is a retired Japanese

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 ...

. She is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004

World champion 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, ...

. 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 figure skating, after

Midori Ito is a Japanese former figure skater. She is the 1989 World champion and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist. She is the first woman to land a triple-triple jump combination and a triple Axel in competition. At the 1988 Calgary Olympics, she bec ...

, who won silver in 1992. She is also the second Japanese woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics, following skier

Tae Satoya is a Japanese freestyle skier. She won the Olympic title in the moguls event at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and she finished third at the 2002 games. Satoya became the first Japanese woman to earn a gold medal in the Winter Olympics. She wa ...

. She was the only Japanese medalist at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

. Arakawa retired from competitive skating following her Olympic win and began skating professionally in ice shows and exhibitions. She also works as a skating sportscaster for Japanese television.

Personal life

Arakawa was born in

Shinagawa is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. The Ward is home to ten embassies. , the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density of 16,510 persons per km2. The total are ...

, Tokyo, Japan, and grew up in

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

and its suburbs. She is the only child of Koichi and Sachi Arakawa and was named Shizuka after

Shizuka Gozen Shizuka GozenNote: ''Gozen'' is not a name, but rather an honorific title, usually translated as "Lady", though the title was bestowed upon men on rare occasions as well. (静御前) (1165–1211), or Lady Shizuka, one of the most famous women in ...

. In March 2000, Arakawa enrolled at

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

and graduated with a bachelor's degree in social sciences in 2004, while still competing as a skater. She won the

2004 World Figure Skating Championships The 2004 World Figure Skating Championships were held at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany from March 22 to 28. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of single skating, men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Medal ...

days after completing her graduation examinations at Waseda University.Shizuka Arakawa Official Web Site Profile
/ref> She lived and trained for a time at the International Skating Center of Connecticut in

Simsbury, Connecticut Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 24,517 at the 2020 census. The town was incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. History Early history At the beginning of the 17th century, the ...

after the closure of the Konami Sports Ice Rink in

, where she began her career. Her figure skating idols are

Kristi Yamaguchi Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12, 1971) is an American former figure skater. In ladies' singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (1991 and 1992), and the 1992 U.S. champion. In 1992, she became the first ...

and

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 ...

. She listens to music by

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

Mai Kuraki (born October 28, 1982) is a Japanese pop and R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. After releasing her US debut single " Baby I Like" in 1999, Kuraki signed with Giza Studio and released her Japanese debut single " Love, Day After Tomorro ...

(who is also a close friend of hers) and

EXILE Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

, and likes shopping, driving, swimming, golf and practicing marine sports. Arakawa cites gourmet cooking as one of her hobbies. She collects

beanie babies Beanie Babies are a line of stuffed toys created by American businessman H. Ty Warner, who founded Ty Inc. in 1986. The toys are stuffed with plastic pellets ("beans") rather than conventional soft stuffing. They come in many different forms, mo ...

, has a pet

shih tzu The Shih Tzu (, ; literally " Hsi Shih dog") is a toy dog breed originating from Tibet and was bred from the Pekingese and the Lhasa Apso. Shih Tzus are known for their short snouts and large round eyes, as well as their long coat, floppy ear ...

(named Charo) and

hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera.Fox, Sue. 2006. ''Hamsters''. T.F.H. Publications Inc. They have become established as popular small pets. The b ...

(named Juntoki). She also has four dogs, named Choco, Tiramisu, Aroma and Rosa. Arakawa was married on December 29, 2013, her 32nd birthday. Further details were not made public. On April 16, 2014, Arakawa announced that she was pregnant and expecting her first child. On November 6, 2014, she gave birth to her daughter. On May 23, 2018, it was announced that she had given birth again to her son.

Career

Early career

When Arakawa was 5 years old, she became interested in skating and entered the Chibikko Skate School. She started ballet lessons at 7. While still 7, Arakawa began training with former Olympian Hiroshi Nagakubo, a pair skater who competed in the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...

Sapporo, Japan ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous cit ...

. She was landing triple Salchows at age 8. In 1994, she began participating in Japanese national skating competitions. She was named the 1994, 1995, 1996 ''All Japan Junior Figure'' athlete. Arakawa progressed through the Japanese ranks quickly and was the first skater in Japan to win three consecutive junior national titles.

Senior career

Arakawa was the senior national Japanese champion in both 1998 and 1999. She made her Olympic debut when she represented Japan in the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

at age 16. The

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

and

Empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of Japan attended the ladies' free skate event. She placed 13th at the Nagano Olympics. At that time, she was ranked number 2 in Japan. In 2002, Arakawa finished second at Japan's national championships and, as a result, was not named to the Japanese 2002 Winter Olympics team. During the 2002–2003 skating season, Arakawa won the

Asian Winter Games The Asian Winter Games (AWG) is an international multi-sport event held every four years for members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) which features winter events. The Japanese Olympic Committee first suggested the idea of holding a winter v ...

and the

Winter Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

. She earned her second consecutive silver medal at the

Four Continents Championships The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships (4CC) is an annual figure skating competition. The International Skating Union established it in 1999 to provide skaters representing non-African and non-European countries with a similar competit ...

