Shizuka Arakawa
Shizuka Arakawa (Japanese荒 川 静香, Arakawa Shizuka, born December 29, 1981 in Shinagawa, Tokyo ) is a former Japanese figure skater who started in a single run. She is the 2006 Olympic Champion and the World Champion of 2004.
Career
Shizuka Arakawa was in Shinigawa, a district of Tokyo, was born the only child of Koichi and Sachi Arakawa and grew up in Sendai. It was after Shizuka Gozen, a famous historical and literary figure of the 12th century, a Hoftänzerin and concubine, named.
At the age of five years, Arakawa began skating interested and joined a skating school, from the age of seven, she also took ballet lessons and coached at Hiroshi Nagakubo, a pair of runners, who had participated in the 1972 Olympic Games. With eight years Arakawa was her first triple jump.
From 1995 to 1997 Arakawa was Japanese champion in the junior category. During the same period, she participated in the Junior World Championships, but did not come here on the seventh addition, they reached in 1996. Her first appearance at the national championships of the seniors they had in 1997, she was runner-up behind Fumie Suguri. The following year, Arakawa was first Japanese champion and played in Nagano at the age of 16 years, her first Olympic Games in Minneapolis and their first world championship. She finished the Olympics in 13th place and the world championship at No. 22, 1999 Arakawa defended their championship title. It was their last championship. From 1999 to 2002 she participated in any World Cup and the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, she was not nominated. 2002 and 2003 Arakawa won her first major international medals with silver at the Four Continents Championships. In 2003, she played her second World Cup and was eighth. Previously, she had qualified for the first time in her career for the Grand Prix Final, which was finished in fourth.
At the World Championship 2004 in Dortmund, she went only as the third- best behind Miki Ando Japanese and Fumie Suguri. At the Grand Prix Final, they had won the bronze medal behind Suguri and the US-American Sasha Cohen. After the short program she was at the World Championships in second place behind Cohen, but landed seven clean triple jumps in the free skate and became world champion. According to Midori Ito 1989, Satō Yuka 1994, making it the third Japanese world champion in history. Originally Arakawa had planned to end her career after the World Cup, because they had to deal with a foot injury, homesickness and motivation problems, besides, she had trouble keeping up with the young, aspiring racers like Miki Ando and Mao Asada, her success she let this decision but revise again. At the Grand Prix Final the following season they won the silver medal behind Irina Sluzkaja, at the World Championship in 2005, it was enough for Arakawa defending champion but only for ninth place. However, they did not stop with this disappointment and moved from Tatiana Tarasova to Nikolai Morozov, who should they prepare for the 2006 Olympic Games.
Arakawa went as the third best Japanese by Fumie Suguri and Mao Asada to the Olympic Games in Turin. After the short program she was in third place behind Sasha Cohen and Irina Sluzkaja, but they separated less than a point from first place. In the freestyle made both Cohen as well Sluzkaja error while Arakawa a clean program showed and it could even afford two of you to forego planned triple - triple combinations. Thus she won the first Olympic gold medal in figure skating for Japan and was after Tae Satoya only the second woman ever to have won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics for Japan. At 24, she was also the oldest Olympic champion in figure skating ladies since Magda Julin 1920.
After the Olympics, Arakawa ended her competitive career. Since then, it occurs in shop running events and ice revues and commented on the Japanese television.
Arakawa trademarks of Ina Bauer step in which her back was bent. The term " Ina Bauer" became famous in Japan and Arakawa's execution of the element got cult status.
Results
- Z = Withdrawn