Mirai Nagasu

Mirai Aileen Nagasu (長洲 未来, Nagasu Mirai; born April 16, 1993) is an American former competitive figure skater. She is a 2018 Olympic Games team event bronze medalist, three-time Four Continents medalist (silver in 2016, bronze in 2011 and 2017), the 2007 JGP Final champion, a two-time World Junior medalist (silver in 2007, bronze in 2008), and a seven-time U.S. national medalist (gold in 2008, silver in 2010 and 2018, bronze in 2011 and 2014, pewter in 2016 and 2017).

In 2008, Nagasu became the youngest woman since Tara Lipinski in 1997 to win the U.S. senior ladies' title, and the second-youngest in history at the time. She is the first lady since Joan Tozzer in 1937 and 1938 to win the junior and senior national titles in consecutive years. Nagasu represented the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics at the age of 16 and placed 4th in the ladies' event. In 2017, she landed the difficult triple Axel jump for the first time in international competition at the 2017 CS U.S. Classic. During her free skate in the team event at the 2018 Olympics, she became the first American ladies' singles skater to land a triple Axel at the Olympics, and the third woman from any country to do so. This also made her the first senior ladies skater ever to land eight triple jumps (the maximum allowed in the free skate under the Zayak rule) cleanly in international competition.

Personal life

Mirai Aileen Nagasu was born in Montebello, California, and raised in Arcadia, California. Her parents own Restaurant Kiyosuzu, a Japanese sushi restaurant in Arcadia. They are immigrants from Japan and their daughter had dual citizenship but was required by Japanese law to relinquish it before her 22nd birthday, so she chose U.S. citizenship. Nagasu speaks a mixture of Japanese and English at home with her parents. Her mother, Ikuko, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the fall of 2009. Mirai (未来) means "future" in Japanese, while her last name is written as 長洲 in kanji.

Nagasu graduated from Foothills Middle School in the spring of 2007 and entered Arcadia High School in the fall of 2007. In 2009, she began attending an online high school. She graduated from the Capistrano Connections Academy in June 2011 and was accepted into the University of California, Irvine, but said the commute was not feasible. Around 2015, she enrolled at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and has taken courses in the business field. Nagasu graduated from UCCS with a degree in business administration in December 2020.

During the 2015–16 NHL season, Nagasu worked for the Colorado Avalanche as an ice girl and worked as a franchise ambassador at events in the Greater Denver such as learn to skate programs.

In June 2024, Nagasu announced her engagement to Michael Bramante (a year prior) and the birth of her son, Tai.

Skating career

Early career

Nagasu began skating at age five. She admires Yuna Kim, Michelle Kwan and Mao Asada.

In the 2002–03 season, she competed on the juvenile level. She placed fifth at the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships.

In the 2003–04 season, Nagasu moved up to the intermediate level. She placed fourth at the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships. She competed at the 2004 U.S. Junior Championships, the national-level championships for Juvenile and Intermediate skaters. She placed eighth in her qualifying group and did not advance to the short program. In the 2004–05 season, she remained on the intermediate level. She won the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships. At the 2005 U.S. Junior Championships, she placed 11th in her qualifying group and did not advance to the short program.

For the 2005–06 season, Nagasu advanced to the novice level, the lowest level that competes at the U.S. Championships. Skaters qualify for Nationals by placing in the top four at regionals and then going on to place in the top four at Sectionals. At the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships, the first step to qualifying for Nationals, Nagasu placed fifth. She did not advance to Sectionals.

Nagasu was coached by Sandy Gollihugh for most of her early career. She changed her coach to Charlene Wong in October 2006. During this period, Wong was her primary coach. Nagasu's secondary coaches included Sashi Kuchiki, Sondra Holmes, Bob Paul, and Jim Yorke, with whom she worked on a once a week basis to refine various details of her skating.

2006–07 season: Silver at Junior Worlds

In the 2006–07 season, Nagasu moved up to the junior level. She won the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships and advanced to win the Pacific Coast Sectional Championships. This win at Sectionals qualified her for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which would be her first time competing at the event and only her second national-level competition.

At the U.S. Nationals, Nagasu won the Junior level short program 0.39 ahead of second-place finisher Caroline Zhang, who came to the event as the reigning Junior Grand Prix Final champion and the heavy favorite. After placing first in the free skate by a margin of 3.19 points over Zhang, Nagasu won the overall title with a combined score of 155.46.

At the Junior Worlds Nagasu skated in the first half of the ladies' short program due to her lack of international skating experience which meant she had no ISU Personal Best on record. Ranked second behind Zhang in both segments of the competition (-1.95 points in the short, -3.46 points in the free), she won the silver medal with a total score 5.41 points less than champion Zhang and 6.69 points greater than bronze medalist Ashley Wagner. Zhang, Nagasu, and Wagner constituted the first ever sweep by the United States of the World Junior ladies' podium.

2007–08 season: Senior national title

For the 2007–08 season, Nagasu moved up to the senior level nationally, but remained junior internationally. At the 2007–08 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Lake Placid, New York, the first Junior Grand Prix competition of her career, Nagasu won both the short and free programs to win the gold medal with a 26.47-point lead over silver medalist Alexe Gilles. Similarly at her second event, the Junior Grand Prix event in Zagreb, Croatia, Nagasu won both the short and free programs to win the event with an 11.08-point lead over silver medalist Jenni Vähämaa. These two wins qualified her for the Junior Grand Prix Final.

In the fall of 2007, after winning her two JGP events, Nagasu took part in the International Counter Match "made for television" event in Japan, competing as part of Team USA against Team Japan. At the 2007–08 Junior Grand Prix Final in Gdańsk, Poland, she won the short program by a margin of 4.72 points over the second-place finisher, Yuki Nishino. In the free skate, Nagasu placed second by 4.81 points behind Rachael Flatt. Nagasu won the title overall by 2.43 points ahead of silver medalist Flatt.

Skating as a senior, Nagasu won the short program at U.S. Nationals, 5.08 points ahead of second-place finisher Ashley Wagner. During the program, Nagasu landed a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination for the first time in competition. She placed third in the free skate, 5.64 points behind Rachael Flatt and 3.23 points behind Wagner, and finished first overall by a margin of 1.68 over silver medalist Flatt. Nagasu became the first skater to win back-to-back U.S. junior and senior ladies' titles since Joan Tozzer in 1937 and 1938. She also became the second-youngest American senior ladies' champion in history, after Tara Lipinski.

Although now a senior national champion, Nagasu did not meet the International Skating Union's age criteria to compete at the World Championships. Of the four top finishers at the 2008 U.S. Championships, only Ashley Wagner was old enough to compete at senior Worlds, with the other medalists sent to Junior Worlds in Sofia. In Bulgaria, Nagasu outscored Zhang by 2.47 points in the short program. She placed third in the free skate, 14.21 points behind Flatt and 11.42 points behind Zhang. For the second year in a row, Nagasu was part of an American sweep of the podium, winning the bronze medal 8.95 points behind silver medalist Zhang, and 9.30 behind Flatt, who took the gold.

During the off-season, she toured in Japan. She was a recipient of a Michael Weiss Foundation scholarship, which is for young American figure skaters.

2008–09 season: Senior international debut

For the 2008–09 season, Nagasu moved up to the senior level internationally. She had injured her ankle and had had a significant growth spurt. In her senior Grand Prix debut, Nagasu placed fifth at the 2008 Skate America. At the 2008 NHK Trophy, Nagasu finished in eighth place.

At the U.S. Nationals in January, Nagasu finished fifth overall after a free skate that included two downgraded triple flip jumps.