Risa Sugawara

Lisa Toyoshima (豊島リサ, Toyoshima Risa), née Risa Sugawara (菅原リサ, Sugawara Risa), is a Japanese gymnastics coach and former artistic gymnast.^[1] She was a five-time all-around national champion and competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, where she finished 29th in the individual all around.^[2][3]

Sugawara was born in Toda, Saitama. Her parents were both gymnasts; her father, Hiroshi Sugawara won a silver team medal at the men's gymnastics event at the 1974 Asian Games, and her mother, Takako Hasegawa, competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics.^[4] Her older brother, Fumihito Sugawara [ja], is a politician who became the mayor of Toda in 2018.^[5] When she was an active gymnast, she looked up to teammate Mari Kosuge.^[6]

She began gymnastics at the Toda Sports Center, where her parents coached.^[1] In 1994, she won her first national all-around title.^[2] She also competed at the 1994 Asian Games, where she won a silver medal with the team.^[7]

In 1996, Sugawara entered Nippon Sport Science University.^[6] That year, she tied for Japanese champion with Yuki Ohata [ja].^[2] She represented Japan at the 1996 Summer Olympics and finished 29th in the individual all-around.^[3]

From 1997–1999, she won an additional three all-around national titles in a row.^[2] At the 1997 Summer Universiade, she won gold in the balance beam and floor finals, along with a silver on uneven bars and a bronze medal in the team event. At the 1998 Asian Games, she again won silver with the Japanese team. She also won individual bronze medals in the all-around and on the floor event.

Sugawara retired in 1999 due to injuries.^[8] She spent three years studying abroad at the Australian Institute of Sport. She now works as a coach in Toda and has two children.^[1] Her students include Olympians Hiraiwa Yuna and Rina Kishi. She has also spoken about her struggles with disordered eating to maintain her body weight during her time as a gymnast and the changing trend in women's gymnastics toward building more muscle in order to complete difficult elements.^[4]

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
1989	Aloha Gymfest		10
	Japanese Championships		20
1990	Japanese Championships		10				6
	NHK Cup		11
1991	Aloha Gymfest
	Blume Memorial		31
1992	Gander Memorial		6
	Japanese Championships
	NHK Cup		7
	Pacific Alliance Championships		7	4	6		6
	Swiss Cup		6
1993	Chunichi Cup		5	4	6	5	7
	East Asian Games
	Japanese Championships		4	5
	JPN-USA Dual Meet		4
	NHK Cup
	Tokyo Cup				7	4	8
	World Championships		30
1994	McDonald's American Cup		14
	Asian Games		5	4			5
	Chunichi Cup		5
	Fukuoka Cup			6	4	5	6
	International Mixed Pairs	13
	Japanese Championships
1995	Aloha Gymfest
	Chunichi Cup		6	6	8	7	6
	Gander Memorial		7
	Japanese Championships
	Pre-Olympics Test Event		14
	World Championships	10	28
1996	Chunichi Cup		4
	Japanese Championships
	NHK Cup
	Olympic Games	12	29
1997	Visa American Cup		10
	Chunichi Cup		4	6	4	5	4
	Japanese Championships					8
	NHK Cup
	Pitari Cup
	Summer Universiade
	Lausanne World Championships	9	25
1998	American Classic		33
	Visa American Cup		17
	Asian Games			5	4
	China Cup		10		8
	Chunichi Cup		5	6	4	6	5
	Japanese Championships
	NHK Cup
	Pacific Alliance Championships		31		7		6
	World Cup Final					7	5
1999	Japanese Championships
	NHK Cup
	World Championships	13	18

• Risa Sugawara at the International Gymnastics Federation
• Risa Sugawara at Olympedia