Milano Cortina 2026: Japanese Figure Skater Nakai Skates with ‘Zero Nerves’ in Her Olympic Debut, Takes in ‘Most Brilliant View of Any Competition’

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:57 JST, February 20, 2026

Figure skater Ami Nakai leapt onto the podium and bounced up and down to express her joy after winning bronze in women’s single figure skating at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Thursday.

Her first time on a major stage, she secured the medal by nailing her signature triple axel.

“The Olympics were more fun and sparkly than I imagined,” the 17-year-old beamed.

Nakai failed to fully execute the second jump of a triple lutz and toe loop combination and under-rotated later jumps. Even so, she skated through without faltering, later reflecting that her roughly 4-minute performance was “really fun.”

She stood on an Olympic podium in her first season as a senior. However, it had not been entirely smooth sailing on the way there. The 2023-24 season saw her struggle with a lower back injury, and she was unable to train satisfactorily, which put her into a slump.

“Looking back, it was an important moment,” her coach Kensuke Nakaniwa recalled.

Although she is a practice fiend, Nakai realized that constantly doing triple axels would place a huge strain on her body. She learned the importance of conditioning and resting.

She took a solid rest the day before the competition. “I felt zero nerves,” she said. “I could just be myself and skate with my usual feel.”

Even under the immense pressure of being the last skater of the event, Nakai performed to her full potential. “I had injuries and stuff, but I don’t think the journey has been wasted,” she said proudly.

Standing on the Olympic podium at 17 — two years younger than her idol, figure skater Mao Asada — she said, “It was the most brilliant view of any competition I’ve ever been in.”