1. Early Life and Education
Kenzo Shirai's early life and educational path were deeply intertwined with his burgeoning gymnastics career.
1.1. Childhood and Formative Years
Shirai began gymnastics at the age of three, following in the footsteps of his two older brothers. His parents, Masaki and Norimi Shirai, were both coaches and owners of the Tsurumi Junior Gymnastics Club. Shirai often recalled being a "gym rat" from a very young age, as his parents would take him to their work at the gym instead of daycare. He trained rigorously, dedicating five to seven days a week to six-hour sessions, an atypical schedule for an elite athlete who also attended a regular school. In 2005, when he was in the third grade of elementary school, Shirai joined the Tsurumi Junior Gymnastics Club, marking the beginning of his serious engagement with the sport.
1.2. High School and University
Shirai's talent became evident during his middle school years. In 2011, while in his third year at Yokohama Terao Junior High School, he gained significant attention by placing second in the floor exercise at the All-Japan Individual Apparatus Championships. In 2012, he enrolled in Kanagawa Prefectural Kishine High School. That same year, at just 16 years old, he was selected to represent Japan at the 5th Asian Gymnastics Championships held in Putian, China, where he won the gold medal in the men's floor exercise with a score of 15.225 points.
In 2013, at the 67th All-Japan Individual Apparatus Championships, Shirai showcased an exceptional twisting technique on the floor exercise, performing a routine with a total of 22.5 twists, including a quadruple-twisting back layout somersault (F difficulty). He scored 15.900 points with a D-score of 7.3, earning high praise from veteran gymnasts like Kōhei Uchimura and Ryōhei Katō, who were impressed by his advanced twisting abilities. His performance secured his selection for the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
In 2015, Shirai enrolled in Nippon Sport Science University (Nittaidai), a renowned institution where other prominent Japanese artistic gymnasts, including his mentor Kohei Uchimura, also trained. Following his retirement from competitive gymnastics, Shirai transitioned into an assistant professor role at Nippon Sport Science University.
2. Gymnastics Career
Kenzo Shirai's gymnastics career was marked by groundbreaking achievements, particularly in floor exercise and vault, despite facing increasing challenges due to injuries in his later years. He served as the face of the Japan men's national gymnastics team from 2013 until 2018, when injuries began to impact his performance.
2.1. Early Achievements and Breakthrough (2011-2013)
Shirai first gained significant national attention in 2011 by finishing second in the floor exercise at the All-Japan Individual Apparatus Championships. In 2012, he secured his first international gold medal at the 5th Asian Gymnastics Championships on floor.
His international breakthrough came at the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, where, at just 17 years old, he was the youngest male participant. He qualified in first place for the floor exercise with a score of 16.233 points, a significant 0.633 points ahead of the next competitor. In the final, Shirai, described by analyst Tim Daggett as destined to win, executed a performance that secured him the gold medal with a score of 16.000, a 0.4-point margin over the American runner-up, Jacob Dalton. His routine featured a "historic" 22¼ twists and a D-score of 7.4, making him the youngest ever men's World Championships floor exercise winner at 17 years, 1 month, and 11 days old.
During the same championships, three of his eponymous skills were officially verified. On vault, he successfully performed the "Shirai/Kim Hee-hoon" (or simply "Shirai"), a Yurchenko triple twist. On floor exercise, he debuted the "Shirai/Nguyen" (or "Shirai"), a backward quadruple-twisting layout, and the "Shirai 2", a forward triple twist. The "Shirai" on floor was later formally renamed "Shirai/Nguyen" to recognize the joint successful performance by Nguyen Tuan Dat of Vietnam. His extraordinary achievements at this event earned him the moniker "Mr. Twist" internationally and "Twist Prince" in Japan.
2.2. World Championship Successes (2014-2015)
Shirai continued his success at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in the following years.
At the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Nanning, Shirai helped the Japanese men's team secure a silver medal, trailing host China by only 0.1 points. Individually, he again made the floor exercise and vault finals. On floor, despite a high D-score, a 0.1-point penalty for stepping out-of-bounds on his third pass cost him the gold, leaving him with a silver medal just 0.017 points behind Russian winner Denis Ablyazin. On vault, he placed fourth, despite achieving top E-scores, due to a lower difficulty on his second vault.
The 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow saw Shirai play a crucial role in the Japanese men's national team winning the team all-around gold medal for the first time since 1978. Shirai posted the top floor exercise score of the entire competition, the only one above 16.000 points. His floor routine, with a D-score of 7.6, featured high connection bonuses and combinations ending in forward blind landings, which contributed to his extreme score. He also consistently performed "double-somersault" skills on floor exercise. In the individual event finals, he won gold on floor exercise and placed seventh on vault. In December 2015, at the Toyota International Cup, he verified his fourth eponymous skill for men's artistic gymnastics (MAG), the "Shirai 3" on floor exercise, a "triple-double" layout which was awarded the highest difficulty of H (0.8) at the time.
