Hazuki Watanabe (渡部葉月, born 7 August 2004) is a Japanese

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

. She is the 2022 World Champion on the balance beam. She was part of the bronze medal winning team at the 2022 Asian Championships. Additionally she represented Japan at the inaugural Junior World Championships.

Early life

Watanabe was born in Mie, Japan in 2004.

Career

2019

Watanabe competed at the

2019 City of Jesolo Trophy The 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy was the 12th annual ''Trofeo di Jesolo'' gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The ...

where she helped Japan finish fifth as a team. She was later selected to compete at the inaugural Junior World Championships alongside

Shoko Miyata Shoko Miyata (宮田笙子, born 21 September 2004) is a Japanese artistic gymnast. She is the 2022 World bronze medalist on the balance beam as well as the 2022 Asian Championships silver medalist on vault and floor exercise. She was set ...

and

Chiaki Hatakeda is a unisex Japanese given name used mostly by females and is occasionally used as a surname. Possible writings Chiaki can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *千秋, "thousand, autumn" *千明, "thousand, light" *千晶, ...

; they finished eleventh as a team.

2022

Watanabe competed at the Asian Championships where she helped Japan finish third as a team. Later in the year Watanabe was selected to represent Japan at the 2022 World Championships alongside

, Kokoro Fukasawa,

Ayaka Sakaguchi , known simply as Ayaka, is a female Japanese singer, songwriter and record producer formerly signed to Warner Music Japan. Born in Osaka, she moved to Tokyo to pursue a singing career. She married actor Hiro Mizushima on February 22, 2009. B ...

Chiharu Yamada is a feminine Japanese given name which is occasionally used by men. Possible writings Chiharu can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *千春, "thousand, spring" *千晴, "thousand, sunny weather" *知春, "wisdom, spring ...

, and

Arisa Kasahara Rosalba Pippa (born 20 August 1982), better known by her stage name Arisa, is an Italian singer and actress. Early life Arisa was born in Genoa, Italy. A week after her birth, her family moved back to their original hometown, Pignola, a villag ...

; she was initially the alternate. However Kasahara later withdrew from the team due to injury and Watanabe was added to the main team. While at the World Championships Watanabe helped Japan finish seventh as a team and individually she qualified to the balance beam final. During the balance beam final Watanabe won gold, becoming the third Japanese gymnast to win the World title on balance beam after

Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda (田中-池田敬子, born Keiko Tanaka on November 11, 1933) is the first Japanese female gymnast to win a world title, which she accomplished on the balance beam in 1954 (by becoming first Asian female gymnast who win a worl ...

and

Urara Ashikawa is a Japanese artistic gymnast who represented Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is the 2021 World Champion on the balance beam. Personal life Ashikawa was born in Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan in 2003. She began gymnastics when she was a yea ...

Competitive history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watanabe, Hazuki 2004 births Living people Japanese female artistic gymnasts 21st-century Japanese women World champion gymnasts Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Sportspeople from Mie Prefecture