Mirai began skating at age five because her parents took her ice skating on a rainy day when she couldn’t play golf. The Nagasus own a small sushi restaurant in Arcadia, Calif., (“The food is just as good as the Beverly Hills restaurants,” says Mirai) and her family has struggled financially. When asked in 2007 what size clothes she wore, Mirai said she didn’t know because most of her clothes were secondhand. Three-time U.S.
\nMirai began skating at age five because her parents took her ice skating on a rainy day when she couldn’t play golf. The Nagasus own a small sushi restaurant in Arcadia, Calif., (“The food is just as good as the Beverly Hills restaurants,” says Mirai) and her family has struggled financially. When asked in 2007 what size clothes she wore, Mirai said she didn’t know because most of her clothes were secondhand. Three-time U.S. Michael Weiss and his foundation, which Weiss developed to assist promising skaters with financial need, supported Mirai with a scholarship before she was a well-known skater. The Nagasus are Japanese nationals (Mirai has dual citizenship until she turns 22) and is working on her Japanese. “Hopefully by the time I’m 18 I’ll be fluent and can read and write it too,” she says. <\/p>\n
In her first senior nationals Mirai portrayed the story of a doll coming to life set to music from L\u00e9o Delibes’ Coppelia, a fitting program for the then-78 lb, 4-foot-11 14-year-old. The performance was marred only by a fall on her opening double Axel. “Honestly, I had no idea what she was going to do,” then-coach Wong said. “But I knew that whatever she went for was going to be a defining moment in her career. Either she was going to be a fighter or she was going to buckle.” Mirai nailed her second jumping pass, a triple-triple combination and executed the rest of her program without any major mistakes to become the second youngest U.S. champion (Tara Lipinski remains the youngest).<\/p>\n
Mirai let her “stubborn, independent” streak trump the advice of her coaches and doctors, competing through the season despite an injured ankle. “I pushed hardest when my foot was bothering me the most,” Mirai says now, looking back. “I thought that the pain was something I could overcome.” She also dealt with, in her words, “teenage adolescence,” a growth spurt (she’s now 5-foot-3) and increased academic demands as – “some nights I had to go sleepless so I didn’t have energy to skate” All of these challenges culminated into a disappointing season for Mirai, just a year removed from her improbable win at the 2008 Nationals.<\/p>\n
Mirai declined to compete at the 2008 World Junior Championships and spent a month completely off the ice. She still tapes her ankle before practice, uses arch supports in her skates and ices it frequently afterwards. She’s also resumed daily ballet class, which she feels enhances her strength and balance. “Now my ankle doesn’t turn in every time I jump,” Mirai says.<\/p>\n
Until May 2009, Mirai had a seven-member coaching staff, with Canadian Olympian Charlene Wong leading the troupe. She’s since switched coaches to Frank Carroll, coach of 2009 world champion Evan Lysacek. Carroll also currently coaches Italy’s Carolina Kostner, a former European champion and coached Michelle Kwan to four of her five world titles (Kwan and Carroll parted ways in 2001)<\/i>.
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Mirai:<\/b> I still wake up at 7am, get to the rink by 9am. I skate. Then I go to the second rink. (laughs) Actually, sometimes I get lazy and I don\u2019t stop by the first rink. Sometimes I just skate two sessions at the skate center with Mr. Carroll. Then I have lunch, so I get a break in between. It\u2019s just an honor working with Evan and Frank because I train the same as I\u2019ve done for the last couple of years, except it\u2019s just more intense. <\/p>\nASIANCE: Are people recognizing you more now? <\/h3>\n
Mirai:<\/b> No not at all, which is totally fine. I mean it would be cool if I could be as famous as Michael Jackson but being able to walk the streets is nice too. I better enjoy it because I want to become more famous.<\/p>\n