Azusa Tanaka (田中 梓沙, Tanaka Azusa, born October 29, 2005) is a Japanese ice dancer and former single skater. She and partner Shingo Nishiyama are the 2023–24 Japanese national silver medalists.
| Azusa Tanaka | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tanaka competing in singles at the 2019 JGP United States | ||||||
| Native name | 田中 梓沙 | |||||
| Born | October 29, 2005 Kyoto, Japan | |||||
| Hometown | Uji, Kyoto | |||||
| Height | 1.52 m (5 ft 0 in) | |||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||
| Country |  Japan | |||||
| Partner | Shingo Nishiyama | |||||
| Coach | Romain Haguenauer, Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon | |||||
| Skating club | OrientalBio | |||||
| Began skating | 2012 | |||||
| ||||||
Early life and education
editTanaka was born on 29 October 2005 in Kyoto, Japan. She attends Kyoto Koka Girls' High School.[1] Tanaka looks up to fellow Japanese skaters Satoko Miyahara, Kana Muramoto and Yuna Shiraiwa.[2]
Career
editEarly years
editTanaka began skating in 2012 after being inspired by her older brother's classmate, who was a figure skater.[3] She placed fourteenth at 2017–18 Japan Novice A Championships and seventh at 2018–19 Japan Novice A Championships.[4][5]
Singles skating career
edit2019–20 season: Junior Grand Prix debut
editTanaka was assigned to make her Junior Grand Prix debut at the 2019 JGP Lake Placid on the 2019–20 circuit. In her short program, she missed her combination due to a fall and doubled a planned triple Loop, placing her tenth with a score of 51.37 points.[6] During the free skate, Tanaka downgraded four jumps, falling twice, and doubled a Lutz. Tanaka finished in fourteenth place overall.[7] Appearing next at the 2019–20 Japan Junior Championships, Tanaka finished in tenth place.
2020–21 season
editThe 2020–21 Junior Grand Prix circuit was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] As a result, Tanaka did not have the opportunity to compete on the Junior Grand Prix again. At the 2020–21 Japan Junior Championships, Tanaka finished in fifteenth place after several mistakes in both programs.
2021–22 season
editTanaka competed at the 2021–22 Japan Junior Championships and placed fifth overall, making her highest placement in the event. She then competed at the senior level, finishing tenth in the short program with a clean skate despite a quarter call on her combination. Tanaka struggled in the free skate, coming nineteenth in the segment and dropping to eighteenth place overall.
Tanaka was assigned to compete at the 2023 Egna Trophy in the junior category. She came third in the short program with a score of 51.35. In the free skate, she under-rotated the first three jumps and struggled on the spins, then finishing in fourth place behind Canada's Fiona Bombardier.[9]
Ice dance with Nishiyama
edit2023–24 season
editOn 6 May 2023, Japanese ice dancer Shingo Nishiyama announced that he and Tanaka would be forming a new ice dance partnership, and would be training at the Ice Academy of Montreal in Montreal, Canada.[10]
Tanaka/Nishiyama made their international competitive debut on the Challenger circuit at the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, coming ninth.[11] They next competed at the 2023–24 Japan Championships, which proved to be a tight contest between them and two other senior teams. Tanaka/Nishiyama won the rhythm dance, finishing ahead of four-time national champions Komatsubara/Koleto and the new team Yoshida/Morita. However, they were third in the free dance, and finished second overall. The team said they were satisfied to have made it onto the podium, noting their rapid progress in the short time since partnering.[12]
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, Tanaka/Nishiyama finished eleventh overall, third among the Japanese teams.[13]
2024–25 season
editAlthough initially assigned to compete at the 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy in September, Tanaka/Nishiyama would withdraw from the event.[14] Their first event of the season was the 2024 NHK Trophy, where they finished tenth.[11]
Programs
editWith Nishiyama
edit| Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–2025 [15] |
|
|
|
| 2023–2024 [16] |
|
|
Women's singles
edit| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2022–2023 [17] |
|
|
| 2021–2022 [18] |
| |
| 2020–2021 [19] [20] |
|
|
| 2019–2020 [21] |
|
|
Competitive highlights
editJGP: Junior Grand Prix
Ice dance with Nishiyama
edit| International[11] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Event | 23–24 | 24–25 |
| Four Continents | 11th | |
| GP NHK Trophy | 10th | |
| CS Golden Spin | 9th | |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | WD | |
| National[22] | ||
| Japan | 2nd | |
| Japan Western Sect. | 2nd | |
| TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew | ||
Women's singles
edit| International: Junior[23] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 15–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 | 19–20 | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 |
| JGP U.S. | 14th | |||||||
| Egna Trophy | 4th | |||||||
| National | ||||||||
| Japan | 18th | |||||||
| Japan Junior | 10th | 15th | 5th | |||||
| Japan Novice | 14th A | 7th A | ||||||
| Japan Western Sect. | 8th J | 6th J | 3rd J | |||||
| Kinki Reg. | 16th B | 2nd B | 4th A | 3rd A | 7th J | 3rd J | 5th J | 6th J |
| TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Cancelled A = Novice A; B = Novice B; J = Junior | ||||||||
Detailed results
editCurrent personal best scores are highlighted in bold.
