Ami Nakai overcomes fear and bursts into tears - Figure GP

Nakai, who returned to the French tournament as last year's champion, said with a smile before the start of the tournament, ``I came with nothing but excitement.'' I'm only 18 years old. In the previous day's SP, I made a mistake and was in 3rd place. After winning the bronze medal at the Olympics in February, she said, ``My confidence has grown, and I have a renewed desire to win.'' Unknowingly, I was feeling the pressure.

Ami Nakai makes a come-from-behind victory, Yuna Aoki 4th, Rion Sumiyoshi 6th - Figure GP

"I was nervous all the time. I was scared" that morning. I felt like I was about to give in to a feeling I had never experienced before, but just before that, my mother sent me a message saying, ``It's better to break up than hit a wall.'' I made up my mind.

At the beginning of the SP, she was feeling uneasy, but she performed a triple axel (three and a half revolutions and a half jump), and regained her composure, as if all the pressure she had been under was a lie. He clenched his fists when he succeeded in completing the triple loop in the second half with perfect flow, and after striking the final pose, he felt a surge of excitement. ``I was so happy that I was able to perform so well and that I was able to overcome my fear, and I cried tears of joy.''

He said the difficulty was different from what he felt on the big stage of the Olympics. Nakai, who overcame that challenge, said, ``Next time, I will perform perfectly in both the SP and free skate, and my goal is to be number one.'' He seemed to have lost his skin.