- Daisuke Takahashi
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For the footballer, see Daisuke Takahashi (footballer).
Daisuke Takahashi 
Takahashi with his gold medal at the 2008 Four Continents.Personal information Full name Daisuke Takahashi Country represented 
JapanBorn March 16, 1986
Kurashiki, OkayamaHome town Agamasaki Residence Osaka Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) Coach Utako Nagamitsu Former coach Nikolai Morozov Choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne
Pasquale Camerlengo
Stéphane LambielFormer choreographer Nikolai Morozov
Kenji MiyamotoSkating club Kansai University SC Current training locations Osaka Began skating 1994 World standing 1 (As of 16 June 2011[update])[1] Season's bests TBD (2011–2012)[2]
3 (2010–2011)[3]
1 (2009–2010)[4]ISU personal best scores Combined total 264.41
2008 Four ContinentsShort program 90.43
2011 NHK TrophyFree skate 175.84
2008 Four ContinentsMedal recordCompetitor for JapanMen’s Figure skating Olympic Games Bronze 2010 Vancouver Men's Singles World Championships Gold 2010 Turin Men's Singles Silver 2007 Tokyo Men's Singles Four Continents Championships Gold 2008 Goyang Men’s singles Bronze 2005 Gangneung Men’s singles Grand Prix Final Silver 2007–2008 Turin Men's singles Silver 2006–2007 Saint Petersburg Men's singles Bronze 2005–2006 Tokyo Men's singles World Junior Championships Gold 2002 Hamar Men's singles Daisuke Takahashi (髙橋 大輔 Takahashi Daisuke, born March 16, 1986) is a Japanese figure skater, notable as the 2010 Olympic bronze medalist, the 2010 World Champion, the 2007 World silver medalist, a two-time (2008, 2011) Four Continents Champion, and a four-time (2005–2007, 2009) Japanese national champion.
Takahashi represented Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics and at the 2010 Winter Olympics. His bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics was the first Olympic medal for Japan in the men's singles event.
Contents
Career
Early career
Born in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, Takahashi began figure skating when he was 8 years old. When a skating rink was built near his house, he went with his mother to watch the skaters at the rink, and afterwards, enrolled in the figure skating club. His mother intended for him enroll in the ice hockey club, but he didn't like the protective gear of ice hockey, so he enrolled in the figure skating club, instead.
Takahashi had a successful junior career, winning the 2002 World Junior Championships, in his first, and only, appearance at that competition. Takahashi is the first Japanese man to have won the title.
Senior career
Senior debut
For the following 2002-2003 season, Takahashi turned senior and his ascent slowed. He struggled with consistency during those first few years of his senior career. He won a bronze medal at the 2005 Four Continents and went on to the 2005 World Championships as the second-ranked of the two Japanese men on the World team, after Takeshi Honda. However, when Honda was forced to withdraw due to injury, it fell on Takahashi to qualify spots for Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Takahashi placed 15th, qualifying only one spot for the Japanese men.
2005–2006 season
In the 2005–2006 season, Nobunari Oda emerged as a challenger for the Olympic spot. Oda and Takahashi both had very good Grand Prix seasons.
At the 2005–2006 Japanese nationals, Oda was declared the winner, and, thus, seemed to have qualified for the one Olympic slot, but his gold medal was quickly taken back, when an error was found in the way scores were tallied in the computer system at the event, and Takahashi was awarded the gold. The Japanese Skating Federation split the international assignments, and gave Takahashi the Olympic berth, and Oda a place at the World Championship. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Takahashi was in a good position after the short program, but had a poor long program and placed 8th overall.
2006–2007 season
In the 2006–2007 competitive season, Takahashi won a silver medal at 2006 Skate Canada International, then gold at the 2006 NHK Trophy. He qualified for the Grand Prix Final and won the silver medal, although he was ill. He won the Japanese Championships, taking the national title for the second year in a row, and then went on to the Winter Universiade in Turin, Italy which he won as well.
At the 2007 World Championships, Takahashi placed third in the short program. In the free skate, he skated the performance of his life in his home country, placing first in that segment and ending up winning the silver medal, trailing Brian Joubert narrowly. This was the first silver medal for Japan in the men's event at Worlds.
Following that season, Takahashi was ranked as first in the World by the ISU. However, over the summer, the ISU tweaked their scoring criteria. Takahashi had been placed on top, just ahead of Brian Joubert, in part due to Takahashi's victory at the Winter Universiade, a competition for which Brian Joubert was not eligible, as Joubert was not a university student. The ISU determined that the results of the Winter Universiade could not be used to calculate world ranking, and Takahashi's ranking fell from first to second place.