2.3. 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics
At the age of 19 years, 11 months, and 15 days, Kenzo Shirai became the youngest and only teenage male gymnast in Japanese history to win an Olympic gold medal. This achievement came when the Japanese men's squad secured the team all-around title at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Shirai's scores on vault (15.633) and floor exercise (16.133) were the highest on his respective apparatuses within the entire team event.
In the individual vault finals, Shirai debuted a new top-scoring skill on his first attempt, earning 15.833 points. Although his second vault was significantly easier (5.6 D-score), his combined performance tied him with Marian Drăgulescu of Romania for third place. Shirai ultimately secured the bronze medal due to a higher E-score in the tiebreak. This new skill, a Yurchenko 3½ twist, was officially verified as the "Shirai 2" on vault, becoming his fifth eponymous skill.
In the floor exercise finals, Shirai, a two-time reigning world champion and a strong favorite with his high D-score, encountered landing issues on half of his passes. He, along with American gymnast Sam Mikulak, expressed disappointment with the sportsmanship of the local crowd, who were perceived as increasingly loud and hostile towards non-Brazilian athletes. Shirai finished in fourth place. In November of the same year, he was awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal in recognition of his contributions.
2.4. Continued Success and Emerging Challenges (2017-2018)
Shirai continued to achieve significant success in 2017 while also beginning to face the onset of injuries. At the February Melbourne World Cup, he won individual titles on floor exercise, vault, and horizontal bar, also securing a silver medal on parallel bars and placing tenth on still rings. Crucially, he verified his sixth MAG eponymous skill at this event: the "Shirai 3" on vault, a "full-on, double-full off" vault, which was added to the Code of Points by the FIG. This made him the official owner of the most eponymous MAG skills, second only to Nellie Kim.
At the 2017 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Montreal, Shirai medaled in every event he competed in: the individual all-around, floor exercise, and vault. He secured a bronze medal in the individual all-around with a score of 86.431, just 0.017 points behind silver medalist Lin Chaopan. On floor exercise, he successfully defended his gold medal, winning by a significant margin of 1.100 points over Artem Dolgopyat. He also won the vault title by the narrowest margin over runner-up Igor Radivilov. Notably, the new top I (0.9) D-score was introduced at this championship for the "Miyachi" on horizontal bar. Favorite Yang Hak Seon withdrew from the vault competition due to a hamstring injury.
In March 2018, Shirai competed at the American Cup in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Despite being the favorite, he placed sixth due to errors and falls on horizontal bar and pommel horse, and a less-than-optimal performance on his famously difficult floor exercise routine. However, he quickly rebounded a month later by winning the Tokyo World Cup.
Between April and August 2018, Shirai performed well in domestic competitions, earning silver medals in the individual all-around at the All-Japan Championships and NHK Trophy, and winning the All-Japan Student Championships. He also took an individual gold medal on floor exercise and a silver medal on vault at the All-Japan Event Championships.
At the 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Doha, the Japanese men's team earned a bronze medal in the team all-around finals, though senior gymnasts like Kohei Uchimura and Yusuke Tanaka noted that the team's performance was affected by injuries. Shirai himself was not in his peak form, simplifying various skills on each apparatus, most notably on floor exercise, which resulted in lower D-scores. Despite this, he managed to secure a silver medal on floor exercise and a bronze on vault, and finished seventh in the all-around.
2.5. Period of Injury and Performance Decline (2019)
The year 2019 marked a challenging period for Kenzo Shirai as persistent injuries, particularly to his left ankle, began to significantly impact his competitive performance.
He was initially scheduled to start his season at the 2019 American Cup but withdrew to treat his left ankle injury. On April 7, 2019, he joined the competitive circuit at the FIG Individual All-Around World Cup in Tokyo. Due to his injury, Shirai simplified certain skills in his routines, especially on floor exercise, his signature event. This included reverting to an older opening pass (round off-back handspring-3½ twist-punch double twist) instead of the "Shirai 3," and performing only a triple full as his final pass instead of his famous "Shirai" (quad twist). He ultimately failed to defend his 2018 gold medal, securing a bronze with a combined total of 82.964 points. American analyst Tim Daggett praised Shirai, calling him a "man, myth, legend... capable of doing... many things... people thought were... literally impossible before Shirai did them."
From April 26 to 28, 2019, Shirai competed at the 2019 All-Japan All-Around Championships in Chōfu, Tokyo. He qualified in 22nd place but finished 30th overall with a total all-around score of 79.432. He only achieved one top-three score on any apparatus, placing second on floor (14.533 points) behind Kazuki Minami (14.633). His remaining scores were significantly lower than top performers: 12.900 on pommel horse, 12.800 on still rings, 14.166 on vault, 13.733 on parallel bars, and 11.300 on the horizontal bar. The persistent ankle injury clearly affected his performances, particularly on pommel horse, still rings, and horizontal bar.
