[1] He helped his Japanese gymnastics team claim a gold medal in the all-around competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

He attended Nippon Sport Science University in Setagaya, Tokyo, and grew as an independent gymnast.

Nakano was named to the Japanese gymnastics team for the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, but he injured a left anterior cruciate ligament at the national championships which made him impossible to compete.

Nakano qualified as part of the Japanese gymnastics team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens by receiving an official place from the NHK Cup in Tokyo.

[2] In the team all-around, Nakano ended a 28-year-old drought to capture the gold medal for Japan, joining on top of the podium by Isao Yoneda, Hiroyuki Tomita, Naoya Tsukahara, Hisashi Mizutori, and Takehiro Kashima.