2007–2008 season
In the 2007–2008 season, he won gold at both his Grand Prix events and then silver at the Grand Prix Final behind Stéphane Lambiel. A few weeks later, he won his third Japanese national title and was named to the Four Continents and Worlds teams.
Takahashi won the 2008 Four Continents, scoring a new record in the free skate (175.84) and in the total score (264.41) under the ISU Judging System.
He was considered a favorite heading into the 2008 World Championships but finished off the podium after a disappointing free skate in which he fell on his second quad toe attempt, then stumbled on a triple axel and triple loop, and, finally, performed an extra combination, an invalid element, which did not count towards his points total.[5]
2008–2009 season
Takahashi was originally assigned to the 2008 Cup of China and the 2008 NHK Trophy for the 2008-2009 Grand Prix season. He had to withdraw after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on October 31, 2008, only a few days before his first event.[6][7] It was later reported that Takahashi would undergo surgery to repair ligament damage and his right meniscus and would miss the entire 2008-2009 season.[8] A bolt was inserted into his right knee.[9] He was able to return to the ice in April and began practicing jumps in June.[6]
2009–2010 season
After recovering from the surgery and getting back to training normally, Takahashi was assigned to compete at the 2009 Skate Canada International and 2009 NHK Trophy for the 2009-2010 season. He placed second at Skate Canada and fourth at the NHK Trophy. Those placements qualified him to compete in the Grand Prix Final. At the final, he led after the short program with a new personal best of 89.95, but was fifth in the free skate and fifth overall.
He won his fourth national title at the 2009-2010 Japanese Championships. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Takahashi won the bronze medal with a score of 247.43. It is the first Olympic medal to be won by Japan in men's figure skating. He then won the gold medal at 2010 World Championships, becoming the first Asian to win a world championship in men's singles. In this competition Takahashi attempted a quadruple flip, but two-footed the landing.
2010–2011 season
Takahashi's 2010-2011 ISU Grand Prix events were the NHK Trophy and Skate America. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, he placed first with 234.79 points, 16.60 ahead of silver medalist Jeremy Abbott. Takahashi won 2010 Skate America as well, despite having flawed short and free skates. During a practice session at the Grand Prix Final, Takahiko Kozuka inadvertently collided with him while Takahashi was doing his run-through; Takahashi said, "it wasn't such a serious injury, just a bit of bruising. [...] It was the first time for me (to be involved in such an accident). I was surprised but there was no malice involved."[10][11] Takahashi placed third in the short program. In the long program, he attempted a quad flip but landed it two-footed. Multiple problems, including low levels on two spins, resulted in a sixth place finish in that segment, dropping him to fourth overall.[11]
Takahashi won the bronze medal at the 2010–2011 Japan Nationals. At the 2011 World Championships he was third in the short program but finished in fifth overall. In the long program, a screw in his boot came loose on his first element, a quad toe.[12] The Japanese team was able to get it fixed within the three minutes allowed and he resumed his program.[13] He said it may occur at any time regardless of inspections, which his coach does every day, and he does not blame her.[14] On May 19, Takahashi underwent surgery to remove a bolt in his right knee stemming from surgery in late 2008.[15] Following the surgery, he said, "It is thinner around my knee, but I feel better now that there is nothing inside my body. I might be imagining it, but it feels lighter."[9]
2011–2012 season
As part of his preparation for the 2011–2012 season, Takahashi spent two weeks in August 2011 working with ice dancing specialists Muriel Boucher-Zazoui, Romain Haguenauer, and Olivier Schoenfelder in Lyon, France to hone his skating skills.[16][17] He said, "I wanted to improve my skating technique, not because I was bad in this sector but I think Olivier is the best. I love the way he skates."[18]
At 2011 Skate Canada, Takahashi earned a score of 84.66 in the short program and 153.21 in the free skate to win the bronze medal with a combined score of 237.87. At the 2011 NHK Trophy, he earned a new personal best score of 90.43 to take the lead in the short program, with a 10.66 point lead over teammate Takahiko Kozuka. He won the gold medal with a combined total of 259.75 points.
Coaching changes
Takahashi is a student at Kansai University, along with Nobunari Oda. For several years, he split his time between Hackensack, New Jersey, where he trained under coach Nikolai Morozov, and Osaka, Japan, where he trains under coach Utako Nagamitsu and jump coach Takeshi Honda. In May 2008, Takahashi announced that he would be parting ways with Morozov.[19] In May 2008, Nikolai Morozov explained the split by stating that he could no longer coach Takahashi due to problems with Takahashi's new agent.[20]
Public life and endorsements
Following his win the silver medal at 2007 Worlds, Takahashi made many media appearances and performed in many ice shows in Japan. He was also invited to the French team's show Stars Sur Glace (Stars On Ice) in Paris, France. It was his first guest performance at the foreign show. In 2008, he performed at Festa On Ice in South Korea.
