Utana Yoshida
Utana Yoshida | ||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Yoshida at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||
Native name | 吉田 唄菜 | |||||||||||||||||
Born | (2003-09-06) September 6, 2003 (age 20) Kurashiki, Japan | |||||||||||||||||
Hometown | Kurashiki | |||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||
Figure skating career | ||||||||||||||||||
Country | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||
Partner | Masaya Morita | |||||||||||||||||
Coach | Cathy Reed Rie Arikawa | |||||||||||||||||
Skating club | Kinoshita Academy | |||||||||||||||||
Began skating | 2009 | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Utana Yoshida (吉田 唄菜, Yoshida Utana, born September 6, 2003) is a Japanese ice dancer, who currently competes with Masaya Morita. They are the 2023–24 Japanese national bronze medalists.
With her former skating partner, Shingo Nishiyama, she was a two-time Japanese national junior ice dance champion (2020, 2021) and a 2020 Winter Youth Olympics champion in the team event.
Personal life
Utana Yoshida was born on September 6, 2003, in Kurashiki, Japan. She owns a toy poodle named Koko.
Career
Early career
Yoshida began skating in 2009 and previously competed in ladies' singles.[1] She placed seventh at the novice level at the Chu-Shikoku-Kyushu Regional in 2014, and thus failed to advance to the 2014–15 Japan Championships.[2] Yoshida switched to ice dance in 2016, partnering with Takumi Sugiyama.[3] Yoshida / Sugiyama were fourth at the 2016–17 Japan Junior Championships and won the advanced novice gold medal at the 2017 Mentor Toruń Cup. Yoshida / Sugiyama split at the end of the season, and she was partnerless for two seasons.
Yoshida teamed up with Shingo Nishiyama in early 2019 after a tryout arranged by the Japan Skating Federation in fall 2018 and moved to train with him and his coaches at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club in Canada in February 2019.[4]
2019–2020 season
In their first season as a partnership, Yoshida/Nishiyama placed sixth at both 2019 JGP United States and 2019 JGP Italy. They then won gold at the Western Sectional and advanced to the 2019–20 Japan Junior Championships, where they again won gold, ahead of Ayumi Takanami / Yoshimitsu Ikeda. As a result, Yoshida/Nishiyama were assigned to the 2020 World Junior Championships and the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics.[5][6] They were invited to skate in the gala at the 2019 NHK Trophy as junior national champion.
At the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, Yoshida / Nishiyama placed sixth in the ice dance event with a new personal best, following a sixth-place rhythm dance and a fourth-place free dance.[7] They were chosen by draw to be part of Team Courage for the mixed-NOC team event, alongside singles' skaters Arlet Levandi of Estonia and Ksenia Sinitsyna of Russia and pairs team Alina Butaeva / Luka Berulava of Georgia.[8] Yoshida/Nishiyama won the free dance portion of the team event, ahead of both the silver and bronze medalists from the individual ice dance event, to help Team Courage win the gold medal.[8]
Yoshida/Nishiyama set a goal of being in the top ten at the 2020 World Junior Championships.[4] They placed twelfth in Tallinn.[9]
2020–2021 season
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Junior Grand Prix, where Yoshida/Nishiyama would have competed, was cancelled. In November, they won their second consecutive junior national title at the 2020–21 Japan Junior Championships.
