Sōta Yamamoto

Sōta Yamamoto (山本 草太, Yamamoto Sōta, born 10 January 2000) is a Japanese figure skater. He is the 2018 CS Asian Open Trophy champion, the 2016 Youth Olympic champion, the 2015 World Junior bronze medalist, a two-time Junior Grand Prix Final medalist (silver in 2014, bronze in 2015), and the 2015–16 Japan junior national champion.

Sota Yamamoto
Personal information
Native name山本 草太
Country represented Japan
Born (2000-01-10) January 10, 2000
Kishiwada, Osaka, Japan
Home townNagoya, Japan
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
CoachYoshinori Onishi
Former coachHiroshi Nagakubo
Yoriko Naruse
Miho Kawaume
Yusuke Hayashi
ChoreographerKenji Miyamoto
Former choreographerPasquale Camerlengo
Yuko Hongo
Akiko Suzuki
Skating clubChukyo University
Former skating clubAichi Mizuho High School
Training locationsNagoya
Began skating2006
ISU personal best scores
Combined total240.11
2019 U.S. Classic
Short program92.81
2019 CS Finlandia Trophy
Free skate157.26
2015 JGP Poland
Medal record
Representing  Japan
Figure skating: Men's singles
Winter Youth Olympics
2016 LillehammerMen's singles
World Junior Championships
2015 TallinnMen's singles
Junior Grand Prix Final
2014–15 BarcelonaMen's singles
2015–16 BarcelonaMen's singles

Career

Yamamoto started skating when he was five. He is a 3-time Japanese national novice medalist. He was invited to skate in the gala at the 2013 World Team Trophy as the Japanese national novice champion in the same season.

2013–14 season

Yamamoto debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in 2013–14 season, placing 11th in Riga, Latvia, his sole assignment. At the Japan Championships, he was 5th in the junior competition and 14th at the senior event.

2014–15 season
Yamamoto (right) with teammate Shoma Uno at the 2015 World Junior Championships

During the 2014–15 JGP series, Yamamoto won silver medals in Courchevel, France and Tallinn, Estonia, which qualified him to the 2014–15 JGP Final in Barcelona, Spain. Ranked first in the short program and third in the free skate, he finished second overall, behind Shoma Uno and ahead of Alexander Petrov. Nationally, he was the junior silver medalist, behind Shoma Uno, and finished 6th at the senior event. At the 2015 World Junior Championships, Yamamoto placed 7th in the short program and 3rd in the free skate to win the bronze medal in his first appearance at that competition.

2015–16 season

Competing in the 2015–16 ISU Junior Grand Prix, Yamamoto won the bronze medal in Colorado Springs, Colorado and gold in Toruń, Poland. These results qualified him for the 2015–16 JGP Final, where he was awarded the bronze medal. He won his first junior national title at the 2015 Japanese Junior Championships.

In February 2016, Yamamoto won the gold medal in the men's singles discipline at the Winter Youth Olympics ahead of Latvia's Deniss Vasiljevs and Russia's Dmitri Aliev. He fractured his right ankle in practice on March 12, causing him to withdraw from the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen.[1]

2017–18 season

After missing the entirety of the 2016–2017 season, Yamamoto returned to competition domestically at the 2017–18 Japan Championships, placing ninth. Venturing out internationally, he placed fifth at the Coupe du Printemps.

2018–19 season

Debuting on the Challenger series, Yamamoto won gold at the 2018 CS Asian Open. He fared less well at his second Challenger, placing ninth at the 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy. Making his Grand Prix debut, Yamamoto was sixth at Japan's 2018 NHK Trophy. Ninth at the Japan Championships, he finished the season with a gold medal at the Challenge Cup.

2019–20 season

Again beginning the season with two Challenger assignments, Yamamoto won the silver medal at the 2019 CS U.S. Classic, after placing third in the short program and second in the free skate. the season at the 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy, and lead the field after the short program, in which he set a new personal best and landed two quad jumps. He fell four times in the free skate, placing sixth in the segment, but narrowly took the silver medal overall.[2]

2020–21 season

Yamamoto won the gold medal at the domestic Western Sectionals championship, qualifying a berth to the national championships.[3] Assigned to the 2020 NHK Trophy, he placed eighth.[4] He was ninth at the 2020–21 Japan Championships.

Programs
Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2020–2021
[5]
2019–2020
[6]
2018–2019
[7]
2017–2018
    2015–2016
    [8][9][10][11]
    2014–2015
    [12]
    2013–2014
    [13]
    2012–2013

    Competitive highlights
    Yamamoto (right) at the 2015–16 Junior Grand Prix Final podium
    Yamamoto (right) at the 2015 World Junior Championships podium
    Yamamoto (left) at the 2014–15 JGP Final podium

    GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

    International[14]
    Event 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21
    GP NHK TrophyWD6th6th8th
    GP FranceWD
    CS Asian Open1st
    CS FinlandiaWD9th2nd
    CS U.S. Classic2nd
    Challenge Cup1st
    Printemps5th
    International: Junior[14]
    Junior Worlds3rdWD
    Youth Olympics1st
    JGP Final2nd3rd
    JGP Estonia2nd
    JGP France2nd
    JGP Poland1st
    JGP Latvia11th
    JGP United States3rd
    Printemps1st
    International: Novice[14]
    Asian Trophy2nd2nd
    Triglav Trophy1st1st
    National[15]
    Japan14th6th6th9th9th7th9th
    Japan Junior11th4th5th2nd1st
    Japan Novice5th B1st B2nd A1st A
    Team Events
    Japan Open1st T
    2nd P
    TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew
    T = Team result; P = Personal result. Medals awarded for team result only.
    Levels: A = Novice A, B = Novice B

    Detailed results

    Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships. ISU Personal bests highlighted in bold.

