Mai Murakami
Country represented Japan
Born (1996-08-05) 5 August 1996
Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
Height1.48 m (4 ft 10 in)[1]
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2009–2021 (JPN)
ClubYukio Iketani Gymnastics Club
College teamNippon Sport Science University
Head coach(es)Kazukuni Ohno
Music
Floor music
2012–2013: "Beating" (Inside the Sun Remix) / "Fuyu no Sakura" by Yoshida Brothers
2014–2015: "This Society, They've Opened Pandora's Box" by Johnny / "Self Repair" by Adam Bonilla Morales
2016: “Mad Skills”by Brian Tyler/“Show Me How You Burlesque “ by Christina Aguilera
2017–2018: "Field of Fusion/Volcano High" by DAITA
2021: “Supa Freak” by Terry ft. Trouble/“Hydro 84” by Wazgogg/“Pump Up The Volume” by M/A/R/R/S
Retired24 October 2021
Medal record
Women's artistic gymnastics
Representing  Japan
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2020 TokyoFloor exercise
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2017 MontrealFloor exercise
Gold medal – first place2021 Kitakyushu Floor exercise
Silver medal – second place2018 Doha All-around
Bronze medal – third place2018 Doha Floor exercise
Bronze medal – third place2021 Kitakyushu Balance beam
FIG World Cup
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
All-Around World Cup 1 1 1

Mai Murakami (村上茉愛, Murakami Mai, born 5 August 1996) is a Japanese retired artistic gymnast and Olympic medalist. She is the 2017 and 2021 World champion on floor exercise, the 2018 World all-around silver medalist and floor exercise bronze medalist, the 2021 World balance beam bronze medalist, and a four-time Japanese national all-around champion (2016–2018, 2020). She represented Japan at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, winning a bronze medal on floor exercise in the latter. This made her the first female Japanese gymnast to win an individual medal at the Olympics.

Personal life

Murakami was born in Sagamihara, Japan and began gymnastics when she was two years old.[1] She attended university at the Nippon Sport Science University in Tokyo.[1]

Career

2012-2013

Murakami made her senior debut at the 2012 National Championships where she placed eleventh in the all-around. She was not named to the 2012 Olympic team.[2] Murakami competed at the 2012 Stuttgart World Cup where Japan finished second to Russia.[3]

Murakami competed at the 2013 City of Jesolo Trophy where she won bronze with the Japanese team and placed 22nd in the all-around.[4] She finished third in the all-around at both the National Championships and the NHK Cup. She finished fourth on the floor exercise at the 2013 World Championships.[5][6]

2014-2015

Murakami competed at the 2014 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships placing fourth with the team, sixth on floor, seventh on bars and beam, and ninth in the all-around.[7][8] She placed sixth in the all-around at the National Championships and fourth at the NHK Cup.[9][10] At the All Japan Championships, she won gold on floor and silver on vault.[11] She was then selected to compete at the 2014 World Championships along with Asuka Teramoto, Yu Minobe, Natsumi Sasada, Wakana Inoue, and Azumi Ishikura, and they finished in eighth place.[12] After the World Championships Murakami finished the season by placed fifth in the all-around at the Glasgow World and winning vault and floor at the Toyota International.[13][14]

At the 2015 National Championships, Murakami struggled on beam and floor and placed tenth in the all-around.[15] She placed eighth in the all-around at the NHK Cup, but at the Event Championships she won bronze on vault and gold on floor.[16] Murakami was initially named an alternate for the World Championships, but an injury led to her joining the team.[17] The Japanese team placed fifth, and she placed sixth in the all-around, the best finish by a Japanese woman in six years.[18][17]

2016

Murakami competed at the American Cup where she placed sixth in the all-around.[19] She then won the all-around at the National Championships in addition to winning gold on floor and bronze on vault and beam.[20] At the NHK Cup, she finished second in the all-around behind Asuka Teramoto, and she won gold on floor and silver on vault.[21] At the Event National Championships, she won gold on floor exercise and placed fourth on uneven bars.[22] She was then named to represent Japan at the 2016 Summer Olympics along with Asuka Teramoto, Aiko Sugihara, Yuki Uchiyama, and Sae Miyakawa.[23]

2016 Summer Olympics

Japan competed in the final subdivision of the qualification round, and they qualified seventh into the team final, and individually Murakami qualified ninth into the all-around and eighth on floor exercise.[24] The team then finished fourth in the team final.[25] Murakami placed fourteenth in the all-around final with a score of 56.665.[26] She then placed seventh in the floor exercise final with a score of 14.533.[27]

