Mirai Nagasu
Arcadia figure skater Mirai Nagasu skated a strong short program at the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships in North Carolina tonight and won the top spot after the first of two rounds of competition. Nagasu’s 63.35 edged out Alissa Czisny’s 62.50 by less than a point, and was better than third-ranked Rachael Flatt’s 62.32 by a little more than a point. Less than two points separates the top four competitors heading into the final longer free skate to be televised on NBC Saturday on a tape delay at 9 p.m. locally, three hours after it airs on the east coast.
Nagasu, whose parents own and run the Kiyosuzu sushi restaurant on Baldwin Avenue, was the top American skater at the Olympics less than a year ago, barely missing a Bronze medal but surprising many to take 4th. She became the second youngest female skater to win the national championship in her first try three years ago in 2008 at age 14. The 17-year-old has said the next Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014 is where she is putting her longterm focus. This season Nagasu won a medal at an international Grand Prix event for the first time in her career.
The following is a breakdown of her performance as it was happening by BackstageBarbie:
Mirai Nagasu Music: The Witches of Eastwick
* Get it Mirai….love this girl * Mirai really wants her title back * I love the storytelling in this program * Triple lutz-double toe, very solid, will probably get positive GOE * Nice solid triple flip * She is very calm out there * Some nice footwork her, good use of the toe pick and the deep knees * Mirai has always had excellent spins * She achieves a very nice I-position * Solid double axel for Mirai, all of these jumps should receive high GOE’s * She gets such a great arch in that haircutter position * Look at that look on her face, she knows she just laid it down * SP Score: 32.94 (TES) + 30.41 (PCS) = 63.35
— By Scott Hettrick
Video below: Mirai on April 17, 2007 when she attended Foothills Middle School and was the National U.S. Junior Ladies Champion and World Junior Ladies Silver Medalist:
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Video below: Mirai in winter 2008 receiving recognition from the Arcadia Board of Education for winning the National U.S. Ladies Championship:
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