. She took the bronze at the

NHK Trophy The NHK Trophy is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Organized by the Japanese Skating Federation, it began in 1979 and was added to the Grand Prix series in 199 ...

, and placed fifth at the

Cup of Russia The Rostelecom Cup (russian: Кубок Ростелекома), formerly the Cup of Russia (russian: Кубок России), is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating seri ...

. She qualified for the

ISU 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' ...

, where she finished fourth. She later placed third at the Japanese Nationals, marking her fifth medal from this meet, with two golds and two silvers from previous seasons. In 2004, she won the

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, ...

Dortmund, Germany Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

, after landing seven clean triple jumps. She was the third Japanese woman to win this title after

who won in 1989 and

in 1994. Arakawa had planned to retire after the 2004 World Championships, but her victory there convinced her to change her plans. At the 2005 World Championships, Arakawa finished 9th, a disappointment which she later credited as a motivation to stay in the sport and regain top form. She felt she could not quit on such a down note. In November 2005, Arakawa changed coaches to Nikolai Morozov.

2006 Winter Olympics

At the

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Italy, Arakawa skated in the short program to

Fantaisie-Impromptu Frédéric Chopin's ''Fantaisie-Impromptu'' ( pl, Fantazja-Impromptu) in C minor, Op. posth. 66, WN 46 is a solo piano composition. It was composed in 1834 and published posthumously in 1855 despite Chopin's instruction that none of ...

by Chopin. She went into the long program in third place, behind pre-event favorites

Sasha Cohen Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen (born October 26, 1984) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion, and the 2006 U.S. Champion. S ...

and

Irina Slutskaya Irina Eduardovna Slutskaya ( rus, Ирина Эдуардовна Слуцкая, , ɪˈrʲinə ɨdʊˈardəvnə ˈslutskəjə, Ru-Irina Eduardovna Slutskaya.ogg; born 9 February 1979) is a Russian former figure skater. She is a two-time World ...

. Less than a point separated the top three skaters. In the long program, Cohen was the first of the three leaders to skate, followed by Arakawa and Slutskaya. Cohen fell twice during her long program, leaving the door open to the other leaders. Arakawa won the free program, skating to

Vanessa Mae Vanessa-Mae (陈美 Chén Měi; born 27 October 1978) also called Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, is a Singaporean-born British violinist with album sales reaching several million, having made her the wealthiest entertainer under 30 in the Uni ...

's Violin Fantasy on Puccini's Turandot by

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

. She performed an Ina Bauer and then did a three jump combination. "Ina Bauer" became a household word in Japan as a result.Trendy Japanese #12:Ina Bauer (a figure skating technique)
ALC, 2006/4/5, accessed 2011/12/02 Although she had planned two triple-triple combinations for the free skate, she did not perform them, doing instead a triple Lutz-double loop and a triple Salchow-double toe loop combinations. Arakawa earned a total combined score of 191.34 points, almost eight points ahead of the second-place Cohen (183.36). Like Cohen, Slutskaya made mistakes in her long program, and ended up taking bronze, leaving Arakawa as the gold medal winner, which was also Japan's only medal of the 2006 games. Slutskaya was third at 181.44. At age 24, Arakawa became the oldest women's Olympic skating champion in more than 80 years. Florence "Madge" Cave Syers from the United Kingdom was the oldest when she won the Olympic title at age 27 at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

, which featured the first Olympic figure skating events. After winning her Olympic title, Japanese Prime Minister

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi (; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a former Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2009. He is ...

called Arakawa in

, Italy to congratulate her. Koizumi said, "I cheered for you with excitement while I watched television. All the Japanese people are rejoicing. I give a perfect score to every bit of your performance."

Professional career

Arakawa retired after her Olympic victory. She continued to skate in

ice show An ice show is an entertainment production which is primarily performed by ice skaters. Such shows may primarily be skating exhibitions, or may be musical and/or dramatic in nature, using skating as a medium in order to accompany a musical work o ...

s and is a regular skating commentator on Japanese television. She competed at the 2006

Ice Wars Ice Wars was an annual elite figure skating team competition. The first Ice Wars took place in 1994. The competition format was "Team World" vs. "Team USA" or "Team North America". The 2005 competition was one exception, with the format changed to a ...

on the World team. She also produces her own show, Friends on Ice, and is a recurring cast member at

Fantasy on Ice is an annual touring ice show in Japan produced by CIC Co., Ltd. The show emerged from the "Philippe Candeloro Japan Tour 2001", named after retired French figure skater Philippe Candeloro, and was held under the name "Fantasy on Ice" the followi ...

