After skating a strong short program that had her leading the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships in North Carolina on Thursday by the width of a skate blade, Arcadia figure skater Mirai Nagasu had a couple of minor imperfections in her longer free skate program on Saturday but still took home the bronze medal.
Mirai Nagasu skating to bronze medal at 2011 Nationals.
Former national champions Alissa Czisny and Rachael Flatt, who also had two or three slight miscues, finished in first (191.24) and second (183.38), respectively, with Mirai at 177.26.
Her third-place finish means she will most likely not be invited to this winter’s World Championships in Tokyo. The U.S. can only send its two top skaters.
Nagasu, whose parents own and run the Kiyosuzu sushi restaurant on Baldwin Avenue, was the top American skater at the Olympics less than a year ago, barely missing a bronze medal but surprising many to take 4th. She became the second youngest female skater to win the national championship Gold Medal in her first try three years ago in 2008 at age 14 and won the Silver medal at Nationals last year. Her bronze this weekend gives her one of each color and three national championship medals in the past four years. The 17-year-old has said the next Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014 is where she is putting her longterm focus.
This season Nagasu won a medal at an international Grand Prix event for the first time in her career.
— By Scott Hettrick
Video below: Mirai on April 17, 2007 when she attended Foothills Middle School and was the National U.S. Junior Ladies Champion and World Junior Ladies Silver Medalist:
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Video below: Mirai in winter 2008 receiving recognition from the Arcadia Board of Education for winning the National U.S. Ladies Championship:
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