Yoshida/Nishiyama announced their split in January 2021.[10] In May 2021, Yoshida announced her partnership with American skater Seiji Urano for Japan.[11]
2021–2022 season
Yoshida/Urano did not appear in any major international or domestic events before announcing their split in December 2021.[12]
On June 2, it was announced that she had paired with Masaya Morita.[13]
2023–2024 season
Yoshida/Morita made their international competitive debut on the Challenger circuit at the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they finished in fifth place.[14] They next competed at the 2023–24 Japan Championships, which proved to be a tight contest between them and two other senior teams. They finished third in the rhythm dance after Morita fell in their twizzle sequence, coming behind Yoshida's former partner Nishiyama and his new partner Azusa Tanaka and the four-time national champions Komatsubara/Koleto. Yoshida/Morita then won the free dance, but remained in third place overall for the bronze medal. Yoshida said that they were "happy to have skated at Nationals," but admitted they had come just short of their goal of hitting 110 points in the free dance.[15]
With the close result at the national championships, the Japan Skating Federation opted to postpone assigning Japan's lone berth at the 2024 World Championships pending the results of all three teams at the 2024 Four Continents Championships. Traveling to Shanghai to compete, Yoshida/Morita finished tenth overall, but more than sixteen points behind national champions Komatsubara/Koleto.[16]
Programs
With Morita
Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
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2023–2024 [17] |
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| |
With Nishiyama
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/2020-01-11_Ice_Dance_Rhythm_Dance_%282020_Winter_Youth_Olympics%29_by_Sandro_Halank%E2%80%931035.jpg/200px-2020-01-11_Ice_Dance_Rhythm_Dance_%282020_Winter_Youth_Olympics%29_by_Sandro_Halank%E2%80%931035.jpg)
Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
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2020–2021 [18] |
|
|
|
2019–2020 [1] |
With Sugiyama
Season | Short dance | Free dance |
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2016–2017 |
Competitive highlights
JGP: Junior Grand Prix
With Morita
International[14] | ||
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Event | 23–24 | 24-25 |
Four Continents | 10th | |
GP NHK Trophy | TBD | |
CS Golden Spin | 5th | |
CS Nebelhorn Trophy | TBD | |
National[19] | ||
Japan | 3rd | |
Japan Western Sect. | 1st | |
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew |
With Nishiyama
International: Junior[20] | ||
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Event | 19–20 | 20–21 |
Junior Worlds | 12th | |
Youth Olympics | 6th | |
JGP Italy | 6th | |
JGP United States | 6th | |
Bavarian Open | 6th | |
National[20] | ||
Japan Junior Champ. | 1st | 1st |
Japan Western Sect. | 1st J | 1st J |
Team events | ||
Youth Olympics | 1st T 1st P | |
T = Team result; P = Personal result. Medals awarded for team result only. Levels: J= Junior |
With Sugiyama
International: Advanced novice[3] | |
---|---|
Event | 16–17 |
Mentor Toruń Cup | 1st |
National[3] | |
Japan Junior Champ. | 4th |
Japan Novice Champ. | 1st |
Women's Singles
National | |||
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Event | 14–15 | 15–16 | 16–17 |
Chu-Shikoku-Kyushu Reg. | 7th B | 11th A | |
Levels: A = Novice A; B = Novice B |
Detailed results
Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.
With Morita
2023–24 season | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | RD | FD | Total |
Jan. 30 – Feb. 4, 2024 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | 10 62.86 | 10 103.27 | 10 166.13 |
December 20–24, 2023 | 2023–24 Japan Championships | 3 64.00 | 1 109.17 | 3 173.17 |
December 6–9, 2023 | 2023 CS Golden Spin | 7 62.88 | 5 101.32 | 5 164.20 |
With Nishiyama
Junior results
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/2020-01-11_Ice_Dance_Rhythm_Dance_%282020_Winter_Youth_Olympics%29_by_Sandro_Halank%E2%80%930910.jpg/200px-2020-01-11_Ice_Dance_Rhythm_Dance_%282020_Winter_Youth_Olympics%29_by_Sandro_Halank%E2%80%930910.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Utana_Yoshida_and_Shingo_Nishiyama_-_2019_JGP_United_States.jpg/200px-Utana_Yoshida_and_Shingo_Nishiyama_-_2019_JGP_United_States.jpg)
2020–21 season | ||||
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Date | Event | RD | FD | Total |
November 21–23, 2020 | 2020–21 Japan Junior Championships | 1 58.74 | 1 91.06 | 1 149.80 |
Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2020 | 2020–21 Japan Western Sectional | 1 58.83 | 1 88.12 | 1 146.95 |
2019–20 season | ||||
Date | Event | RD | FD | Total |
March 2–8, 2020 | 2020 World Junior Championships | 13 56.05 | 8 93.55 | 12 149.61 |
February 3–9, 2020 | 2020 Bavarian Open | 6 56.36 | 6 86.32 | 6 142.68 |
January 10–15, 2020 | 2020 Winter Youth Olympics – Team | – | 1 99.31 | 1T/1P |
January 10–15, 2020 | 2020 Winter Youth Olympics | 6 56.38 | 4 92.32 | 6 148.70 |
November 15–17, 2019 | 2019–20 Japan Junior Championships | 1 57.49 | 1 90.06 | 1 147.55 |
November 1–4, 2019 | 2019–20 Japan Western Sectional | 1 59.06 | 1 91.30 | 1 150.36 |
October 2–5, 2019 | 2019 JGP Italy | 7 54.92 | 6 85.48 | 6 140.40 |
August 28–31, 2019 | 2019 JGP United States | 6 56.43 | 5 83.32 | 6 139.75 |
With Sugiyama
2016–17 season | |||||||
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Date | Event | Level | PD1 | PD2 | SD | FD | Total |
January 10–15, 2017 | 2017 Mentor Toruń Cup | Adv. novice | 2 13.15 | 2 13.37 | – | 1 53.09 | 1 79.61 |
November 18–20, 2016 | 2016–17 Japan Junior Championships | Junior | – | – | 6 29.88 | 2 56.82 | 4 86.70 |
References
- ^ a b "Utana YOSHIDA / Shingo NISHIYAMA". International Skating Union.
