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 ...

. From 2002 to 2007, she skated with

Jean-Sébastien Fecteau Jean-Sébastien Fecteau (born May 7, 1975) is a Canadian former pair skater. He is a two-time World Junior silver medallist with Caroline Haddad, the 2001 Nebelhorn Trophy silver medallist with Valerie Saurette, and the 2006 Four Continents si ...

as a

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 ...

for Canada, winning the silver medal at the 2006 Four Continents Championships. Earlier in her career, she competed in

single skating Single skating is a discipline of figure skating in which male and female skaters compete individually. Men's singles and women's singles are governed by the International Skating Union (ISU). Figure skating is the oldest winter sport contested ...

for Japan.

Career

Until 2002, Wakamatsu competed in

for Japan. She competed on the

ISU 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 ...

series, winning a bronze medal in 1999 in the Czech Republic, and at one senior

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 ...

event, the 2001

Skate America Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: m ...

. She placed as high as fifth on the senior level at the Japan Championships. In April 2002, Wakamatsu teamed up with

to compete in

pair skating 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 ...

for Canada. In 2003, they won gold medals at the

Finlandia Trophy The Finlandia Trophy is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Since 1995, it is held annually in Finland in Greater Helsinki region, including Helsinki, Vantaa, and Espoo. It became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014� ...

and

Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. It became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014–15 season. The competitio ...

and made their Grand Prix debut. In the 2004–05 season, Wakamatsu/Fecteau won silver at the 2005 Canadian Championships and were sent to the 2005 World Championships where they placed eighth. In the 2005–06 season, the pair won bronze at a Grand Prix event, the

2005 NHK Trophy The 2005 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 2005–06 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Kadoma Sports Center in Osaka on December 1–4. Medals were award ...

. They also took bronze at the 2006 Canadian Championships and were sent to the 2006 Four Continents Championships where they won the silver medal. Wakamatsu announced her retirement from competitive skating on April 24, 2007.

Personal life

Wakamatsu studied social welfare at

Tohoku Fukushi University is a Japanese private university in Sendai. Notable alumni Politics *Shintaro Ito *Itsunori Onodera Sports *Baseball ** Mamoru Kishida **Takashi Saito **Kazuhiro Sasaki ** Kazuhiro Wada **Ken Kadokura **Tomoaki Kanemoto *Figure skating **Akiko ...

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 ...

Programs

With Fecteau

Single skating

Competitive highlights

Pairs career with Fecteau for Canada

Singles career for Japan

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wakamatsu, Utako 1981 births Canadian female pair skaters Japanese female single skaters Living people Sportspeople from Aomori Prefecture Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists Competitors at the 2001 Winter Universiade