(born June 3, 1955) is a Japanese former competitive
figure skater
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
Sano became the Japanese national champion for the first time in the 1972–73 season. In 1973 and 1974, he stood on the podium at the
Skate Canada International
The Skate Canada International is an international, senior-level invitation-only figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada. It is the second competition of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating season. The location changes yearly. Medal ...
and
Prize of Moscow News
The Prize of ''Moscow News'' (russian: Приз газеты «Московские новости»), also known as the Moscow Skate, Nouvelles de Moscou, and the Moscow News Trophy, was an international, senior-level figure skating competition h ...
. He represented Japan at the
1976 Winter Olympics
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...
in
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
, Austria and finished ninth. The next season, he won his fifth consecutive national title and went on to win bronze at the 1977 World Championships in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. It was the first time that a Japanese representative stood on the world podium in any figure skating discipline. Japan would not win another world medal in men's singles until 2002 (bronze for
Takeshi Honda
is a former Japanese competitive figure skater. He is a two-time World bronze medalist (2002, 2003), two-time Four Continents champion (1999, 2003), and six-time Japanese national champion.
Personal life
Takeshi Honda was born on 23 March ...
).
Sano subsequently retired from competition and turned professional. In 1978, he founded "Viva! Ice World" (renamed "Prince Ice World" in 1988). It was the first ice show in Japan. He appeared on many television shows as an actor, TV presenter, or a guest."Munesawagu Ichigo tachi (Panic Of Chicks)"
Tokyo Broadcasting System
formerly is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network and radio network . It has a 28-affiliate television network called JNN (Japan News Network), as well as a 34-affili ...
, 1983-1984 He also released pop singles. He helped to popularize figure skating in Japan.
Sano is currently a TV commentator and a figure skating instructor. His former students include
Shizuka Arakawa
is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004 World champion. Arakawa is the first Japanese skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating and the second Japanese skater to win any Olympic medal in fi ...
and
Yamato Tamura
is a Japanese figure skating coach and former competitor. As a single skater, he is a two-time Japanese national champion and represented Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics, placing 17th.
Career
As a competitor
Competing in single skating ...