A champion at 14!
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Last Saturday, Fourteen-year old Mirai Nagasu became the second youngest woman to win the U.S. Figure Skating Championships held in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The ninth grader from Arcadia, California who won the title in the Juniors category last year (at thirteen), is the first skater since 1938 to win the junior and senior title back to back.
Mirai's passion for ice-skating began at the age of five, when her parents took her ice skating on a rainy day. She has been hooked since.
Her day begins at 5.00 am in the morning. She goes to skate practice from 6.00 - 8.00 am and then to school until 3.00pm. After tackling her homework, she does some exercises that help her skate better.
Nagasu has a very unusual training program, where she trains with not one but six different coaches. She practices different skills with each one of them, which in turn has helped her become a more talented and versatile (all around) ice skater.
Being a Champion on Ice, doesn't mean Mirai slacks off on her schoolwork. She is an honor roll student at Foothills Middle School in Southern California. She loves to hang out with friends, eat spicy and sweet food and watch "America's Next Model" on TV.
We think we are going to see a lot of this amazing young girl in the next few years and wish her the best.
Sources: USAtoday.com
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243 Comments
- spinnypeepsalmost 11 yearsI used to ice skate before I broke my foot... But I probably wouldn't have gotten that good anyway, good for her!
- awesomereporteralmost 11 yearsI feel sorry for u. I luv ice skating but I don't take any lessons or anything. Free style!!! :-)
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsIm srry! i recently stopped ice skating becuase i broke my wrist when i was doing a mohawk! Soon i will b back on da ice!
- spinnypeepsalmost 11 yearsI feel you. I quit, but I'm glad your wrist is healing!
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsthanks, thats very sweet of u!
- happypug12almost 11 yearsIs ice skating fun, peacheslarue?
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsI LUV ice skating! Its amazing!! You should try it happypug! i bet u would be great at it! Just the feeling of gliding across the ice is Amazing! When you first start you get frustrated and feel bad but after a month or two you feel confident! Once me and my lil' sister (you know her already) we went to Millennium Park and they have this outdoor ice rink we went to skate there and it was amazing! (Skating outside is actually more fun inside) Well, you should definetly try it out!
- awesomereporteralmost 11 yearsI AGREE 100%! Ice skating is AWESOME. It's kinda like inline skating, but less rough and MORE fun!!! Try it Out
- analisealmost 11 yearsLast time I skated, my skates tore a huge gash in my leg.
- nikukyualmost 11 yearsOuch. I hope u feel better.
- spinnypeepsalmost 11 yearsOkay, so peachlaserue broke her wrist, I broke my foot, analise tore a gash in her leg, and bibliophile twisted her ankle... wow, ice skating is violent!
- awesomereporteralmost 11 yearsLol. Haha. (^-^)
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsI know it really is!? But to me its worth it! But now im kida scared of doing a mohawk! :*)
- puglover67almost 11 yearsI'm scared to do a spiral because i fell and hurt my knee twice while doing it!
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsOuch! Spirals r hard!
- awesomereporteralmost 11 yearsme too. It's fun and so cool, so I also think it's worth it! =^D
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsIt totally is!
- nikukyualmost 11 yearsYeah pretty much. And I almost cracked a bone:( I guess all great sports have downsides too! A very famous skater in Japan, ( he won the gold medal in the Sochi Olympics. Guess who he is!) had a bad accident on the ring and critics said that they were crazy for letting him continue skating on the ring:(
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsI feel so bad but.. Ummm... Who is he?! Srry!
- happypug12almost 11 yearsYeah, I guess u have to be extra careful when you are Ice Skating . . . Those Ice Skates are sharp!
- awesomereporteralmost 11 yearsThat's why we leave lines behind us when we ice skate on the rink.
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsYup!
- happypug12almost 11 yearsOuch. I feel your pain, analise.
- analisealmost 11 years:) Its much better now, but ill be scarred for life.
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsOh. Im srry. :(
- spinnypeepsalmost 11 yearsI'm not peachleslarue, but to answer your question, it's AWESOME. Just gliding though the ice makes you feel like a graceful snowflake!
- nikukyualmost 11 yearsI wish I could ice skate... I went once and I was terrible at it at first, but I got a little better, thank god!
- bibliophilealmost 11 yearsYeahhh it does feel like that...ice skating is cool...it's like dancing and kind of flying in the snow... I used to ice skate too... but then I had to stop since I twisted my ankle... but I like to ice skate for fun now...
- happypug12almost 11 yearsOh, that makes me want to Ice skate even more!
- mandm2000almost 11 yearsI PLAY SOCCER AT FOOTHILLS MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- nikukyualmost 11 yearsI love Mao Asada!! She is the best!!!
- happypug12almost 11 yearsYeah, she is amazing! I also like her pink dress!
- nikukyualmost 11 yearsI'm her biggest fan! People say that I look a little like her, and it makes me so happy:)
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsIs she a Japanese figure skater?!
- nikukyualmost 11 yearsYup, she is. She ( in my opinion ) is the most well known figure skater in Japan! She made a looooooot of records:)
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsAwesome! Do you know Jason Brown? He was in Winter Olympics last year?
- nikukyualmost 11 yearsI don't know him. Is he good?
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsHe was in the last Winter Olympics figure skating for the U.S! My coach's son who was my coach when i was little used to compete wit Jason Brown! He is VERY good! And he has a bronytail (ponytail for a boy)!! He is 20 years old and won 2013 Trophée Éric Bompard bronze medalist, 2014 Nebelhorn Trophy champion, and 2014 U.S. national silver medalist!!
- nikukyualmost 11 yearsI'll look out for him! Brony tail, check!
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsLOL ;*)
- turtlenicolealmost 11 yearsyup!!
- figure skateralmost 11 yearsI am a figure skater too. So I know how it feels when skaters compete and once I got a bronze medal.
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsGood 4 u!! I also figure skate!
- Melodyabout 11 yearsI think kim yuna is better in my opinion but she is good to!!!!!
- analisealmost 11 yearsKim Yuna is better. Maybe im biased cuz im korean
- spinnypeepsalmost 11 yearsYeah! Team Yuna, Analise!!!
- spinnypeepsalmost 11 yearsI'm korean too. I can't believe she didn't win the gold medal before she retired last year!!!
- frankiebabyalmost 11 yearsIn a way, you're really lucky. None of my relatives are in any way asian. asian food is the best!!
- peacheslaruealmost 11 yearsOh! Im Indian-American!
- bibliophilealmost 11 yearsI agree... Asian food is soooo delicious... but I mostly eat Korean food(and that type of cuisine is DELICIOUS) out of all the Asian food!!
- nikukyualmost 11 yearsI love Korean food 2! Except kimchi. Too hot! There's a lot a Korean people in my neighborhood, and I'm friends with some of them!
- frankiebabyalmost 11 yearsI don't usually have korean food. My favorite is thai food
- turtlenicolealmost 11 yearsI'm also korean!! Kim Yuna is the best! I just can't believe she got ONLY a silver medal in her last competition. Last year, spinnypeeps and I watched in terror how she didn't win:(
- analisealmost 11 yearsMe too, it was utterly horrible. Although I thnk the winner was russian????
- Sanyaover 11 yearswow great job
- girl skateover 11 yearsawesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- divaqueenover 11 yearsLOVE SKATING SO MUCH
- oliover 11 yearslove it and pink
- divaqueenover 11 yearsME TOOO GIIRLL
- populer girlover 11 yearsso pink