, where she performed with Mai Kuraki to the charity song " Anata ga Irukara" in 2011 amongst others. Arakawa also does choreography. In 2006, Arakawa appeared in a Japanese TV drama, ''Shichinin no onna bengoshi'' (7 female lawyers), presented by

Asahi TV JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compa ...

. She played the role of a cool public prosecutor, Yayoi Shimasaki, in the 8th episode. She competed in an ABC skating series "Thin Ice," aired on March 19, 2010, paired with 2006 Olympic men's silver medallist

Stéphane Lambiel Stéphane Lambiel (born 2 April 1985) is a Swiss former competitive figure skater who now works as a coach and choreographer. He is a two-time (2005–2006) World champion, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time (2005, 2007) Grand Prix F ...

. They came first in the viewer's votes, and ended the series in third place, winning a total of $45,000. They skated to the songs "

Get Me Bodied "Get Me Bodied" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her second solo studio album ''B'Day'' (2006). It was written by Beyoncé, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, Sean Garrett, Makeba Riddick, Angela Beyince, and Solange Knowles, while ...

" by

and "

Magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

" by

Robin Thicke Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single " Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, h ...

. On April 18, 2018, it was announced Arakawa was elected to the

World Figure Skating Hall of Fame The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame is where the greatest names in the history of the sport are honored. It is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, ...

Signature moves

Arakawa is known for her jumping ability, particularly her difficult triple-triple combinations, like the triple Salchow- triple toe and the triple Lutz- triple toe, sometimes combined with a double loop. She has executed triple-triple-triple combinations in practice, the most of which have been the triple Salchow- triple toe- triple loop combination. She has also executed the triple Lutz- triple loop combination in practice. Arakawa is known for the quietness of her blades. She is also a strong spinner. She has an excellent donut spin, a difficult variation of the

Camel spin The camel spin (also called the parallel spin) is one of the three basic figure skating spin positions. British figure skater Cecilia Colledge was the first to perform it. The camel spin, for the first ten years after it was created, was performed ...

, that requires great flexibility. In 2004, she added a

Biellmann spin The Biellmann spin is a difficult variation of the layback spin in figure skating. It was made popular by world champion Denise Biellmann. Description The Biellmann spin is a difficult variation of the layback spin in figure skating. It is exe ...

to her repertoire. Arakawa's signature spiral is a Y-spiral where she releases her free leg and completes the spiral with her leg still close to her head, without the hand assist. Her trademark move is the Ina Bauer with a full backbend. Due to Arakawa's use of this move during her free skate at the

2006 Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

, the term "Ina Bauer" became very popular in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and Arakawa's performance of it became iconic. The Ina Bauer move is often referred to in Japan by Arakawa's name.

Awards and honors

Japan Medals of Honor *

Purple Ribbon This is a partial list of awareness ribbons. The meaning behind an awareness ribbon depends on its colors and pattern. Since many advocacy groups have adopted ribbons as symbols of support or awareness, ribbons, particularly those of a single col ...

Japanese Olympic Committee The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...

* JOC Sports Award- Special Achievement Award (2002), Best Award (2005)

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Miyagi Miyagi may refer to: Places * Miyagi Prefecture, one of the 47 major divisions of Japan * Miyagi, Gunma, a village in Japan, merged into Maebashi in 2004 *Miyagi District, Miyagi, a district in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan Other uses * Miyagi (surna ...

"Citizens Award of Honor" (2006)

* Class of 2018 inductee

Programs

Competitive highlights

''GP: Grand Prix / Champions Series''

Media appearances

DVD

* 荒川静香 Moment Beautiful skating (2006) – * TORINO2006 日本女子 (2006) –

Book

* Tira mi su―だから私はがんばれる! (2006)- * 金メダルへの道（2006）- * LEGEND OF THE ATHLETE荒川静香物語 (2007) –

References

External links

Shizuka-Arakawa.com

International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury
*
Japan Skates
– Website dedicated to the Japanese ladies figure skating team featuring news, rare photos and exclusive interviews {{DEFAULTSORT:Arakawa, Shizuka 1981 births People from Shinagawa Living people Japanese female single skaters Waseda University alumni Olympic figure skaters of Japan Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Sendai Sportspeople from Tokyo Olympic gold medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Asian Games medalists in figure skating Figure skaters at the 1999 Asian Winter Games Figure skaters at the 2003 Asian Winter Games Medalists at the 1999 Asian Winter Games Medalists at the 2003 Asian Winter Games Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Universiade medalists in figure skating Season-end world number one figure skaters Figure skating commentators Universiade gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2003 Winter Universiade Fantasy on Ice main cast members