<figure id="attachment_456799" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456799"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ac70f1d0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/3b19263933b8c4b0de1df633b1363881.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456799" class="wp-caption-text">The gap between her still-youthful smile and her powerful jumps resembles Asada at that time.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>Ami Nakai (17) Women’s Figure Skating</h3>
<h4>The steel mentality hidden behind her lovely smile</h4>
<p>Medal expectation ★★★</p>
<p data-start="217" data-end="310">If “Queen” Kaori Sakamoto’s weapon is her all-around ability, Ami Nakai’s is the triple axel.</p>
<p data-start="312" data-end="657"><strong>“After making her senior debut in 2025, she won in her very first appearance at the Grand Prix Series opening event in France that October. She then placed second at the Grand Prix Final in December and also finished second at the Four Continents Championships this January, continuing to perform well in her first year,”</strong> (sports newspaper desk)</p>
<p data-start="659" data-end="797">Can the 17-year-old succeed in landing the ultra-difficult technique that her idol, Mao Asada (35), once performed on the Olympic stage?</p>
<p data-start="799" data-end="1003"><strong>“To land a big element at your first Olympics, you need not only technical skill but also an exceptionally strong mentality. Many skaters are overwhelmed by the tension of the once-every-four-years stage.</strong></p>
<p data-start="1005" data-end="1389"><strong>However, the fact that she has maintained such stable results immediately after moving up to seniors is proof of her mental strength. She will enter the real competition with both her past success and the momentum of youth on her side, so I hope she lands the triple axel in Milan and becomes a leading presence for Japanese figure skating,”</strong> (pro skater and commentator Takahito Mura)</p>
<p data-start="1391" data-end="1494">The extraordinary mental strength concealed within her charming smile is supporting Nakai’s rapid rise.</p>
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<h3>Yuma Kagiyama (22) Men’s Figure Skating</h3>
<h4>Aiming for the top with expression and completeness</h4>
<p><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8492a465"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/51759684a74b1cd64a18ed7984d698ea.jpg" alt=""></a></p>
<p data-start="1594" data-end="1658">Medal expectation ★★★★★<br data-start="1617" data-end="1620">Feb 11 2:30 Short<br data-start="1637" data-end="1640">Feb 14 3:00 Free</p>
<p data-start="1660" data-end="1700">Yuma Kagiyama is burning for redemption.</p>
<p data-start="1702" data-end="1955">“His strength is his expressive ability that doesn’t fall apart even after the jumps. He also has the level of program completeness befitting Japan’s ace, so just like last time when he won the silver medal, he should be in the medal contention,” (Mura)</p>
<p data-start="1957" data-end="2068">On the top step of the podium that eluded him in Beijing, can Japan’s men’s figure skating ace sing Kimigayo?</p>
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<h3>Ryuichi Kihara (33) &amp; Riku Miura (24) Pair Figure Skating</h3>
<h4>The strongest duo that overturned the conventional wisdom of pair skating</h4>
<p><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d1045950"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/3ee688ffe8b83de8fafcdd9903da2001.jpg" alt=""></a></p>
<p data-start="2208" data-end="2272">Medal expectation ★★★★★<br data-start="2231" data-end="2234">Feb 16 3:45 Short<br data-start="2251" data-end="2254">Feb 17 4:00 Free</p>
<p data-start="2274" data-end="2543">The “Rikuryu pair” of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, formed in August 2019, headed to the decisive battleground of Milan carrying their overwhelming achievements: two World Championship gold medals, two Four Continents gold medals, and two Grand Prix Final gold medals.</p>
<p data-start="2545" data-end="2577"><strong>“Japan is weak in pair skating.”</strong></p>
<p data-start="2579" data-end="2719">The two who turned this long-whispered phrase in the figure skating world into a thing of the past now aim for the top on the Olympic stage.</p>
<p data-start="2721" data-end="2773" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">From &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221; combined issue February 20 &amp; 27, 2026.</p>


 Hiroyuki Komatsu Kyodo News Yohei Nagata/Afro Sports Reuters/Afro

 The Milan Cortina Olympics opened on February 6, 2014 (February 7, Japan time). We introduce some of the hottest Japanese athletes expected to medal in Figure Skating, including Ami Nakai, Yuma Kagiyama, Ryuichi Kihara & Riki Miura (Riku-ryu pair)!

Road to Milan: Nakai, Kagiyama, Kihara & Miura Lead Japan’s Figure Skating Hopes

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