People : Figure Skating - A new star
Ms. Yukari Nakano

Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1985, Yukari Nakano graduated from Sugiyama-Jogakuen, a private women's high school, and she is a first year student in School of Human Sciences (correspondence course). When she was a high school junior, she succeeded in performing a triple axel for the first time since the era of Midori Ito. Last May she won the Kanto Intercollegiate Free Skating Contest. In her free time, she likes to shop.

To concentrate on skating, Ms. Nakano entered the correspondence course of Waseda university where her favorite skaters, Fumie Suguri and Shizuka Arakawa were active. She is on the ice at six every morning. After early morning practice, she attends a class on her computer. Again in the afternoon, she goes to the rink. “Now, in the correspondence course, I can study more at my own pace than in my high school days when I was wrapped up with supplementary classes because I could not attend class regularly. But actually, it would have been nice to go to class with the other students, she says with a laugh.

Ms. Nakano debuted with the SBC Cup Exhibition (an ice show) when she was in the eighth grade. She succeeded in the triple axel for the first time in a preliminary contest of the national championships when she was in the eleventh grade. So it is not surprising that her family has great expectations of her. “They often come to cheer me on,” she says with a mixture of happiness and embarrassment.

Observing her straightforward personality, the interviewer cannot believe that Nakano is shy. But she says, “Because I tend to get nervous, I have to tell myself over and over to take it easy before every performance. The performance is a struggle against nervousness.”

For her, the attraction of figure skating lies both in the need to communicate with the audience and the satisfaction that comes from performing up to her own standards or receiving high marks. Asked about her favorite choreographic routines, says that she likes so many of them that it's hard to choose.

During her performance, she does not force herself to smile because “My smile is the best when it spreads over my face naturally, like when I manage to do the axel.” This attitude is one of her most attractive points. Meanwhile, she is always strict with herself as a skater who aims for the top. “The older I get, the greater the pressure becomes, so recently I have had few performances without any mistakes. I have to clear higher hurdles than before.” “I try to do my best at every contest and to keep winning. I would really like to have some title or other.” Behind her carefree smile, there is a strong will. Let's give her our best college yell and wish for her continued success.