her.
At the U.S. Nationals, Mirai won the Junior title. She then went to the Junior Worlds and won a silver medal. It was a special moment because American skaters won all three medals at Junior Worlds that year!
For the 2007–08 season, Mirai competed as a senior nationally but stayed junior internationally. She won two ISU Junior Grand Prix events, which qualified her for the Junior Grand Prix Final. At the Junior Grand Prix Final in Poland, she won the gold medal.
Skating as a senior at the U.S. Nationals, Mirai won the short program. She landed a difficult triple Lutz-triple toe loop jump combination for the first time. She finished first overall, becoming the youngest U.S. senior ladies' champion since Tara Lipinski in 1997. She was also the first skater since 1938 to win both the junior and senior national titles in back-to-back years.
Even though she was a senior national champion, Mirai was too young to compete at the World Championships. She went to the Junior Worlds again and won a bronze medal. This was another time American skaters swept the podium!
Senior International Debut: 2008–2011
In the 2008–09 season, Mirai started competing at the senior level internationally. She faced some challenges, including an ankle injury and a growth spurt. She finished fifth at 2008 Skate America and eighth at the 2008 NHK Trophy.
In May 2009, Mirai started working with a new coach, Frank Carroll.
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For the 2009–10 season, Mirai competed in more Grand Prix events. At the U.S. Nationals, she won the silver medal. This earned her a spot on the U.S. team for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Mirai placed 4th overall, achieving new personal best scores. At the World Championships, she led the short program and finished 7th overall.
The 2010–11 season started with a stress fracture injury, which kept her from training for a month. Despite this, she won her first senior Grand Prix medal, a silver, at the 2010 Trophée Eric Bompard. At U.S. Nationals, she won the bronze medal. She also won a bronze medal at the 2011 Four Continents.
Later Career and Olympic Return: 2011–2020
Mirai won her first senior international title at the 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy in the 2011–12 season. She also won a silver medal at the 2011 Cup of China. In April 2012, she changed coaches due to the long distance to her training location.
In the 2012–13 season, Mirai won bronze medals at the 2012 Finlandia Trophy and the 2012 NHK Trophy.
For the 2013–14 season, she won a bronze medal at the 2013 Rostelecom Cup. At the 2014 U.S. Championships, she won another bronze medal. However, she was not chosen for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which was a difficult decision for her. After this, she moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado and started training with Tom Zakrajsek.
In the 2015–16 season, Mirai won gold at the 2015 Ice Challenge. She finished fourth at the 2016 U.S. Championships. She then won a silver medal at the 2016 Four Continents Championships, achieving a new personal best score. She also competed at the 2016 World Championships, finishing 10th.
For the 2016–17 season, Mirai won gold at the 2016 Autumn Classic, setting a new personal best in her short program. She also won a bronze medal at the 2017 Four Continents Championships, setting another personal best for her total score.
In the 2017–18 season, Mirai won a silver medal at the 2017 U.S. Classic. This is where she landed the difficult triple Axel jump for the first time in an international competition!
At the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Mirai won the silver medal. This earned her a spot on the 2018 U.S. Winter Olympic Team, marking her second time at the Olympics after an 8-year break.
At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Mirai made history. In the team event, she became the first American woman to land a triple Axel jump at the Olympics. She was also the third woman from any country to do so. This amazing jump helped the U.S. team win a bronze medal. She also became the first senior ladies skater to land eight triple jumps cleanly in international competition. She finished 10th in the individual ladies' event.
Mirai skipped the 2018–2019 season to recover from hip surgery. In December 2020, she announced that she was "most likely done competing" and is now working as a coach.
Skating Skills and Style
Mirai is known for her strong spins, especially her layback spin. She often performs a special Biellmann spin where she holds her skate boot instead of the blade.
She worked hard to improve her jumps and avoid under-rotations. Adding the triple Axel jump to her programs was a huge achievement. She is only the second U.S. woman to land a triple Axel internationally, after Tonya Harding. Her triple Axel at the 2018 Olympics was a historic moment for American figure skating. Mirai has said that the athletic part of skating came naturally to her, and she learned to love the artistic side of the sport.
Mirai's Skating Programs
Figure skaters perform two main programs: a short program and a free skate. They also sometimes perform exhibition programs. Mirai has skated to many different types of music throughout her career. Some of her programs include music from:
- Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor by Frédéric Chopin
- Miss Saigon (musical)
- The Winner Takes It All by ABBA
- Demons by Imagine Dragons
- The Great Gatsby soundtrack
- Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini
- James Bond music
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- Carmen by Georges Bizet
- I Got Rhythm by George Gershwin
- Coppélia by Léo Delibes
Amazing Achievements
Mirai Nagasu has achieved some incredible things in figure skating:
- She is the third woman ever to land eight triple jumps in her free skate at the 2018 Winter Olympics team event. She was the first woman to land eight clean triple jumps in a senior international free skate without any deductions.
- She was the first American woman to land a triple Axel at the Olympics.
Mirai on TV
Dancing with the Stars
In 2018, Mirai was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars (season 26). She danced with professional partner Alan Bersten. They were eliminated in the third week of the show.
Celebrity Big Brother
In 2022, Mirai was a HouseGuest on the third season of U.S. Celebrity Big Brother. She was nominated for eviction twice and was eventually voted out by the other contestants.
Other TV Appearances
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
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| 2018 | Dancing with the Stars | Herself (contestant) | Season 26 |
| 2019 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Herself (guest judge) | Episode: "The Draglympics" |
| 2022 | Celebrity Big Brother (U.S.) | Herself (contestant) | Season 3 |
Images for kids
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Nagasu at the 2008 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.
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Nagasu at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
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Nagasu at the 2011 Four Continents Championships.
See also
In Spanish: Mirai Nagasu para niños
