Nao Kodaira ( ja, 小平奈緒; born 26 May 1986) is a Japanese former

long track speed skater 　 Long-track speed skating, usually simply referred to as speed skating, is the Olympic discipline of speed skating where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. It is also a sport for leisure. Sports such as ice skating marathon, ...

who specialised in the sprint distances. She is the 2018 Olympic champion in the 500 m distance. Kodaira is the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic gold medal in speed skating. In 2009, she graduated from

Shinshu University , abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university located in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As the only university in Japan bearing the name of a former Japanese province, it bears the name "Shinshu" (alternative name for Shinano Provin ...

with a bachelor's degree in education.

Career

At the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

she won a silver medal in the team pursuit event. She placed 5th in the 1000 and the 1500 m events and 12th in the 500 m one at the Olympics. At the 2014–15 World Cup stop in Seoul, South Korea, on 21 November 2014, she won the 500 m event, and she has a total of 25 podium placings in the World Cup. At the 2015 World Single Distance Championships, she won the bronze medal in the 500 m event. At the 2017 World Single Distance Championships, she became the first Japanese woman to win an individual single distance world title winning the women's 500 m event. She won also silver medal in the 1000 m event at the Championships. At the 2017 World Sprint Championships, she won the women's competition. In the season, she became overall winner of ISU World Cup 500 m cup. Kodaira took the top step also in every single ISU World Cup one in the 2017–18 season ahead of the Olympics. She is the current world record holder in the 2×500 metres and the sprint combination, and the former world record holder in the

1000 metres The 1000 metres is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. The 1000 yards, an imperial alternative, was sometimes also contested. All-time top 25 *h = hand timed *i = indoor performance *A = affected by ...

and the team sprint, as well as the current Olympic and Japanese record holder in the 500 metres. At the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

, Kodaira won gold medal in the women's 500 m event and the silver medal in the women's 1000 m event respectively. In the former, she also set an Olympic record and became the first woman to break the 37-second barrier at sea level, as well as the first female Japanese Olympic champion in speed skating. In April 2022, Kodaira announced that she will retire from speed skating in October after a final race at the national single distances championship to be held in her hometown Nagano.

Records

Personal records

World records

Olympic records

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kodaira, Nao 1986 births Japanese female speed skaters Speed skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic speed skaters of Japan Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in speed skating Olympic gold medalists for Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Speed skaters at the 2011 Asian Winter Games Speed skaters at the 2017 Asian Winter Games Medalists at the 2011 Asian Winter Games Medalists at the 2017 Asian Winter Games Asian Games medalists in speed skating Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan Sportspeople from Nagano Prefecture Universiade medalists in speed skating Living people World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships medalists World Sprint Speed Skating Championships medalists Universiade gold medalists for Japan Universiade silver medalists for Japan Universiade bronze medalists for Japan Speed skaters at the 2007 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 2009 Winter Universiade Medalists at the 2007 Winter Universiade 21st-century Japanese women