Sho Brian Nakamori (born September 9, 1985) is a retired American artistic gymnast. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won a bronze medal representing the United States at the 2011 Pan American Games.
| Sho Nakamori | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Sho Brian Nakamori | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 9, 1985 Oakland, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hometown | Albany, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 140 lb (64 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years on national team | 2007–2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gym | Champions Academy San Mateo Gymnastics USOTC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Stanford Cardinal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Zhang Jinjing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former coach(es) | Thom Glielmi, Vitaly Marinich | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | June 11, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life and education
editNakamori was born on September 9, 1985, in Oakland, California, to Kazuki and Tamae Nakamori. His father, Kazuki Nakamori, was a gymnast and was a member of the Japan men's national gymnastics team from 1982 to 1984.[1]
Nakamori attended Albany High School, but left before his senior year to train in Colorado Springs, Colorado under Vitaly Marinich at the United States Olympic Training Center while attending Palmer High School.[1][2] He almost made the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team at the age of 16, drawing comparisons to Chris Reigel, and was considered the top junior gymnast in the country.[2] He enrolled at Stanford University to pursue gymnastics.
Gymnastics career
editNakamori was a member of the Stanford Cardinal men's gymnastics team. He was a bronze medalist on the horizontal bar at the 2008 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships and Stanford won the national championship at the 2009 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships.[3]
Domestically, Nakamori performed well at Winter Cups, placing third in the pommel horse at the 2004 Winter Cup and the individual all-around at the 2009 Winter Cup.
Internationally, he was initially named as the first alternate for the 2003 Pan American Games team.[4] He ultimately was selected, but he broke his left femur while attempting a warm-up vault at the competition.[3][5] The fracture required a steel rod to be inserted into his leg.[5] He later competed at the 2011 Pan American Games and won a team bronze medal.
Nakamori retired from gymnastics on June 11, 2012, after his performance at the 2012 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships did not qualify him for the 2012 United States Olympic trials.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b Lee, Henry K. (March 19, 2004). "Kazuki Nakamori -- Bay Area gymnastics coach". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
- ^ a b Pena, Michael (September 27, 2002). "It's Sho time". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
- ^ a b "Vaulting to Victory". Stanford Magazine. July–August 2009. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
- ^ "Young Leads U.S. Entries To Pan American Games". usagym.org. June 23, 2003. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
- ^ a b Schwab, Matt (February 11, 2005). "After rough year, Stanford gymnast back on the horse". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
- ^ "After failing to make Olympic trials, Sho Nakamori retires". The Morgan Hill Times. June 12, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
