Nakayama Funa: 'I want more confidence so I can have fun skateboarding'
In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com ahead of the WST Street Skateboarding Rome 2023, the Tokyo 2020 women's street skateboarding bronze medallist shares how she is trying not to be so nervous as she eyes the top of the podium in Paris 2024.
Skateboarding
Nakayama Funa can pull off some of the most difficult tricks on the biggest stages in skateboarding.
She can strike the occasional pose, too, as she did earlier this year for the sport’s bible Thrasher (only the second Japanese to grace the cover after Horigome Yuto) and fashion magazine GQ.
So it comes as a slight surprise to hear Nakayama, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist in women’s street, say that she often struggles to hold it together whenever she hops on a deck.
“I always feel pressure,” Nakayama said in an interview with Olympics.com, ahead of WST Street Skateboarding Rome 2023 this week.
“I feel pressure about my skate and I feel pressure from the kids in junior high and elementary school who can do tricks that I can’t. Every time I’m at a contest, I get very nervous.
“When I practise well, I can tell myself to trust the process and calm down a bit but when I don’t practice well, I don’t compete well either. So practising well is something I try to do, always.
“The better you get at skateboarding, the more difficult the tricks become and it can be scary at times.
"After the Olympics, with so many kids younger than me coming through, there has been the constant pressure - the fear.”
Nakayama Funa: Eyeing gold at Paris 2024
The last time Nakayama was in Rome, in July 2022, she led a Japanese podium sweep at the World championships alongside her good friends Nishiya
Momiji and Oda Yumeka for her first international victory.
Nakayama flirted with a title several times since the Tokyo 2020 Games, but finally broke through to underline her credentials as one of the best in the world, right up there with Nishiya and Rayssa Leal, the current No. 1 in the Olympic rankings.
But Nakayama feels there is a point of difference that separates her and Nishiya and Leal: the ability to have a ball and compete at the same time.
Nakayama believes if she can learn how to relax and take in her surroundings, she just might be able to take her skating to the next level. Easier said than done though, when it’s in her nature to have a case of the nerves.
“It’s important for me to have fun competing,” said Nakayama, who turned 18 three days ago. “I look at Momiji and Rayssa and they have fun riding, which I’m jealous about.
“I still lack the confidence. I’m enjoying it more than last year but not 100 percent. I want more confidence so I can have fun skateboarding like those two.
“(Rayssa’s) not just good but she has such fun doing it, helps create a vibe among us where as I get nervous.
“But she also works hard, practises a lot. It’s no coincidence she’s that good.”
Two years on from the Games, Nakayama is still known in Japan as the girl who won a skateboarding medal at the Olympics.
Yet Nakayama herself is no longer resting on those laurels, having turned her sights towards Paris 2024. As things stand, she is in solid position to go through as the second highest-ranked Japanese female behind Nishiya (the top three in each country qualify).
Nakayama is still on the way up from a broken collarbone she suffered at Uprising Tokyo last month, and it remains to be seen how she will fare this week.
Beyond Rome though will potentially be Paris, which will be an entirely different experience compared to Tokyo for the teenager. She will have a bull’s-eye on her back and this time, there will be fans.
One might think with all the noise from the crowd, Nakayama is concerned that she will shrivel up and collapse in the pressure-cooker of the Olympic Games.
Far from it. Nakayama can’t wait for Paris, the baguettes, the Eiffel Tower and all - topped by a gold medal, hopefully.
“Time has flown by. It feels like we just held the Olympics and now we’re only a year away from the next Olympics,” she said.
“But I feel totally different about these Olympics compared to the last one. Last time, I had no idea how big the Olympics were and there was no crowd. This time, I know the size and scope of the Olympics and there will be fans. I definitely want to be there.
“As someone who gets nervous easily, it was easy for me to skate without fans. But the crowd helps create a great atmosphere and I want to feed off that. I want that experience at the next Olympics and nail a big trick in front of a full house.
“In Paris, I want to do a trick that I didn’t do in Tokyo and be No. 1. Back then, I was happy just to win a medal but now that I think about it, I’m annoyed I lost out to Momiji. This time, I want to finish first and celebrate.”