In July 2007, the Japanese Olympic Committee selected Takahashi as one of the "JOC symbol athletes" (JOC paid about 20 million yen per year to the symbol athletes for the image rights. JOC partner companies can use images of JOC Symbol Athletes for free).[21] The program provided him with funding from JOC partner companies.
After his won at 2010 Worlds, Takahashi appeared as a guest on many TV shows and as advertising spokespersons for "Use pesticides safety campaign"[22] and Japan Post.[23]
Programs
Takahashi during his short program to Violin Concerto by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky at the 2006 Skate Canada International.
Competitive highlights
Takahashi (center) with the other medalists at the 2007 NHK Trophy podium.
Takahashi at the 2009 Grand Prix FinalSenior results
Event 2002–03 2003-04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Winter Olympic Games 8th 3rd World Championships 11th 15th 2nd 4th 1st 5th Four Continents Championships 13th 6th 3rd 1st 1st Japanese Championships 4th 3rd 6th 1st 1st 1st 1st 3rd Grand Prix Final 3rd 2nd 2nd 5th 4th TBD NHK Trophy 8th 3rd 1st 1st 4th 1st 1st Skate America 1st 1st 1st Skate Canada International 7th 2nd 2nd 3rd Trophée Eric Bompard 5th 11th Bofrost Cup on Ice 11th Finlandia Trophy 1st Winter Universiade 1st 1st Asian Winter Games 6th Japan Open 2nd* 4th** 2nd* 6th*** Japan International Challenge 2nd* - *Takahashi placed 2nd in the mens event (free skate only); Team Japan placed 1st overall.
- **Takahashi placed 4th in the mens event (free skate only); Team Japan placed 1st overall.
- ***Takahashi placed 6th in the mens event (free skate only); Team Japan placed 3rd overall.
- Takahashi did not compete in the 2008–2009 season.
Junior results
Event 1998-99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 World Junior Championships 1st Japanese Championships 5th Japan Junior Championships 3rd 4th 1st ISU Junior Grand Prix Final 4th Junior Grand Prix, Japan 1st Junior Grand Prix, Bulgaria 2nd Junior Grand Prix, Ukraine 8th Junior Grand Prix, China 9th Triglav Trophy 1st N. - N = Novice level.
References
- ^ "ISU World Standings for Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance : Men". International Skating Union. June 16, 2011. http://www.isuresults.com/ws/ws/wsmen.htm. Retrieved June 18, 2011 2011.
- ^ "ISU Judging System – Season Bests Total Scores 2011/2012 : Men". International Skating Union. http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/sb2011-12/sbtsmto.htm.
- ^ "ISU Judging System – Season Bests Total Scores 2010/2011 : Men". International Skating Union. April 28, 2011. http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/sb2010-11/sbtsmto.htm. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
- ^ "ISU Judging System – Season Bests Total Scores 2009/2010 : Men". International Skating Union. March 25, 2010. http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/sb2009-10/sbtsmto.htm. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
- ^ ISU 2008 World Championships Summary accessed May 6, 2008
- ^ a b Oreiller, Céline (2009). "Daisuke Takahashi eyes Vancouver". AbsoluteSkating.com. http://absoluteskating.com/articles/2009takahashi.html. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ "Takahashi to skip Cup of China due to knee injury". Associated Press. ESPN. November 4, 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/figureskating/news/story?id=3681605. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
- ^ "Takahashi to have season-ending knee surgery". Associated Press. ESPN. November 18, 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/figureskating/news/story?id=3710932. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
- ^ a b "Takahashi happy after bolt removal". The Japan Times. May 30, 2011. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sp20110530f1.html. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
- ^ "Crash no excuse for Grand Prix meltdown: Takahashi". Associated Press. breitbart.com. December 12, 2010. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9K28P0O0&show_article=1. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
- ^ a b Kondakova, Anna (December 11, 2010). "Chan edges out Oda for Grand Prix title". GoldenSkate.com. http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2010/gpf-ml.shtml. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
- ^ Ainsworth, Alexa (April 30, 2011). "Takahashi not done yet". Universal Sports. http://www.universalsports.com/news-blogs/blogs/blog=gofigure/postid=531667.html#takahashi+done. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
- ^ Flade, Tatiana (April 28, 2011). "Chan takes World title with record score". GoldenSkate. http://goldenskate.com/articles/2010/w_ml.shtml. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
