Shizuka Arakawa (born the December 29th 1981 with Tokyo) is a artistic skater Japan ease.
It begins ice-skating at the six years age and gains its national championship in 1998 and 1999. After a handing-over in question following its bad results with the Olympic Games of Nagano, it leaves to be involved with the the United States. Trained by Richard Callaghan, old coach of Tared Lipinski, it becomes world champion in 2004 with Dortmund, then Olympic champion of figure skating to the Olympic Games of Turin by preceding American the Sasha Cohen and the Russian Irina Slutskaya.
Dedication of Turin
With the Winter Olympics 2006, Arakawa was in third position behind Sasha Cohen and the Russian Irina Slutskaya before the free program, Arakawa having patinated on the Fantaisie Impromptue of Chopin for his short program. Whereas Cohen and Slutskaya were the large favorite ones for the gold medal, both fell during the free program, opening royal roads with the Japanese skater. Arakawa thus prevented Russia from carrying out the large slam (a gold medal in each discipline of ice-skating).Arakawa patinated on the Fantaisie for violin of Puccini in a blue behavior sky and violet for its free program, carrying out in particular its famous “Ina Bauer”, a variation of the spread-eagle movement . It carried out a program without fault which rained much with the judges, as well from the artistic point of view as technical, who granted on the whole 191,34 points to him, that is to say almost eight of more than Cohen (183,36), Slutskaya finishing third with 181,44 points. The victory of Arakawa is the first (at the time of an Olympic competition) to be judged with the new marking system, which does not use any more the traditional scale on 6,0, having for goal to rather support the complete skaters compared to the jumpers. This new system was set up following the scandal which called into question the credibility of the Figure skating during the Jeux Olypiques of winter of 2002 to Salt Lake City.
24 years old, Arakawa has been oldest of the Olympic champions of figure skating for more than 80 years. It is the second Japanese woman to be gone up on an Olympic podium in figure skating, Midori Ito having gained the money with the Winter Olympics of 1992 with Albertville, and the second Japanese woman to gain a gold medal again during Winter Olympics. The first Japanese woman having made a success of this exploit is the skier freestyle Tae Satoya with the Winter Olympics of 1998 with Nagano.
Its victory gave to Japan its first and only gold medal of these Olympic Games.
Return to the more high level
The victory of Arakawa at the time of these Olympic Games was a formidable return forms some for that which had finished only 9th championships of the world of 2005 (after its victory in 2004 in Dortmund).Having to compose with a wound with the foot, a lack of motivation and the evil of the country (it is involved in the United States), just as with the competition of younger Japanese skaters (in particular Yukari Nakano, Miki Ando and Mao Asada), it explained to have several times thought of stopping its career, in particular following the championships of the world of 2004, in consequence of a lack of motivation. It took him a long year to find it. Its against-performance with the championships of the world of 2005 was the catch which decided it to continue not to stop still a little on such a bad mark. In November 2005, it calls upon the Belorusse artistic skater Nikolai Morozov and asks him to involve it. She wanted a radical change, including her coach, her costumes and her programs of then. Knowing that was needed that at least to have a chance with the Olympic Games of Turin, she again patinated on the free program which had enabled him to gain the world title in 2004.
Following its victory, Morozov declared: “Yes, of course I was surprised. I thought that it could have a medal, but I did not think that it could gain gold. ”
Arakawa on its side declared: “I thought of stopping. I am very happy to have chosen to continue. I want to give hope to all those which look at me patinating. ”
Prize list
Olympic Games
- Gold medal in 2006, with the Winter Olympics of 2006 with Turin
Championships of the world
- Gold medal in 2004 in Dortmund
Championships of Japan
External bonds
- official site
- site of fan
- Biography RESULTING
Simple: Shizuka Arakawa
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