Mirai stunned Japanese fans -> Do you like Michelle Kwan?

[sorcerer]

Mirai stuns Japanese fans (1)

This is my version of translation from the Nikkan Sports on the 30th, not from the web but the real paper itself with some extra sentences. I've cut off what GS folks already know about Mirai.

-- Mirai Nagasu 14 years old holding Japanese nationality -- ANOTHER RIVAL TO MAO AND OTHERS GREETS JAPAN -- Does Ina Bauer in a ice show in Aichi --

A young prodigy having dual citizenship of both Japan and USA disclosed herself on the 29th as a rival to Mao and Miki.
...
She shocked the spectators with an unexpected layback Ina Bauer at the top of her program.
"I'm happy that the spectators had a big WOW." "I wish to go to the Olympic Games in Vancouver, 2010" she declares.

Her parents are Japanese and she speaks their language as well.
Last season she became the champion at her first appearance in the U.S. Junior Nationals, and was called "the successor to Yu-Na Kim".
According to figure skating authorities in Japan, "her spins are terrific and will be a threat to Japan."
Towards the Olympics that will be held when she's 17, she is now at trying to make the 3A hers.
It seems that in the coming days she will be a good rival to Mao and others.

Mirai Nagasu: Born April 16th 1993 in LA. Height 150 centimeters. Started skating at her age 5 when her parents gave up going to play golf because of rain and took her to the ice rink instead. Her parents run a sushi restaurant in suburban LA. Her hobby is knitting. Favorite music such as m-flo and remioromen.

Mao Asada treated Nagasu like her younger sister than a rival. They once practiced together in LA where Mirai trains. Their relation is like chatting in the dressing room about "recommendable shopping malls in the states". Mao praises Mirai as "a splendid performer".
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I've already translated some "wow"-filled posts on Japanese forums.
I'll post it here when I get their permission.

 

[Arianne]

Thats cute. I have to laugh at the statement that Marai is the "successor to Yuna Kim." What does that even mean? Yuna is a wonderful skater, but certainly not a legend yet. So, how is Marai successor to Yuna? I'm confused?!

 

[kittyjake5]

Thats cute. I have to laugh at the statement that Marai is the "successor to Yuna Kim." What does that even mean? Yuna is a wonderful skater, but certainly not a legend yet. So, how is Marai successor to Yuna? I'm confused?!

Maybe something got lost in translation. Marai is a young talented skater. She sometimes is overshadowed by her peer Caroline Zhang, but I am sure by the time the 2010 Olympic season is here she will be a contender for gold.

 

[rutinia]

Thats cute. I have to laugh at the statement that Marai is the "successor to Yuna Kim." What does that even mean? Yuna is a wonderful skater, but certainly not a legend yet. So, how is Marai successor to Yuna? I'm confused?!

"Yuna Kim" simply means "Mao's rival".
I think IMG is planning to sell Mirai in Japan as the same way with Kim.

 

[sorcerer]

Well it's the same thing but the original line literally reads "Yuna Kim the 2nd" and I should say it's the newswriter's own conception.

Mirai will stay with the US team till Vancouver, and I think she'll choose Japanese nationality when she's 18.

 

[ElFuego]

Well it's the same thing but the original line literally reads "Yuna Kim the 2nd" and I should say it's the newswriter's own conception.

Mirai will stay with the US team till Vancouver, and I think she'll choose Japanese nationality when she's 18.

Why do you think that? She was born in the USA, and it's not like it would be any easier to get on the Japanese International team than it would be to get on the US team.

 

[antmanb]

Well it's the same thing but the original line literally reads "Yuna Kim the 2nd" and I should say it's the newswriter's own conception.

Mirai will stay with the US team till Vancouver, and I think she'll choose Japanese nationality when she's 18.

I thought Japan didn't let you have dual citizenship?

Ant

 

[Justlooking]

You've have to choose when you're 20.

 

[Tinymavy15]

She's not a legend yet but she will be. This girl has great jump technique and beautiful flexiblity. I hope that she will have a great season and comepete as a senior at nationals. She really has the goods for it.

 

[rutinia]

The nationality only matters for Olympics.
Let me pick some ladies for 2012 (nationals/worlds).

Japan
Mao(21), Nishino(18), Nakamura(18), Murakami(17), Matsubara(17)

USA
Zhang(18), Leng(18), Flatt(19), Maxwell(19), someone(16), someone(16)

Which side is easier for Nagasu(18) to enter?

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

With those ages, Mao should be the most confident in presentation. But we don't know yet if there is some tiny 16 y.o. that will bounce her way to gold.

Joe

 

[sorcerer]

You've have to choose when you're 20.

