is a Japanese retired
pair skater
Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...
and six-time
Japanese national champion (2009-2012, 2014, 2015). With former partner
Mervin Tran
Mervin Tran (born September 22, 1990) is a Canadian pair skater who competes for the United States with Olivia Serafini.
Competing for Japan with former partner Narumi Takahashi, he is the 2012 World bronze medalist, the 2010 World Junior si ...
, she was the
2012 World bronze medalist, the
2010 Junior World silver medalist, and the
2010–11 Junior Grand Prix Final champion. They were the first pair to win a World medal for Japan. She has also skated with
Ryo Shibata,
Ryuichi Kihara
is a Japanese pair skater
Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impres ...
and
Alexandr Zaboev.
Personal life
Narumi Takahashi was born in
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to t ...
,
Japan. Her father's job took the family to
China when she was nine.
[ She lived in China for five years.][ She moved to ]Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
to train with Tran in 2007. As a result, Takahashi is fluent in Japanese, Mandarin and English. In addition to skating, Takahashi also played soccer for six years on a city team.[
]
Career
Early career
Narumi Takahashi began skating at age five, following in the footsteps of her elder sister.[ She won the Japanese bronze medal in novice B ladies' singles in 2002.][
After moving to China at the age of nine, Takahashi continued skating in singles until she was about 12–13 and then switched to pair skating.][ She skated with Chinese partner Gao Yu for one season; they placed 6th at the 2004 Chinese Championships on the senior level.][ She decided to leave China and skate for Japan so she asked the Japanese federation for help in finding a partner; she eventually found a partner in Japan but the partnership was unsuccessful due to insufficient height difference.][
]
Partnership with Tran
Takahashi moved to Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
after two years of corresponding with Richard Gauthier, whom she met at a competition in China. Gauthier began looking for a partner for her in Canada. Bruno Marcotte
Bruno Marcotte (born September 10, 1974) is a Canadian figure skating coach and former competitor in pairs. He is the 1993 World Junior bronze medallist with Isabelle Coulombe and the 2000 Nebelhorn Trophy champion with Valérie Marcoux.
Pers ...
recommended Mervin Tran
Mervin Tran (born September 22, 1990) is a Canadian pair skater who competes for the United States with Olivia Serafini.
Competing for Japan with former partner Narumi Takahashi, he is the 2012 World bronze medalist, the 2010 World Junior si ...
, who until that point had been a single skater. Tran agreed to come to Montreal for a tryout and the pair began training together in July 2007.[ During their career together, they trained in ]St. Leonard
Leonard of Noblac (also Leonard of Limoges or Leonard of Noblet; also known as Lienard, Linhart, Leonhard, Léonard, Leonardo, Annard; died 559), is a Franks, Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, ...
[ and received funding from the Japanese skating association.][
Takahashi/Tran made their international debut on the 2007–2008 ISU Junior Grand Prix, where they placed 12th and 6th at their events. They won the Japan Junior Championships and earned a trip to 2008 Junior Worlds, where they placed 15th.
In the 2008–2009 season, Takahashi/Tran placed 4th at their first Junior Grand Prix event. They won the bronze medal at their second event, qualifying them for the 2008-2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, where they placed 7th. They won the senior title at the 2008–2009 Japanese Championships. At the 2009 Junior Worlds, they placed 7th.
During the 2009–2010 season, Takahashi/Tran competed on the ]Junior Grand Prix
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...
circuit. They won the bronze medal at their first event and gold at their second event, which qualified them for the 2009–2010 Junior Grand Prix Final. They also debuted on the senior Grand Prix series with an 8th-place finish at NHK Trophy. They won silver at the JGP Final and at the Junior World Championships. They became the second pair representing Japan to medal at an ISU Championships (Yuko Kavaguti
Yuko Kavaguti (also: Kawaguchi; Japanese: , russian: link=no, Юко Кавагути, born 20 November 1981) is a retired pair skater who has represented Japan and Russia in international competition. In 2006, she began competing with Alexander ...
/ Alexander Markuntsov were the first pair when they won silver in 2001).[
During the 2010–2011 season, Takahashi/Tran won silver medals at their JGP events and qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final. They won gold at the event, becoming the first pair representing Japan to win the title. They also won their first medals on the senior Grand Prix series, a bronze at ]2010 NHK Trophy
The 2010 NHK Trophy was the first event of six in the 2010–11 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series.