- ^ "[Daisuke Takahashi: The incident during the free skate]". Nihon Keizai Shimbun. May 19, 2011. http://www.nikkei.com/sports/column/article/g=96958A88889DE0EAE1E1E1E5EBE2E3E3E2E7E0E2E3E3E2E2E2E2E2E2. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "高橋が右膝のボルト除去手術 [Surgery to remove bolt in Takahashi's right knee]". Nikkansports.com. May 19, 2011. http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20110519-778219.html. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Figure skater Takahashi banks on French flair to win". Agence France-Presse (France24.com). August 13, 2011. http://www.france24.com/en/20110813-figure-skater-takahashi-banks-french-flair-win. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
- ^ a b c Luchianov, Vladislav (October 27, 2011). "Sochi remains ultimate goal for Takahashi". Icenetwork. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111017&content_id=25694196&vkey=ice_news. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
- ^ Peret, Paul (October 15, 2011). "Daisuke Takahashi: French Twizzles". IFS Magazine. http://www.ifsmagazine.com/articles/10312-daisuke-takahashi. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
- ^ Rutherford, Lynn (May 6, 2008). "Takahashi splits with coach Morozov". Icenetwork. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080506&content_id=48086&vkey=ice_news. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
- ^ Gallagher, Jack (May 25, 2008). "Morozov blames agent for breakup with Takahashi". Japan Times. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sp20080525jg.html. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
- ^ "Takahashi joins JOC program". Kyodo News. Japan Times. July 3, 2007. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sp20070703a5.html. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
- ^ "Use pesticides safely campaign with Takahashi". http://translate.google.co.jp/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=ja&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwebcache.googleusercontent.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dcache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.jacom.or.jp%2Fagribiz%2F2010%2F06%2Fagribiz100608-9674.php%26hl%3Dja&sl=ja&tl=en.
- ^ "Japan Post-Yu-pack Takahashi Daisuke page". http://www.yu-pack.jp/index.html?boxid=1#/td/tv.
- ^ "Daisuke Takahashi". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.isuresults.com%2Fbios%2Fisufs00004810.htm&date=2011-11-12.
- ^ "Daisuke Takahashi". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 1, 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110501192830/http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00004810.htm.
- ^ "Daisuke Takahashi". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 4, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100504125709/http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00004810.htm.
External links
- Daisuke Takahashi at the International Skating Union
- "Daisuke Takahashi". IceNetwork.com. http://web.icenetwork.com/skaters/detail.jsp?id=100184&mode=I.
Four Continents champions in figure skating – Men's singles 1999: Takeshi Honda • 2000: Elvis Stojko • 2001: Li Chengjiang • 2002: Jeffrey Buttle • 2003: Takeshi Honda • 2004: Jeffrey Buttle • 2005: Evan Lysacek • 2006: Nobunari Oda • 2007: Evan Lysacek • 2008: Daisuke Takahashi • 2009: Patrick Chan • 2010: Adam Rippon • 2011: Daisuke Takahashi
World Junior champions in figure skating – Men's singles 1976: Mark Cockerell · 1977: Daniel Beland · 1978: Dennis Coi · 1979: Vitali Egorov · 1980: Alexander Fadeyev · 1981: Paul Wylie · 1982: Scott Williams · 1983: Christopher Bowman · 1984: Viktor Petrenko · 1985: Erik Larson · 1986: Vladimir Petrenko · 1987: Rudy Galindo · 1988: Todd Eldredge · 1989: Viacheslav Zagorodniuk · 1990: Igor Pashkevich · 1991: Vasili Eremenko · 1992: Dmitri Dmitrenko · 1993: Evgeni Pliuta · 1994: Michael Weiss · 1995: Ilia Kulik · 1996: Alexei Yagudin · 1997: Evgeni Plushenko · 1998: Derrick Delmore · 1999: Ilia Klimkin · 2000: Stefan Lindemann · 2001: Johnny Weir · 2002: Daisuke Takahashi · 2003: Alexander Shubin · 2004: Andrei Griazev · 2005: Nobunari Oda · 2006: Takahiko Kozuka · 2007: Stephen Carriere · 2008–2009: Adam Rippon · 2010: Yuzuru Hanyu · 2011: Andrei Rogozine
Categories:- 1986 births
- Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- Figure skaters at the 2007 Winter Universiade
- Gold medalists at the 2007 Winter Universiade
- Japanese male single skaters
- Living people
- Olympic figure skaters of Japan
- People from Okayama Prefecture
- Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics
- Olympic bronze medalists for Japan
- Olympic medalists in figure skating
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