On May 18-19, 2019, Shirai participated in the 2019 NHK Trophy, also in Chōfu, Tokyo. His lingering left ankle issues prevented him from performing at his best, leading to a 23rd-place finish with a combined score of 243.794. He could not secure a top-three score on any apparatus, including his strong events of floor and vault. His scores were 14.500 on floor, 12.533 on pommel horse, 12.800 on still rings, 14.566 on vault, 14.066 on parallel bars, and 13.066 on high bar.
From June 21 to 23, 2019, Shirai competed at the 2019 All-Japan Apparatus Championships in Takasaki, aiming to secure a spot on the national team for the World Championships that autumn. He qualified for the floor exercise, vault, and horizontal bar finals, ranking second, fourth, and sixth, respectively. However, in the finals, he placed third on floor (14.900), fifth on vault (14.433), and eighth on horizontal bar (11.200). Although his floor difficulty values remained among the highest, his execution needed improvement. His vault D-score (5.2) was also comparatively lower, requiring higher base scores to challenge top vaulters.
For the first time since his debut in 2013, Shirai did not make the Japanese men's national artistic gymnastics team for the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. His 2019 performances, noticeably slowed by his stubborn left ankle injury, meant he couldn't compete optimally during the selection events. Despite his best efforts to secure one of the individual spots for his signature events, floor exercise and/or vault, his 3rd and 5th place finishes were insufficient. Japan sent a relatively inexperienced team to the World Championships, as other high-profile athletes like Kohei Uchimura were also absent due to injuries, leading to the men's competition being dominated by other nations. Shirai worked hard to recover, but he was visibly rusty on all apparatuses.
In December 2019, Shirai competed at the Toyota International Cup in Aichi, where he had a four-year winning streak on floor exercise (2015-2018) and a three-year streak on vault (2015-2017). Although he qualified first on floor and second on vault for the respective finals, he did not compete, withdrawing from all events due to the persistent ankle injuries.
2.6. Final Competitive Season and Retirement (2020-2021)
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted Shirai's final competitive season, delaying the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo by a year to July 23 - August 8, 2021. This postponement led to the deferral or cancellation of many Olympic qualifying events.
In December 2020, as a postgraduate student at Nippon Sport Science University, Shirai competed at the 2020 All-Japan Championships in Takasaki. His performance was not as strong as in previous years, placing 18th in the all-around (167.196) and 4th on floor exercise (15.166). The event was repurposed by Japan's national artistic gymnastics federation as an additional local Olympic qualifying event, designed to help coaches finalize the roster for the delayed Tokyo Olympics, which sought to send a six-man squad (four for the team all-around and two for individual events).
By 2020, Shirai had reluctantly begun considering retirement due to his persistent injuries. However, he made one final attempt to qualify for the home Olympics, returning in early 2021 to compete at the 2021 All-Japan Championships. After failing to qualify, he announced his immediate retirement from artistic gymnastics on June 16, 2021. His retirement also meant he missed the 2021 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in his home replacement city of Kitakyushu. Shirai concluded his career with a legacy of 13 major international medals and six eponymous skills.
3. Eponymous Skills
Kenzo Shirai is officially credited with six unique gymnastics skills named after him in the Code of Points. These skills reflect his exceptional twisting abilities, particularly on floor exercise and vault. The difficulty scores listed below are based on the 2022-2024 quadrennial Code of Points, which largely retained scores from the earlier 2017-2021 Code.
| Apparatus | Name(s) | Description(s) | Difficulty | Verification | Competition Achieved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floor Exercise | Shirai or Shirai-Nguyen | Backward (bwd) quadruple (4/1)-twisting (back) layout (somersault), or quadruple twist (straight back) somersault backwards (bwds) | F (0.6) | Automatic | 2013 World Championships |
| Shirai 2 | Forward (fwd) or front triple (3/1)-twisting straight (somersault), or (forward or front layout) triple twist somersault forwards (fwds) | ||||
| Shirai 3 | Backward triple-twisting double (2/1) straight (back somersault), also known as a "triple (twist) double (back)" layout somersault backwards | H (0.8) | Petition1 | 2015 Toyota International Cup | |
| Vault | Shirai or Shirai-Kim | Round off-back handspring (RO-BH) or Yurchenko entry into (back layout) triple twist, or a "triple-twisting (straight back) Yurchenko" (abbreviated as "TT-Y") | 5.6 (originally 6.0) | Automatic | 2013 World Championships |
| Shirai 2 | RO-BH or Yurchenko entry into (straight back) 3½ twist, or 3½-twisting (back layout) Yurchenko (abbreviated as 3.5Y) | 6.0 (originally 6.4) | 2016 Summer Olympics | ||
| Shirai 3 | RO-full (1/1)-twisting BH or Scherbo entry into (back layout) double twist, also known as a "full (twist) on-(straight back) double full (twist) off" | 5.4 | 2017 Melbourne World Cup |
Such eponymous skills have sometimes taken official names of two originators, but evolving skill factors like one athlete's greater success shortened the name for only that gymnast.
