Daisuke Murakami (figure skater)

Daisuke Murakami

Daisuke Murakami at the 2010 Skate America photo by David Carmichael
Personal information
Full name	Daisuke Murakami
Country represented	Japan
Former country(ies) represented	United States (till the end of 2006/2007 season)
Born	January 15, 1991 (1991-01-15) (age 20) Kanagawa, Japan
Residence	Lake Arrowhead, California
Height	165 cm (5.41 ft)
Coach	Frank Carroll Hiroshi Nagakubo Yoriko Naruse
Former coach	Tammy Gambill Nikolai Morozov
Choreographer	Lori Nichol
Former choreographer	Nikolai Morozov
Skating club	Aomori FSC
Current training locations	Lake Arrowhead, California
Began skating	2000
World standing	57 (As of 16 June 2011 (2011 -06-16)[update])[1]
Season's bests	25 (2010–2011)[2] 46 (2009–2010)[3] 53 (2008–2009)[4]
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	203.00 2010 Skate America
Short program	67.01 2010 Skate America
Free skate	135.99 2010 Skate America

Japanese name
Kanji 村上 大介 Kana むらかみ だいすけ Rōmaji Murakami Daisuke

Daisuke "Dice" Murakami (村上 大介, Murakami Daisuke^?, born January 15, 1991, in Kanagawa, Japan) is a Japanese figure skater who previously represented the United States in international competition. He is the 2009 Japanese Junior bronze medalist and the 2006 U.S. Junior pewter medalist.

Personal life

The Murakami family moved to the United States in 2000 from Japan after winning a green-card lottery to become US residents.^[5] Daisuke, nicknamed "Dice", began skating soon after.

Murakami is a two-time recipient of the Michael Weiss Foundation scholarship, which is a scholarship program created to help young American figure skaters.

Career

Murakami began skating at age nine.^[6] He began competing on the Juvenile level in 2001. He moved up the competition ladder and made his Nationals debut at the 2004 United States Figure Skating Championships, where he won the silver medal. This earned him a trip to the 2004 Triglav Trophy, which he won.

Moving up to the Junior level for the following season, Murakami was given a Junior Grand Prix assignment to Beijing, China, where he placed 11th. At the 2005 Pacific Coast sectional championships, the last step to qualifying for Nationals, Murakami placed 6th and did not qualify for the 2005 Nationals.

He stayed on the Junior level for the 2005–2006 season. Murakami won both his Regional and Sectional championships and then placed 4th at Nationals, winning the pewter medal. The USFSA selected the top three Junior skaters that year to go to the 2006 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Murakami, by placing 4th, would have otherwise been the first alternate. However, one of the skaters who placed ahead of him was not Junior-age-eligible internationally and so Murakami was sent. At the World Junior Championships, Murakami, who is perfectly bilingual in English and Japanese, served as the interpreter for his friend Takahiko Kozuka at the competition.^[7] He placed 11th at the Junior Worlds.

In the 2006–2007 season, Murakami moved up to the senior level nationally and won his first international Junior medal, the bronze at the Junior Grand Prix event in Mexico City. He won the silver medal at sectionals, qualifying him for the 2007 Nationals, where he placed 15th. Murakami was not selected for the 2007 Junior Worlds team.

Following the 2006/2007 season, Murakami was released by the USFSA to skate for Japan.^[8] Murakami has begun competing in Japan nationals-qualifying competitions. While skating for America, he represented the All Year Figure Skating Club.

Murakami began his 2007–2008 season skating at the junior level at the Japanese regional championships, Kinki Regionals. There, he placed second, less than .70 points behind winner Yukihiro Yoshida.^[9] He then won Japanese Western Sectionals on the junior level with a score of 163.30.^[10] He placed 2nd in the short program and 5th overall at the 2007-2008 Japanese Junior Figure Skating Championships with an overall score of 156.97 points^[11] and was not invited to compete at the senior nationals. In that season, he represented Osaka Skating Club.

