is a former professional

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player and former coach of

Hisamitsu Springs is a women's volleyball team based in Kobe city, Hyogo and Tosu city, Saga, Japan. It plays in V.League 1. The club was founded in 1948. In July 2020 the team announced an official name change from "Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Springs" to "Hi ...

. She led

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to a bronze medal at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

while still in high school and, despite serious and chronic knee injuries, remained one of the world's top setters until her retirement from the sport in 1993. Unusually for a Japanese athlete, Nakada was (and still is) remembered by opponents and teammates alike for her volatile temper, fiery competitiveness, and outspoken manner both on and off the court.

Personal life

After brief stints as a fashion model and motivational speaker, Nakada currently provides colour commentary and makes guest appearances in a wide range of sports and variety media in Japan. She is represented by Sports Biz in Tokyo.

Coaching

In October 2016, Nakada became the

Japan women's national volleyball team The Japan women's national volleyball team (Hinotori Nippon, 火の鳥NIPPON), or ''All-Japan women's volleyball team'', is currently ranked 10th in the world by FIVB. The new head coach is Masayoshi Manabe. One of their greatest successes was ...

's head coach. She retired from the position in August 2021, after the team finished in 10th place in the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

National team

* 1982: 4th place in the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

* 1984: 3rd place in the Olympic Games of Los Angeles * 1986: 7th place in the

* 1988: 4th place in the Olympic Games of Seoul * 1992: 5th place in the Olympic Games of Barcelona

References

External links

Biography
(archived) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakada, Kumi 1965 births Living people Volleyball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic volleyball players for Japan Olympic bronze medalists for Japan Japanese women's volleyball players Olympic medalists in volleyball Asian Games medalists in volleyball Volleyball players at the 1982 Asian Games Volleyball players at the 1986 Asian Games Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1982 Asian Games Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games Asian Games silver medalists for Japan