    Senior level
    2020–21 season
    Date Event SP FS Total
    December 24–27, 2020 2020–21 Japan Championships 9
    82.60    		 6
    134.74    		 9
    217.34
    November 27–29, 2020 2020 NHK Trophy 9
    62.38    		 7
    127.81    		 8
    190.19
    2019–20 season
    Date Event SP FS Total
    December 18–22, 2019 2019–20 Japan Championships 13
    68.16    		 7
    152.33    		 7
    220.49
    November 22–24, 2019 2019 NHK Trophy 7
    74.88    		 5
    151.39    		 6
    226.27
    October 11-14, 2019 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy 1
    92.81    		 6
    130.43    		 2
    223.24
    September 17–22, 2019 2019 U.S. Classic 3
    82.88    		 2
    157.23    		 2
    240.11
    2018–19 season
    Date Event SP FS Total
    February 21–24, 2019 2019 Challenge Cup 1
    82.24    		 1
    171.63    		 1
    253.87
    December 20ー24, 2018 2018–19 Japan Championships 10
    71.95    		 8
    140.74    		 9
    212.69
    November 9–11, 2018 2018 NHK Trophy 6
    74.98    		 5
    138.42    		 6
    213.40
    October 5–7, 2018 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy 8
    72.16    		 10
    133.63    		 9
    205.79
    August 1–5, 2018 2018 CS Asian Open Trophy 6
    57.92    		 1
    141.00    		 1
    198.92
    2017–18 season
    Date Event SP FS Total
    March 16–18, 2018 2018 Coupe du Printemps 6
    69.04    		 5
    128.77    		 5
    197.81
    December 20–24, 2017 2017–18 Japan Championships 8
    72.88    		 10
    135.39    		 9
    208.27

    Junior level
    Yamamoto at the 2014–15 Junior Grand Prix Final
    2015–16 season
    Date Event Level SP FS Total
    March 14–20, 2016 2016 World Junior Championships Junior WD WD WD
    February 12–21, 2016 2016 Winter Youth Olympics Junior 1
    73.07    		 3
    142.45    		 1
    215.52
    December 24–27, 2015 2015–16 Japan Championships Senior 11
    62.92    		 5
    152.23    		 6
    215.15
    December 9–13, 2015 2015–16 JGP Final Junior 3
    72.85    		 4
    132.46    		 3
    205.31
    November 21–23, 2015 2015–16 Japan Junior Championships Junior 1
    70.42    		 1
    142.98    		 1
    213.40
    September 23–26, 2015 2015 JGP Poland Junior 1
    75.16    		 1
    157.26    		 1
    232.42
    September 2–5, 2015 2015 JGP United States Junior 2
    65.11    		 3
    138.57    		 3
    203.68
    2014–15 season
    Date Event Level SP FS Total
    March 2–8, 2015 2015 World Junior Championships Junior 7
    69.99    		 3
    145.46    		 3
    215.45
    December 26–18, 2014 2014–15 Japan Championships Senior 7
    67.19    		 6
    139.61    		 6
    206.80
    December 10–14, 2014 2014–15 JGP Final Junior 1
    76.14    		 3
    136.98    		 2
    213.12
    November 22–24, 2014 2014–15 Japan Junior Championships Junior 2
    67.81    		 1
    134.69    		 2
    202.50
    September 24–27, 2014 2014 JGP Estonia Junior 2
    66.42    		 2
    136.28    		 2
    202.70
    August 20–23, 2014 2014 JGP France Junior 3
    65.66    		 2
    130.14    		 2
    195.80
    2013–14 season
    Date Event Level SP FS Total
    March 14–16, 2014 2014 Coupe du Printemps Junior 1
    65.24    		 –
    –    		 1
    –
    December 20–23, 2013 2013–14 Japan Championships Senior 11
    65.90    		 19
    104.72    		 14
    170.62
    November 22–24, 2013 2013–14 Japan Junior Championships Junior 3
    62.28    		 10
    103.82    		 5
    166.10
    August 28–31, 2013 2013 JGP Latvia Junior 11
    56.15    		 12
    100.08    		 11
    156.23

    References
    1. "山本が世界ジュニア欠場　練習中に右足首骨折／フィギュア" [Yamamoto fractures right ankle in practice, will miss Junior Worlds] (in Japanese). Sanspo. 10 March 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016.
    2. Browne, Ken (October 13, 2019). "SHOMA UNO LEADS JAPAN 1-2 IN FINLANDIA TROPHY". Olympic Channel.
    3. "2020 JAPAN OPEN & NATIONALS UPDATE". International Figure Skating.
    4. Slater, Paula (November 28, 2020). "Yuma Kagiyama commands men's event; snatches NHK Trophy gold". Golden Skate.
    5. "Sota YAMAMOTO: 2020/2021". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020.
    6. "Sota YAMAMOTO: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 13, 2019.
    7. "Sota YAMAMOTO: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 18, 2019.
    8. Dreams on Ice 2015 (Television production) (in Japanese). Japan: Fuji TV. 22 June 2015.
    9. フィギュアスケート [Figure Skate TV!] (in Japanese). Japan. 12 July 2015. BS Fuji.
    10. "Sota YAMAMOTO: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 29, 2015.
    11. Xiong, Wei (August 29, 2015). "Sota Yamamoto sets sights on Junior World title". Golden Skate.
    12. "Sota YAMAMOTO: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 20, 2015.
    13. "Sota YAMAMOTO: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 22, 2014.
    14. "Competition Results: Sota YAMAMOTO". International Skating Union.
    15. "山本 草太 / YAMAMOTO Sota" (in Japanese). Japan Skating Federation. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014.

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