It was held at the Nippon Gaishi Ice Arena in Nagoya on October 22–24. Medals were aw ...
, and then silver at 2010 Cup of Russia
The 2010 Cup of Russia was the fifth event of six in the 2010–11 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Megasport Arena in Moscow on November 18–21. Medals were awarde ...
. As a result, they were first alternates to the senior Grand Prix Final. They won the bronze medal at the 2011 Junior Worlds. They also made their senior World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
debut, finishing 9th.
During the 2011–2012 season, Takahashi/Tran's first Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
assignment was 2011 Skate Canada International
The 2011 Skate Canada International was the second event of six in the 2011–12 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario on October 2 ...
, where they finished fourth. They won the silver medal at their second event, 2011 NHK Trophy
The 2011 NHK Trophy was the fourth event of six in the 2011–12 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena in Sapporo from November 10–13 ...
. In November 2011, Tran said he was considering pursuing Japanese citizenship in order to allow the couple to compete at the Olympics but said it was a difficult decision because it would mean giving up his Canadian citizenship.[ They became the first Japanese pair to qualify for the senior ]Grand Prix Final
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (formerly Champions Series Final), often shortened to ''Grand Prix Final'' and abbreviated as ''GPF'', is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Medals are awarded in men's singles, ladies ...
.
At the 2012 World Championships, Takahashi/Tran placed third in both programs and won the bronze medal.[ They became the first pair to medal for Japan at a senior World Championships.][ They placed third at the 2012 World Team Trophy. In April 2012, Tran said he would continue to consider an application for Japanese citizenship and the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee said he was "willing to make a special request (on behalf of Tran) to the government if necessary."][ In May 2012, a government official said it would be difficult to naturalize Tran because he had never resided in Japan.][
In April 2012, Takahashi dislocated her left shoulder while practicing a lift.][ After five or six recurrences, she decided to undergo surgery on October 30.][ As a result, the pair withdrew from their 2012–2013 Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and 2012 NHK Trophy.][ They said they would miss about four to six months.][ On December 18, 2012, the Japanese Skating Federation announced that the pair had ended their partnership.][
]
Partnership with Kihara
The JSF said they hoped to find a new partner, with preference to skaters holding Japanese citizenship, by February 2013.[ On January 30, 2013, the JSF confirmed that Takahashi had teamed up with ]Ryuichi Kihara
is a Japanese pair skater
Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impres ...
, until then a singles skater, and would be coached by Yuka Sato
is a Japanese former competitive figure skater and choreographer. She is the 1994 World champion, the 1990 World Junior champion and the 1993 & 1994 Japanese national champion. She placed 7th at the 1992 Winter Olympics and 5th at the 1994 ...
and Jason Dungjen
Jason Dungjen (born September 28, 1967) is an American figure skating coach and a former pair skater. With Kyoko Ina, he is a two-time Skate America silver medalist, a three-time Nations Cup medalist, and a two-time U.S. national champion. With ...
.[ They trained in ]Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a small city (5.04 sq. miles) in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is approximately northwest of Downtown Detroit. Except a small southern border with the city of Bir ...
.[ They represented Japan together at the 2014 Olympics and placed 19th. They pair split in March 2015.
]
Partnership with Zaboev
On July 6, 2015, it was announced that Takahashi had teamed up with Russian pair skater Alexandr Zaboev and that Takahashi would continue to skate for Japan with him.
Partnership with Shibata
On May 18, 2016, it was announced that Takahashi had teamed up with retired single skater Ryo Shibata and that they would train in Chicago.
Programs
With Kihara
With Tran
Competitive highlights
''GP: Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...
''
With Shibata
With Kihara
With Tran
With Yamada
With Gao
Ladies' singles
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takahashi, Narumi
1992 births
Living people
Asian Games competitors for Japan
Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters at the 2017 Asian Winter Games
Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Canada
Japanese expatriate sportspeople in China
Japanese female pair skaters
Olympic figure skaters of Japan
Sportspeople from Chiba Prefecture
World Figure Skating Championships medalists
World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists