13-year-old Daisuke Murakami, or “Dice” as he is generally known, was born in Japan and skates for the All Year FSC in southern California. He won the silver medal in the Novice Men’s event at the 2004 U.S. Championships (he was the youngest in the twelve-man field) and, in April, the gold medal in Novice Men at the 2004 Triglav Trophy in Slovenia. In May, he made a coaching change from Tammy Gambill, his coach for the past two seasons, to Rafael Arutunian, and he now trains in Lake Arrowhead, California. Murakami's next two junior international competitions are the North American Challenge Skate in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, in August, and the Junior Grand Prix in Harbin, China, in September.

You were born in Tokyo. Are you an American or Japanese citizen?
I am a Japanese citizen at this moment, but [my family is] going to try to become American citizens.

When and how did you begin skating?
I started when I was nine, at a mall in San Diego that attracted me.

What are your long term goals in skating and off the ice?
Long term in skating is winning the Olympics. And off the ice is to finish college, get a degree, and become a doctor.

What are your goals for the upcoming season?
Win the Junior event at Nationals.

Who has had the greatest influence on your skating and how have they influenced you?
I just admire everyone for their hard work -- parents for supporting me, everyone that supports me at rinks, and coaches for helping me every single day to help me become a better skater!

What is your new coach, Rafael Arutunian, like?
Rafael is an interesting coach, he has a unique technique, which I like, and he is funny and teaches me everything.

Who are your favorite skaters and why?
Michelle Kwan, of course, for her passion in skating and Michael Weiss for his hard work, and he never gives up.

What is your favorite jump, spin and connecting move?
My favorite jump is triple-triple and usually is anything with a triple loop. My favorite spin is a flying sit. Connecting move is double 3turns.

What do you feel are the weakest and strongest aspects of your skating?
Strongest are my jumps and choreography. I have to admit, my spins are the weakest point in skating, but I’m trying to improve them with my coach.

Describe and evaluate your programs at Regionals, Sectionals, and Nationals. What did you think of your performances?
I respect every time I go to skate at competitions. Regionals, I landed my triple loop first time in competition. Coast (Sectionals), I fell on my triple loop and stepped out of triple toe, which made me 2nd. Nationals, we put in triple flip, and triple lutz, and I skated good, landed every triple except I fell on my double axel (for opening) and fell on my last spin, my death drop.

Describe your experience at Nationals. How was it different from other competitions and what did you learn? What was it like to win the silver medal?
My experience at Nationals was just fun! I met many good skaters, learned so much in seminars and evaluations. Winning the silver medal was awesome! I just thought, when I medaled, all the hard work paid off!

Describe your experience at the Triglav Trophy in Slovenia in April 2004. How was competing overseas different from competing in the U.S.?
Flying overseas is one word -- "tiring!" Total hours in the plane was probably 11 hours. If you compete in the U.S. the time on the plane would be much shorter. Triglav was just all experience. I enjoyed our stay there and all of our team members did really good. The only thing I wanted to happen was for it to snow! But, it didn’t. My coach and I really wanted it to snow, and there was some snow on the mountain behind our hotel so all of our team and some of the British team came with us to hike up the mountain and then went sliding down on our butts. It was a great experience!!!

[Editor's note: Murakami's program music for the 2003-04 season was "Sing Sing Sing" (short) and "Fiddler on the Roof" (long). Tammy Gambill, Murakami's coach at Triglav Trophy, reported that he landed double axel-double toe, single axel and double flip in the short program (no triples were allowed), and double axel-double toe, triple lutz, triple loop, triple flip, triple toe-double toe, triple salchow (step-out), double axel and triple toe (slight brush with free foot upon landing) in the long program, which had been trimmed down to three minutes in length.]

What are some of your off-ice hobbies?
Hangin’ with friends, going to movies and whatever some average kids would do.

What is your current schooling arrangement?
I am in 7th grade at La Sierra Academy where I have scholarship, and I get out of class for last period (science) to go skating.

Why do you love to skate?
It's fun learning something every day, like you can never stop learning something, and this sport just keeps on pushing you and that’s what I love about it.