1Except the Shirai 3 on floor exercise that was verified via the FIG's petition process due to the group of meet with, others getting automatic official naming after the originating meet.
In 2017, Japan's Takahiro Goshima further progressed the "Shirai 2" on floor exercise, successfully performing a front layout 3½ twist, which was named the "Goshima" and had a G (0.7) D-score at the 2017 Stuttgart Team Challenge. While the "Shirai" vault had been successfully competed by other athletes since 2015, such as Britain's Max Whitlock and China's Zhang Chenglong, Shirai consistently achieved the highest E-scores when performing it. The "Shirai 2" on vault, first competed by Shirai at the 2016 Summer Olympics, was not successfully competed by any other gymnast throughout the entire 2017-2021 quadrennial period.
4. Post-Retirement Activities
Following his retirement from competitive gymnastics on June 16, 2021, Kenzo Shirai transitioned into a new role as an assistant professor at Nippon Sport Science University.
On March 12, 2022, Shirai made a special one-day return to competitive performance for "KOHEI UCHIMURA THE FINAL," an exhibition event honoring the retirement of his former teammate and mentor Kōhei Uchimura. During this event, Shirai successfully performed four of his eponymous skills: the "Shirai 3," "Shirai 2," and "Shirai/Nguyen" on floor exercise, and the "Shirai/Kim Hee-hoon" on vault.
5. Legacy and Impact
Kenzo Shirai's impact on artistic gymnastics is primarily defined by his innovative twisting skills, which earned him the nickname "Mr. Twist" internationally and "Twist Prince" in his native Japan. His eponymous skills on both floor exercise and vault pushed the boundaries of difficulty and technique, leaving a lasting legacy in the sport's Code of Points.
Beyond his competitive achievements, Shirai demonstrated a unique understanding of gymnastics across different disciplines. In October 2017, a social media video showed him expertly performing the "Mustafina" on floor, a triple Y-turn with an E (0.5) D-score in WAG. He was also observed executing a partial routine on uneven bars to a comparable level of proficiency. In December 2018, another clip featured Shirai skillfully reproducing his compatriot Mai Murakami's entire competition floor routine, set to music, including highly complex WAG skills like the "Gomez" (a quadruple turn with a free leg below horizontal), which is also an E (0.5) D-score element in WAG dance. Fan-made compilation videos also showcased Shirai training advanced original skills and combinations that demonstrated his potential to further innovate floor and vault techniques, including a "round off-back handspring-4½ twist punch ½ or full" on floor, and a "half on-3½ off" on vault. These demonstrations highlight his profound knowledge and mastery of gymnastics beyond the men's specific apparatuses.
6. Awards and Honors
Kenzo Shirai has received numerous awards and honors throughout his distinguished career:
- In September 2014, he was recognized by Guinness World Records for two achievements: being the youngest male gymnast to win a World Championships gold medal on floor exercise (at 17 years and 1 month), and for successfully performing the "Shirai/Nguyen" skill for the first time.
- In November 2016, following his success at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Shirai was awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal by the Japanese government.
7. Media Appearances
Kenzo Shirai has appeared in various public media engagements, including several commercial endorsements:
- Nippon Life Insurance (Tokyo 2020 Gold Partner, 2015)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (Individual Japanese Representative for Tokyo 2020, 2016)
- Japan Airlines (FLY to 2020, 2016)
- TableMark (2016)
- House Foods (2018)
- Coca-Cola Japan (Aquarius, 2018)
He also made an appearance on the Japanese television program "ZIP!" in 2021.
8. Competitive History
Kenzo Shirai's competitive history reflects his consistent presence and success at major international and national artistic gymnastics events.
| Year | Championship | Team | Men's Artistic Gymnastics (MAG) Individual Events | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Around | Floor Exercise | Pommel Horse | Still Rings | Vault | Parallel Bars | Horizontal Bar | |||
| 2013 | World Championships | - | - | 1st | - | - | 4th | - | - |
| 2014 | World Championships | 2nd | - | 2nd | - | - | 4th | - | - |
| 2015 | World Championships | 1st | - | 1st | - | - | 7th | - | - |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | 1st | 4th | 4th | - | - | 3rd | - | - |
| 2017 | World Championships | - | 3rd | 1st | - | - | 1st | - | - |
| 2018 | World Championships | 3rd | 7th | 2nd | - | - | 3rd | - | - |