Utana Yoshida

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Utana Yoshida
Yoshida at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics
Native name吉田 唄菜
Born (2003-09-06) September 6, 2003 (age 20)
Kurashiki, Japan
HometownKurashiki
Height1.53 m (5 ft 0 in)
Figure skating career
Country Japan
PartnerMasaya Morita
CoachCathy Reed
Rie Arikawa
Skating clubKinoshita Academy
Began skating2009
Medal record
Figure skating: Ice dance
Representing  Japan
Representing Mixed-NOCs
Winter Youth Olympics
Gold medal – first place 2020 Lausanne Team

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[edit]

Utana Yoshida was born on September 6, 2003, in Kurashiki, Japan. She owns a toy poodle named Koko.

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

With Morita[edit]

Season Rhythm dance Free dance Exhibition
2023–2024
[17]

With Nishiyama[edit]

Yoshida/Nishiyama at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics
Season Rhythm dance Free dance Exhibition
2020–2021
[18]
  • Hip Hip Chin Chin
2019–2020
[1]

With Sugiyama[edit]

Season Short dance Free dance
2016–2017

Competitive highlights[edit]

JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Morita[edit]

International[14]
Event 23–24
Four Continents 10th
CS Golden Spin 5th
National[19]
Japan 3rd
Japan Western Sect. 1st
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew

With Nishiyama[edit]

International: Junior[20]
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[edit]

International: Advanced novice[3]
Event 16–17
Mentor Toruń Cup 1st
National[3]
Japan Junior Champ. 4th
Japan Novice Champ. 1st

Women's Singles[edit]

National
Event 14–15 15–16 16–17
Chu-Shikoku-Kyushu Reg. 7th B 11th A
Levels: A = Novice A; B = Novice B

Detailed results[edit]

Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.

With Morita[edit]

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[edit]

Junior results[edit]

Yoshida / Nishiyama at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics
Yoshida/Nishiyama at the 2019 JGP United States
2020–21 season
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[edit]

2016–17 season
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[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Utana YOSHIDA / Shingo NISHIYAMA". International Skating Union.
  2. ^ "Utana Yoshida". Stats on Ice.
  3. ^ a b c "Utana Yoshida & Takumi Sugiyama". Stats on Ice.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2020" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan Skating Federation. December 22, 2019.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ "Russian ice dancers live up to golden expectations". International Olympic Committee. January 13, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Barker, Philip (January 15, 2020). "Team Courage wrap up Lausanne 2020 figure skating in style". Inside the Games.
  9. ^ "ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships Results – Junior Ice dance". International Skating Union.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ @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.
  14. ^ a b "Utana YOSHIDA / Masaya MORITA: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
  15. ^ Di Sanzio, Chloé (December 24, 2023). "Komatsubara and Koleto reclaim national title". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  16. ^ Gallagher, Jack (February 5, 2024). "Komatsubara, Koleto Clinch Ticket to Worlds by Placing 8th at Four Continents". Japan Forward. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  17. ^ "Utana YOSHIDA / Shingo NISHIYAMA: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024.
  18. ^ "2020 Dreams on Ice" (in Japanese). TBS. September 13, 2020.
  19. ^ "JPN-Utana YOSHIDA / Shingo NISHIYAMA". Skating Scores.
  20. ^ a b "Utana YOSHIDA / Shingo NISHIYAMA: Competition Results". International Skating Union.

External links[edit]

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