With Nishiyama
edit| 2024–25 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total |
| November 8–10, 2024 | 2024 NHK Trophy | 10 59.15 |
10 92.12 |
10 151.27 |
| 2023–24 season | ||||
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total |
| Jan. 30 – Feb. 4, 2024 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | 11 62.09 |
12 95.54 |
11 157.63 |
| December 20–24, 2023 | 2023–24 Japan Championships | 1 71.08 |
3 105.35 |
2 176.43 |
| December 6–9, 2023 | 2023 CS Golden Spin | 10 61.86 |
9 96.83 |
9 158.69 |
References
edit- ^ Asano, Yumi (May 6, 2023). "西山真瑚と田中梓沙がアイスダンスでカップル結成、拠点はカナダ・モントリオール" [Shingo Nishiyama and Azusa Tanaka form an ice dance team, based in Montreal, Canada]. 4years Asahi.
- ^ Gallagher, Jack (August 3, 2022). "[ICE TIME] Japan's Top Juniors Tuning Up for Return to JGP Circuit". Japan Forward.
- ^ 木下スケートアカデミー [@kinoshitaskate] (July 11, 2022). "【田中 梓沙 - AZUSA TANAKA -】" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "2017 Japan Novice A Ladies - Final Results". Japan Skating Federation.
- ^ "2018 Japan Novice A Ladies - Final Results". Japan Skating Federation.
- ^ "JGP Lake Placid 2019 Judges Details Per Skater, Junior Ladies' Short Program" (PDF). International Skating Union.
- ^ "JGP Lake Placid 2019 Judges Details Per Skater, Junior Ladies' Free Skate" (PDF). International Skating Union.
- ^ "ISU Junior Grand Prix series 2020-21 cancelled". International Skating Union.
- ^ "2022 Egna Spring Trophy - Junior Women's singles results". Italian Ice Sports Federation.
- ^ Shingo Nishiyama [@shinnnnn_gooo] (May 6, 2023). "この度、田中梓沙と西山真瑚はアイスダンスチームを結成することになりました！モントリオールのアイスアカデミーモントリオールで練習できることとても嬉しいです！行ってきます！" [Azusa Tanaka and Shingo Nishiyama will form an ice dance team! I am very happy to be able to practice at Ice Academy Montreal in Montreal! Let's go!] (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c "Competition Results: Azusa TANAKA / Shingo NISHIYAMA". International Skating Union. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "🇩🇪 Arthur Wolfgang Mai, 🇮🇱 Julia Fennell, 🇳🇱 Julia van Dijk, 🇳🇴 Linnea Kilsand, 🇮🇱 Elizabeth Tkachenko / Alexei Kiliakov, and 🇯🇵 Azusa Tanaka / Shingo Nishiyama have withdrawn from Nebelhorn Trophy". X. Anything GOEs. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
- ^ "Competition Results: Azusa TANAKA / Shingo NISHIYAMA: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 6, 2024.
- ^ "Competition Results: Azusa TANAKA / Shingo NISHIYAMA: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024.
- ^ Quadruple Axel 編集部 [@AxelQuadruple] (July 30, 2022). "#田中梓沙 選手 2022-2023シーズンプログラム" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Azusa TANAKA: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022.
- ^ "West Japan Junior Championships 2020 Women's Short Program". Scramble Talk.
- ^ "West Japan Junior Championships 2020 Women's Free Skate". Scramble Talk.
- ^ "Azusa TANAKA: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019.
- ^ "JPN-Azusa TANAKA/Shingo NISHIYAMA". Skating Scores.
- ^ "Competition Results: Azusa TANAKA". International Skating Union. May 6, 2023.