I'm sorry my knowledge was outdated and the fact was that after the revision of the Nationality Law of Japan in 1985, Japan requests the holder of the naturally obtained dual citizenship to choose his/her nationality before reaching the age of 22, not the former 18.
If you don't respond within a month to the notice sent from the ministry of law when the time limit comes, then he/she loses the Japanese nationality.
If it were a dual citizenship between Australia or Korea, you can choose Japan and still the other country will not invalidate your other nationality, but the USA seems to act in coherence with Japan.

So Mirai can stay with the US team till Sochi, and I think she'll choose Japanese nationality before reaching 22 unless she gets early marriage lets say to a native American.
(I'm not talking about where she'll live.)

Asked of the reason why I think so, it is that
1. her parents are not immigrants, and I imagined to have a different nationality from her parents would be psycologically difficult for her.
2. her parents probably have Japanese mentalities that would want Mirai to be Japanese.
3. her parents would sooner or later decide to come back to Japan, I imagine they have their parents waiting for them.
Of course these are my nozy imaginations, for that I apologize in advance.

 

[sorcerer]

Mirai stuns Japanese fans (2)

This is a test upload in process of obtaining the author's approval. It is test-posted so he can read it and know the atmosphere of GS forum. So please don't copy, paste, or transfer yet. It might be deleted, it might stay.

From a comment on "Oyaji's Eyes" blog:
http://blog.livedoor.jp/oyajinome0512/archives/50647656.html

"Mirai Nagasu did in fact make a "shocking debut". Mao's great, but so is Mirai. Her music for this exhibition was "Don't stop me now" by Queen. She didn't get enough on the groove of the music but showed tremendous speediness. Her gliding speed as well as her spins are very fast, and smooth change of edges. No impression of specific tricks in her spirals."

"Her spins were sensational. Doing a position from a Beilmann then pulling the free leg toward the body is what other skaters do as well, but in Mirai's case it's a complete flexiblility as if nothing can't be done. Beilmann itself is done with astonishing flexibility, and the silhouette is slim like a champagne bottle. And what's more, her head is stably spinning in high speed as if fixed in the center bottom of this "bottle", a position which virtually has exceeded the original Beilmann."

"I was so shocked that I forgot to distinguish each of her jumps. I think she cleanly landed triples of high level, but I shouldn't write anything I'm not sure of. Excuse me for that. Her posture in the air has a good axis just like her spins, and rotates compactly. I didn't feel the jumps to have height, but showed clean landings with lots of composure. Her Axel was double but there seemed indeed nothing wrong in her trying for 3A,"

"Her straight line steps were rather monotonous, and the edgework was not refined enough...? well that's MO. So speaking only of her step sequence, it still may be on the junior level."

"Her expressions while performing were very calm. I felt that she was not the type like Emily who ups her impressions by showing appeals to the audience, but the type who relies on the quality of her own performance. Nevertheless, she's a competitor who doesn't forget to do favors for the fans, like letting them take pictures and giving autographs, which she did to some fans including children after the finale."

 

[ElFuego]

The nationality only matters for Olympics.
Let me pick some ladies for 2012 (nationals/worlds).

Japan
Mao(21), Nishino(18), Nakamura(18), Murakami(17), Matsubara(17)

USA
Zhang(18), Leng(18), Flatt(19), Maxwell(19), someone(16), someone(16)

Which side is easier for Nagasu(18) to enter?

You're talking about five years in the future. On that list, you've got Flatt and Maxwell as former US novice national champions, and Zhang and Leng as former medallists.

How many of these former US Novice Champions were sure bets for the World team five years later? Erin Sutton (95... this is as far back as I can go at the moment, but I can check my USFSA media guide when I get home) JJ Mathews (96), Naomi Nari Nam (97), Elizabeth Kwon (98), Deanna Stellato (99), Collette Irving (00), Kelsey Drewel (01), Danielle Kahle (02), Kimmie Meissner (03). I'd say... one, and that would be Kimmie, this year.

How many former junior champions (and I can go back to 1980 here) were sure bets to be on the world team five years later? Vikki de Vries, Jill Frost, Lorilee Pritchard, Kathryn Adams, Allison Oki, Jill Trenary, Cindy Bortz, Jeri Campbell, Dena Galech, Kyoko Ina, Alice Sue Claeys, Lisa Ervin, Caroline Song, Michelle Cho, Jennifer Karl, Sydne Vogel, Shelby Lyons, Andrea Gardiner, Sarah Hughes, Sarah Wheat, AP McDonough, Joan Cristobal, Louanne Donovan, Erica Archambault (2003) ... to complete the list, you've got Kimmie in 04, Sandra Rucker in 05, Megan Hyatt in 06. Basically, out of 27 former junior champions, two won World Championships (Trenary and Meissner), one won the Olympics (Hughes), and two went to the Olympics as pairs skaters (Lyons and Ina).

