Kao Miura: “In practice, I used to be 95% grumpy and 5% cheerful, but now the grumpiness hardly shows.”
This article introduces Kao Miura, a first-time Olympic figure skater for Japan, highlighting his strengths, personal growth, unique personality, relationships with fellow skaters, and hobbies.
original source: Nikkansports 4th February 2026 by Daisuke Fujitsuka
Under the Nikkansports series “The Strongest Japanese Figure Skating Team,” athletes are being introduced for ten consecutive days leading up to the Olympics opening. This part focuses on the journey of Kao Miura (20), who is making his Olympic debut. Here’s a translation of his comments.
Miura’s performances are characterized by minimal deceleration before jumps and a strong sense of speed. The foundation for this was laid by coach Shoichiro Tsuzuki, who trained him for four years starting in third grade. Under Tsuzuki, who also coached Yuzuru Hanyu, Miura strengthened his lower body with routines like running forty laps around a park at 4 a.m. and doing 200 double jumps with a jump rope. Even before mastering triple jumps, he was told to “tighten as if you’re doing a quad.” This experience has helped him feel unafraid of speed, and at the Olympics, he plans to attempt three types of quadruple jumps.
Since autumn 2024, Miura struggled with pain in his left thigh and a slump in performance. In late October, he began serious mental training, receiving advice from sports doctor Shuichi Tsuji to “stay in a good mood.” This helped him stabilize his previously fluctuating mental state. He also stopped watching other skaters’ performances before his own, choosing instead to focus on himself. This approach paid off at the Skate Canada Grand Prix in November, where he placed third and returned to the podium at a major event for the first time in a year. “In practice, I used to be 95% grumpy and 5% cheerful, but now the grumpiness hardly shows,” he said, feeling the benefits.
Miura’s unique way with words is part of his charm. At the 2023 Four Continents Championships, where he became the youngest male winner at 17 years and 8 months, he performed “Beauty and the Beast” in the free skate and joked, “I don’t have any beauty in me. I’m more like the Beast.” At the 2024 Skate America Grand Prix, after a passionate performance that earned him bronze, he explained, “Landing jumps with pure determination is a Miura trademark.” Before starting his short program at last year’s Japanese Nationals, where he placed second, he revealed that he played the popular game “Taiko no Tatsujin” to relax, saying, “While I’m playing, I don’t think about anything else. All I hear are the ‘Don’ and ‘Ka’ sounds,” emphasizing its calming effect.
Miura has been competing and growing alongside Olympic teammates Kagiyama and Sato, who are two years older. The trio is known as the “Three Crows of Kanto.” Miura first met Sato at a competition in second grade, where Sato’s three types of triple jumps scored 30 points more than Miura’s double, leaving Miura shocked and calling him a “monster.” When he met Kagiyama in fifth grade, he was amazed to see him master the triple Axel in just one week, while it took Miura over a year. Early this season, both encouraged Miura, saying, “Let’s go to the Olympics together.” At the Japanese Nationals, the three shared the podium, fulfilling a dream that Miura described as “like something out of a manga.”
Miura is a baseball fan, supporting the SoftBank Hawks. His favorite players include Taisei Makihara (infielder, Hawks) and Takuya Kai (catcher, Giants). At the 2022 Skate Canada Grand Prix press conference, he even announced his “Miura-style starting lineup” for the popular game “Pro Baseball Spirits.” In the summer of 2023, he participated in a Nikkan Sports project and had a conversation with Shota Imanaga, then the ace of DeNA (now with the Cubs). Imanaga taught him lessons such as “Understanding your own mental patterns leads to stability” and “Don’t do what you can’t do.” Miura applies these teachings to his skating, saying, “It’s important to stay positive even when results don’t come.”
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