- ^ "Utana Yoshida". Stats on Ice.
- ^ a b c "Utana Yoshida & Takumi Sugiyama". Stats on Ice.
- ^ a b Tamura, Akiko (September 6, 2019). "日本のアイスダンス界に新星! 15歳吉田唄菜&17歳西山真瑚。" [A rising star in the Japanese ice dance world! 15-year-old Utana Yoshida & 17-year-old Shingo Nishiyama.] (in Japanese). Number.
- ^ "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2020" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan Skating Federation. December 22, 2019.
- ^ "2019/20 フィギュアスケート国際競技会派遣選手" [2019/20 Figure Skating International Competition Dispatched Athletes] (in Japanese). Japan Skating Federation. November 18, 2019.
- ^ "Russian ice dancers live up to golden expectations". International Olympic Committee. January 13, 2020.
- ^ a b Barker, Philip (January 15, 2020). "Team Courage wrap up Lausanne 2020 figure skating in style". Inside the Games.
- ^ "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships Results – Junior Ice dance". International Skating Union.
- ^ Nishiyama, Shingo (January 18, 2021). "Thank you for supporting Utana and me. Today, there is an important announcement. Utana and I decided to separate into our own pathways" (Instagram). Archived from the original on 2021-12-26.
- ^ Yoshida, Utana [@_utana_96] (May 10, 2021). "うたじです! 応援よろしくお願いします" [It's Utaji! Please provide us with support] – via Instagram.
- ^ Urano, Seiji [@seiji_urano] (December 1, 2021). "This year I partnered up with @_utana_96 to begin a new adventure. Unfortunately after a few months we have decided to advance in different directions" – via Instagram.
- ^ @kinoshita_skate_academy (June 2, 2023). "新カップル誕生のお知らせ" [Announcement of the birth of a new couple] – via Instagram.
- ^ a b "Utana YOSHIDA / Masaya MORITA: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
- ^ Di Sanzio, Chloé (December 24, 2023). "Komatsubara and Koleto reclaim national title". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ Gallagher, Jack (February 5, 2024). "Komatsubara, Koleto Clinch Ticket to Worlds by Placing 8th at Four Continents". Japan Forward. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ "Utana YOSHIDA / Shingo NISHIYAMA: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024.
- ^ "2020 Dreams on Ice" (in Japanese). TBS. September 13, 2020.
- ^ "JPN-Utana YOSHIDA / Shingo NISHIYAMA". Skating Scores.
- ^ a b "Utana YOSHIDA / Shingo NISHIYAMA: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
External links
- Utana Yoshida / Masaya Morita at the International Skating Union
- Utana Yoshida / Shingo Nishiyama at the International Skating Union
- Utana Yoshida / Takumi Suigyama at the International Skating Union
- v
- t
- e
- 2012:
Shoma Uno (JPN); Jordan Bauth (USA); Eugenia Tkachenka & Yuri Hulitski (BLR) (MIX)
- 2016:
Dmitri Aliev (RUS); Li Xiangning (CHN); Sarah Rose & Joseph Goodpaster (USA); Anastasia Skoptcova & Kirill Aleshin (RUS) (MIX)
- 2020:
Arlet Levandi (EST); Kseniia Sinitsyna (RUS); Alina Butaeva & Luka Berulava (GEO); Utana Yoshida & Shingo Nishiyama (JPN) (MIX)
- 2024:
Kim Hyun-gyeom; Shin Ji-a; Kim Jin-ny & Lee Na-mu (KOR)