Basically, Flatt, Maxwell, and Nagasu have less than a 10% chance to be threats to be on the world team (for whichever country) in 2012. Speculating that one of them will change countries in order to have a better chance in five years is useless because it's just as likely that in 2012, the World Team will consist of completely different names. Too much changes in 5 years... skaters get too tall, too round, too injured...

And I LIKE Nagasu. I plan to enjoy her NOW, and not worry about what's going to happen in five years. I certainly hope I can enjoy watching her for the next five years, but its too soon for guarantees.

Sometimes it seems like people get too focussed on placing the "next big thing" label on a skater wanting to see in them Olympic Champion of the Future, instead of just enjoying them for what they do in the present.

 

[rutinia]

I don't know most of names on ElFuego's post.

I think the time has changed for US ladies. During the MK era, many talents are wasted by blatant favoritism of 6.0 system.
Look at 2005 US nationals. MK with flawed jumps still wins Kimmie Meissner with a 3A! That wont happen now. New talents have chances to enter the world team with good consistency and difficulty.

 

[capcomop]

I don't know most of names on ElFuego's post.

I think the time has changed for US ladies. During the MK era, many talents are wasted by blatant favoritism of 6.0 system.
Look at 2005 US nationals. MK with flawed jumps still wins Kimmie Meissner with a 3A! That wont happen now. New talents have chances to enter the world team with good consistency and difficulty.

I love sweeping generallization posts like these. Where to start....

New talent has ALWAYS had a chance to enter and win, no matter the system.

This new wonderful system awarded an Olympic silver medal to someone who fell TWICE. If it is all about the jumps, how could that happen in this new system???

Cohen, WITH A FALL, placed about Meissner and her triple axel (and slow skating, unfinished moves, weak spirals, lack of power and a sub-par short program) back in 2005, btw.

Lord deliver us from a system that awards a win to someone based on a single jump...ick.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I think that was Kimmie's first Nats, and Michelle's ninth that she won. The power of anticipation won that.

 

[rutinia]

New talent has ALWAYS had a chance to enter and win, no matter the system.

I doubt this point. Under the 6.0 system, young (US) skaters have no chance to win MK and SC, because judges give them super high second marks to offset any technical errors. The only exception is Sarah Hughes at SLC. The US absolutely wanted to keep the gold for them. I still believe Miki Ando should be the bronze medalist at Dortmund.

 

[bekalc]

I doubt this point. Under the 6.0 system, young (US) skaters have no chance to win MK and SC, because judges give them super high second marks to offset any technical errors. The only exception is Sarah Hughes at SLC. The US absolutely wanted to keep the gold for them. I still believe Miki Ando should be the bronze medalist at Dortmund.

I strongly disagree with this one. I think that new talent has always had a shot at winning, but the issue is how good is the new talent. I think that Mao Asada and Yu-na Kim would have been just as well received under 6.0 as they were under COP. As for Sasha, she shot up through the ranks really quickly herself, she placed third in the short program at the 2002 Olympics and that was the girls first major Olympic competition. Although one could argue that Sasha should have won that Olympic bronze medal over Kwan...

Mao and Yu-na are some of the best young talent to come up in awhile, and Mirai may soon be added to that list. But I think you have to look at well the talent level of the skater ,not just so and so won the US novice tile.

In all honesty, I think until Mao and Yu-na showed up there was a dirth of new talent. But I think the judges were always willing to reward someone new, who was good. Or someone who was becoming better..(Like Shizuka)

 

[rutinia]

I strongly disagree with this one. I think that new talent has always had a shot at winning, but the issue is how good is the new talent. I think that Mao Asada and Yu-na Kim would have been just as well received under 6.0 as they were under COP. As for Sasha, she shot up through the ranks really quickly herself, she placed third in the short program at the 2002 Olympics and that was the girls first major Olympic competition. Although one could argue that Sasha should have won that Olympic bronze medal over Kwan...

Mao and Yu-na are some of the best young talent to come up in awhile, and Mirai may soon be added to that list. But I think you have to look at well the talent level of the skater ,not just so and so won the US novice tile.

If Cop was in place for 2004 worlds, Ando should've beaten MK.
If Cop was in place for 2005 US nats, KM should've beaten MK.

Even with the most difficult 3-3 or a 3A, it's not enough to beat MK under 6.0 system. Isn't it too hard for ambitious youngsters to keep their motivations.

I don't think even Mao could've beaten MK by the 6.0 rule.
Yuna is obviously out of quetion.