2017

Murakami won the all-around at the National Championships in addition to winning gold on beam and floor and winning silver on vault.[28] She also won the all-around at the NHK Cup and won gold on beam and floor and bronze on vault and uneven bars. She was then automatically named to the World Championship team along with Aiko Sugihara.[29] She then won silver on floor and placed fifth on vault at the Event National Championships.[30] At the 2017 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, she qualified first into the all-around final, ahead of American gymnast Ragan Smith,[31] but had a fall in the finals, and ended up in 4th place, one-tenth of a point behind the bronze medalist, Russia's Elena Eremina.[32] She redeemed herself in the floor exercise finals, where she placed first ahead of Jade Carey and Claudia Fragapane.[33] She is Japan's first World gold medalist on this event, and Japan's second World gold medalist on any women's gymnastics event, after Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda won the gold on the balance beam in 1954.[17] Afterward, she won gold on floor and bronze on vault at the Toyota International.[34]

2018

Murakami finished second at the American Cup behind Morgan Hurd.[35] She then won the all-around at the Tokyo World Cup.[36] Then, she won the all-around at both the National Championships and the NHK Cup.[37][38] She won gold on balance beam and floor exercise at the Event National Championships.[39] At the 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Doha, Qatar the Japanese team finished in sixth place.[40] Individually, she finished second in the all-around final, behind Simone Biles.[41] It was the first women’s all-around silver medal in Japan’s history. She then won the bronze medal in the floor exercise final behind Biles and Morgan Hurd.[42]

2019

Murakami won a bronze medal in the all-around at the American Cup behind Americans Leanne Wong and Grace McCallum.[43] Murakami missed the NHK Cup due to a back injury, but because of this, Murakami was deemed ineligible to make the Japanese team for the World Championships.[17] Murakami's petition was denied.[44]

2020-2021

In February it was announced that Murakami would represent Japan at the Tokyo World Cup taking place on April 4.[45] However the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.[46] Murakami returned to competition in September at the All-Japan Senior Championships, where she won gold in the all-around. In addition, she performed well enough to win medals on each of the individual events, including two additional golds on vault and floor. [47] She next competed at the All-Japan Championships in December.

In April 2021, it was announced that she, along with Hatakeda Hitomi, Hiraiwa Yuna and Sugihara Aiko, would represent Japan at Tokyo 2020 Olympics.[48] The team finished in 5th place and Murakami finished 5th in the all-around.

On 2 August 2021, Murakami achieved a score of 14.166 for the individual women's floor event and won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (tied with Angelina Melnikova of ROC who also won bronze). [49] She became the first female Japanese gymnast to win an individual medal at the Olympics. This was also only the second time that Japan had won an Olympic medal on any women's gymnastics event, since finishing 3rd in the team competition at the 1964 Olympics which were also held in Tokyo.

In October 2021, Murakami competed at the 2021 World Championships, where she won gold on the floor exercise and bronze on the balance beam. After this achievement, she announced her retirement from gymnastics.[50]

Competitive history

Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
2012National Championships11
Stuttgart World Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2013City of Jesolo Trophy3rd place, bronze medalist(s)22
National Championships3rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
NHK Cup3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
World Championships—4
2014Pacific Rim Championships49776
National Championships6
NHK Trophy4
National Event Championships2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships8
Glasgow World Cup5
Toyota International1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
2015National Championships10
NHK Trophy8
National Event Championships3rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
National Student Championships2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)63rd place, bronze medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
World Championships56
Toyota International2nd place, silver medalist(s)4
2016American Cup6
National Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)53rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
NHK Trophy2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)5191st place, gold medalist(s)
National Event Championships41st place, gold medalist(s)
Olympic Games4147
National Team Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)
Toyota International2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
2017National Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)41st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
NHK Trophy1st place, gold medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
National Event Championships52nd place, silver medalist(s)
National Student Championships2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)121st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships—441st place, gold medalist(s)
National Team Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)
Toyota International3rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
2018American Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Tokyo World Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
National Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)41st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
NHK Trophy1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)41st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
National Event Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships62nd place, silver medalist(s)R33rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2019American Cup3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
National Championships2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
National Event Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)
2020National Senior Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
National Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
2021All-Japan Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)
NHK Trophy1st place, gold medalist(s)
All-Japan Event Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Olympic Games55R23rd place, bronze medalist(s)
World Championships—3rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)