In the 2008–2009 season, Murakami made his Junior Grand Prix debut for Japan. He competed at the 2008–2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Cape Town, South Africa. He was second in the short program and fourth in the free skating, placing fourth overall.

Programs

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2011–2012	The Feeling Begins by Peter Gabriel	Gladiator by Hans Zimmer
2010–2011	Toccata and Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach performed by Vanessa-Mae	Lawrence of Arabia by Maurice Jarre	Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake Move, Shake, and Drop by DJ Laz
2009–2010	West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein	The Rock by Nick Glennie-Smith, Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams	Senorita by Justin Timberlake and Low by Flo Rida
2008–2009	Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky	Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninov	Apologize by One Republic
2007–2008			Pump It by Black Eyed Peas
2006–2007	Breakfast at Tiffany's by Henry Mancini	The Vision of Escaflowne by Yoko Kanno
2005–2006	Korobushka by Bond	West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein
2004–2005	Hava Nagila by various artists	Pirates of the Caribbean by Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt
2003–2004	Sing Sing Sing by Louis Prima	Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and John Williams
2002–2003		Iron Monkey by Richard Yuen and James L. Venable

Competitive highlights

Results for Japan

Event	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2011–12
Japanese Championships		5th	19th	7th
Japanese Junior Championships	5th	3rd
Skate America				5th	6th
NHK Trophy			9th
Finlandia Trophy			7th	5th
Ondrej Nepela Memorial					1st
Triglav Trophy				2nd
Winter Universiade				3rd
Junior Grand Prix, South Africa		4th
International Challenge Cup		1st J.
Eastern Sectionals		4th J.
Western Sectionals	1st J.
Kinki Regionals	2nd J.

• J = Junior level

Results for the United States

Event	2003–2004	2004–2005	2005–2006	2006–2007
World Junior Championships			11th
U.S. Championships	2nd N.		4th J.	15th
Junior Grand Prix, Mexico				3rd
Junior Grand Prix, Taipei				4th
Junior Grand Prix, China		11th
Triglav Trophy	1st N.
Pacific Coast Sectionals	2nd N.	6th J.	1st J.	2nd
Southwest Regionals	1st N.	2nd J.	1st J.

• N = Novice level; J = Junior level

References

1. ^ "ISU World Standings for Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance : Men". International Skating Union. June 16, 2011. http://www.isuresults.com/ws/ws/wsmen.htm. Retrieved June 18, 2011 2011. 
2. ^ "ISU Judging System – Season Bests Total Scores 2010/2011 : Men". International Skating Union. April 28, 2011. http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/sb2010-11/sbtsmto.htm. Retrieved June 18, 2011. 
3. ^ "ISU Judging System – Season Bests Total Scores 2009/2010 : Men". International Skating Union. March 25, 2010. http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/sb2009-10/sbtsmto.htm. Retrieved June 18, 2011. 
4. ^ "ISU Judging System – Season Bests Total Scores 2008/2009 : Men". International Skating Union. April 18, 2009. http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/sb2008-09/sbtsmto.htm. Retrieved June 18, 2011. 
5. ^ Mroz Leaps from 11th to Second; Murakami Finishes Third at JGP Mexico
6. ^ Mittan, Barry (April 25, 2006). "Japan’s Loss is America’s Gain". SkateToday. http://www.skatetoday.com/2006/04/25/japans-loss-is-americas-gain/. Retrieved August 12, 2011. 
7. ^ Bronze for Davis and White at World Junior Championships
8. ^ Combined Report of ActionPDF (169 KiB)
9. ^ 2007 Kinki Figure Skating Championships
10. ^ 2007 Western Junior Championships
11. ^ 第76回全日本フィギュアスケートジュニア選手権大会

External links

• Daisuke Murakami at the International Skating Union
• Daisuke Murakami's Profile and photos

Persondata
Name	Murakami, Daisuke
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 15, 1991
Place of birth	Kanagawa, Japan
Date of death
Place of death