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Koshiro Shimada
Koshiro Shimada (島田 高志郎, Shimada Kōshirō, born September 11, 2001) is a Japanese figure skater. He is the 2022 Japanese national silver medalist, the 2024 Grand Prix de France silver medalist, a three-time ISU Challenger Series medalist, and the 2019 Bavarian Open champion. On the junior level, he is the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, a three-time ISU Junior Grand Prix medalist, and a two-time Japan Junior national medalist. Personal lifeKoshiro Shimada was born in Ehime Prefecture, Japan.[1] In 2020, he enrolled at Waseda University where he currently studies Human Sciences.[2][3] Shimada is bilingual. In addition to Japanese, he learned to speak English while living in Champéry, Switzerland for his training.[4] CareerEarly yearsShimada began learning to skate at the age of six years old. He originally trained in his hometown of Matsuyama before moving with his mother to Okayama, the same city where Daisuke Takahashi and Tatsuki Machida would train, when Shimada was around ten years old. There, he trained at the Shujitsu Gakuen Okayama and was coached by Kotoe Nagasawa.[5][6] At the 2013–14 Japan Championships, Shimada won the gold medal on the advanced novice level and finished seventeenth on the junior level. The following year, he finished second on the advanced novice level and sixteenth on the junior level at the 2014–15 Japan Championships.[7] 2015–2016 season: Junior international debut and Youth OlympicsShimada made his junior international debut on the 2015–16 Junior Grand Prix circuit, finishing seventh at 2015 JGP Slovakia and fifth at 2015 JGP Croatia. Ranked fourth at the 2015–16 Japan Championships on the junior level and eleventh on the senior level, he was assigned to the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Hamar, Norway, where he finished sixth.[8] 2016–2017 season Shimada began the season by winning gold on the junior level of the 2016 Asian Open Trophy. He then went on to compete on the 2016–17 Junior Grand Prix series, he won the bronze medal at 2016 JGP France and finishing fourth at 2016 JGP Estonia. Following a second-place finish in the junior level and a seventh-place finish of the 2016–17 Japan Championships, Shimada was assigned to compete at the 2017 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Taiwan, where he placed fourteenth.[8] In the spring of 2017, Shimada relocated to Champéry, Switzerland to train under Stéphane Lambiel.[9] 2017–2018 seasonDuring the off-season, Shimada tore his left hip abductor muscle. In July, he underwent rehabilitation with a physiotherapist in Toronto, Canada.[10] He did end up competing on the 2017–18 Junior Grand Prix series, finishing fifth at 2017 JGP Croatia and seventh at 2017 JGP Poland. Shimada would not compete for the remainder of the season.[7] 2018–2019 season: Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medal After almost a full year of not competing, Shimada started the season by competing on the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix series. He won the silver medal at 2018 JGP Austria and the bronze medal at 2018 JGP Slovenia. With these results, Shimada qualified for the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[8] Following a bronze medal win at the 2018–19 Japan Junior Championships, Shimada won also win bronze at the Junior Grand Prix Final. A couple weeks following the latter event, he would place fifth at the 2018–19 Japan Championships on the senior level.[8] He subsequently won gold on the senior level of the 2019 Bavarian Open before closing his season with a ninth-place finish at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.[7] 2019–2020 season: Senior Grand Prix debut Shimada began the season by winning the silver medal at the 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy before finishing fourth at the 2019 Japan Open. Going on to make his senior debut on the 2019–20 Grand Prix series, finishing tenth at 2019 Skate America and ninth at the 2019 NHK Trophy. Shimada then finished the season by placing tenth at the 2019–20 Japan Championships.[7] 2020–2021 seasonAlthough Shimada was assigned to compete at the 2020 Internationaux de France, the event was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][12] His only other competition was the 2020–21 Japan Championships, where he finished eighth.[7] 2021–2022 seasonShimada's first competition of the season was at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup, where he finished fifth. He would then finish the season by placing tenth at the 2021–22 Japan Championships.[7] 2022–2023 season: Japan national silver medal and Four Continents Starting the season at the 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy, Shimada won the silver medal. He was given two Grand Prix assignments, coming ninth at the 2022 Skate America and fourth at the 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy.[8] Shimada unexpectedly finished in second place at the 2022–23 Japan Championships, despite a "shaky" landing on his attempted quad Salchow.[13] He was only sixth in the free skate, struggling with a number of jumps, but he remained second overall, less than two points ahead of bronze medalist Kazuki Tomono.[14] Despite being the national silver medalist, the Japan Skating Federation's selection criteria for the 2023 World Championships led to his not being named to one of Japan's three berths, which drew protest from Shimada's friend and training partner, Japanese national champion Shoma Uno. Shimada was instead assigned to compete at the 2023 Four Continents Championships, where he came eleventh.[15][8]  During the off-season, Shimada was cast to play Sanji for the summer show, One Piece on Ice.[16] 2023–2024 seasonShimada began the season at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, winning the bronze medal.[8] He was invited to participate in the Japan Open as part of the host team, finishing third in the men's event, while Team Japan won gold.[17]  The week before competing at the 2023 Grand Prix de France, Shimada twisted his ankle in practice. He ultimately placed tenth at the event, and said he hoped his ankle would be healed in time for his second Grand Prix event.[18]He went on to finish sixth at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo.[19] He would close the season with an eleventh-place finish at the 2023–24 Japan Championships.[8] 2024–2025 season: Grand Prix medalBeginning his season by competing on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, Shimada finished sixth at 2024 Skate America. He would then go on to win his first ISU senior Grand Prix medal, a silver at the 2024 Grand Prix de France.[8] Shimada expressed elation at this result, saying, "I still can’t believe that I am here in the medals. I've worked with Stéphane for such a long time, I appreciate his support so much. I want to thank him dearly for all of put hard work together. Last night he told me “you’re the best”, and put me in a really positive mindset. I was really calm ahead of my skate today and in a really positive mindset."[20] ProgramsCompetitive highlights
Detailed results
Senior level
Junior level
References
External links
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