References

  1. 1 2 3 "MURAKAMI Mai". www.fig-gymnastics.com. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  2. ↑ "Japan Names Women's Olympic Team". FloGymnastics. FloSports, Inc. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  3. ↑ "2012 Stuttgart World Cup". FloGymnastics. FloSports, Inc. 1 December 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  4. ↑ "6° Trofeo Città di Jesolo" (PDF). USA Gymnastics (in Italian). Federazione Ginnastica d'Italia. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  5. ↑ "44th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Floor Exercise Final Women" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. FIG. 6 October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  6. ↑ 第45回世界体操選手権＆第17回アジア競技大会・日本代表 [45th World Gymnastics Championship & 17th Asian Games, Japan Representatives]. Japan Gymnastics Association (in Japanese). 6 July 2014. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "2014 Pacific Rim Championships Team Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. pp. 1, 3. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  8. ↑ "2014 Pacific Rim Championships Session WAG Senior Finals" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  9. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (9 May 2014). "2014 Japanese Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  10. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (8 June 2014). "2014 NHK Trophy Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  11. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (6 July 2014). "2014 All-Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  12. ↑ "45th ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS in Nanning (CHN) Women's Team Final" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. FIG. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  13. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (6 December 2014). "Larisa Iordache is All-Around Champion in Glasgow". The Gymternet. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  14. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (18 December 2014). "2014 Toyota International Report and Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  15. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (7 May 2015). "2015 Japanese Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  16. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (29 June 2015). "2015 Japanese Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "Mai Murakami, all-around silver medalist, ineligible for gymnastics worlds". NBC Sports. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  18. ↑ "46th ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, GLASGOW (GBR) Women's Team Final" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. FIG. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  19. ↑ "2016 AT&T American Cup" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. p. 2. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  20. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (1 April 2016). "2016 All-Japan Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  21. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (4 May 2016). "2016 NHK Trophy Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  22. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (7 June 2016). "2016 All-Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  23. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (7 June 2016). "Japan First to Name Olympic Team". The Gymternet. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  24. ↑ "Artistic Gymnastics Women Qualification Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  25. ↑ "Artistic Gymnastics Women's Team Final" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  26. ↑ "Artistic Gymnastics Women's Individual All-Around Final Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  27. ↑ "Artistic Gymnastics Women's Floor Exercise Final Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  28. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (7 April 2017). "2017 All-Japan Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  29. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (20 May 2017). "Murakami, Sugihara Named to Japan's Worlds Team". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  30. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (25 June 2017). "2017 All-Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  31. ↑ "47th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2017 Montréal (CAN) Women's Individual All-Around Qualification Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  32. ↑ "47th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2017 Montréal (CAN) Women's Individual All-Around Final Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  33. ↑ "47th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2017 Montréal (CAN)Women's Floor Exercise Final Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 8 October 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  34. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (10 December 2017). "2017 Toyota International Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  35. ↑ "2018 American Cup Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. 3 March 2018. p. 2. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  36. ↑ Lawrence, Blythe (14 April 2018). "Trinity Thomas Wins Tokyo World Cup Silver And Secures U.S. Women The Season's Team World Cup Title". Team USA. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on April 15, 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  37. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (6 May 2018). "Three-peat for Murakami at All-Japan". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  38. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (21 May 2018). "2018 NHK Trophy Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  39. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (8 July 2018). "2018 All-Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  40. ↑ "48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha (QAT), 25 October - 3 November 2018 Women's Team Final Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  41. ↑ "48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha (QAT), 25 October - 3 November 2018 Women's All-Around Final Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  42. ↑ "48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha (QAT), 25 October - 3 November 2018 Women's Floor Exercise Final Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  43. ↑ "Mai Murakami finishes third at American Cup". The Japan Times. The Japan Times LTD. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  44. ↑ "Mai Murakami left out of the Worlds team selection". Gymnovosti. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  45. ↑ "Simone Biles heads star-studded field for Tokyo World Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. February 14, 2020.
  46. ↑ @FIG_media (March 17, 2020). "Japan Gymnastics Association has decided to cancel the #Tokyo All-Around World Cup that was scheduled on 4-5 April 2020" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  47. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (September 22, 2020). "2020 All-Japan Senior Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  48. ↑ "Murakami, Hatakeda, Hiraiwa, and Sugihara Named to Japanese Olympic Team". 15 May 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  49. ↑ "Artistic Gymnastics - Final Results". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  50. ↑ "Retiring Mai Murakami ends career with gold at world championships". The Japan Times. October 25, 2021.
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