is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the 1993 World Junior champion, 1992

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 19 ...

silver medalist, 1997

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 ...

champion, and a three-time Japan national bronze medalist.

Skating career

Koiwai finished 8th at the 1992 World Junior Championships in Hull, Quebec, Canada. At the 1993 Junior Worlds in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, she placed first in both segments and was awarded the gold medal ahead of

Lisa Ervin Lisa Ervin (born April 20, 1977) is an American former figure skater. She was a member of the 1992 US Olympic Team. She won three consecutive silver medals at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships from 1991 to 1993 and is the 1993 US Nat ...

and Tanja Szewczenko. Coached by

Machiko Yamada is a Japanese figure skating coach. Her current and former students include Midori Ito, Mao Asada, Yoshie Onda, Yukari Nakano, Mai Asada, Kumiko Koiwai, Kanako Murakami, Mako Yamashita, and Rino Matsuike. References

Japanese figure s ...

, who had trained

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 ...

, Koiwai was routinely landing the

triple Axel Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

jump by 1994. However, she faced several chronic injuries of her right foot, which severely impeded her efforts. In 1996, she made her only appearance at the senior World Championships, finishing 16th. In 1997, she won gold at the

and then retired from competition.

Later life

Koiwai graduated from Tokai Women's College near her hometown,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

. She now works as a programming director for Tōkai Television in Japan.

Competitive highlights

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Koiwai, Kumiko 1975 births Living people Japanese female single skaters Sportspeople from Aichi Prefecture World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists Universiade medalists in figure skating Universiade gold medalists for Japan Universiade bronze medalists for Japan Competitors at the 1995 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 1997 Winter Universiade