Nozomu Yoshioka (吉岡 希, Yoshioka Nozomu, born 15 December 2003) is a Japanese figure skater. He is the 2023 World Junior bronze medalist, 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, the 2022 JGP Czech Republic champion, and the 2022 Japanese junior national champion.

Nozomu Yoshioka
Native name吉岡 希
Other namesYoshioka Nozomu
Born (2003-12-15) December 15, 2003 (age 21)
Osaka, Japan
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Figure skating career
Country Japan
DisciplineMen's singles
CoachUtako Nagamitsu
Skating clubHosei University
Began skating2011
Medal record
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Calgary Singles
Junior Grand Prix Final
Bronze medal – third place 2022–23 Turin Singles

Personal life

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Yoshioka was born on 15 December 2003 in Osaka, Japan.[1]

As a child, Yoshioka also practiced soccer and martial arts before ultimately deciding to focus on figure skating.

He is currently a student at Hosei University, where he also trains.

Yoshioka's figure skating idol is the late Denis Ten.[2]

Career

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Early career

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Yoshioka began figure skating in 2010 after being encouraged by his mother to give it a try.[2]

Throughout his childhood, Yoshioka trained at the Aquapia Skating Rink in Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture until it closed down. As a result, he relocated to Takatsuki to train at the Kansai University Takatsuki Ice Arena.[2]

He made his junior-level debut at the 2017–18 Japan Junior Championships, where he finished twentieth and then went on to finish twenty-first at the 2018–19 Japan Junior Championships the following year.[1]

2019–20 season

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Feeling that he needed a training environment that had more "discipline," Yoshioka decided to move to Hyōgo to train at the Hyogo Nishinomiya FSC under Utako Nagamitsu.[2]

After finishing fifth at the 2019–20 Japan Junior Championships, Yoshioka was selected to compete at the 2019–20 Japan Senior Championships where he finished in nineteenth place.[1]

He then went on to compete at the 2020 Challenge Cup as a junior and won the event.[3]

2020–21 season

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Yoshioka competed at the 2020–21 Japan Junior Championships, finishing eleventh.[1]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of modifications were made to the Grand Prix structure, where competitors consisted only of skaters from the home country, skaters already training in the host nation, and skaters assigned to that event for geographic reasons. As a result, Yoshioka was invited to compete at the 2020 NHK Trophy where he finished tenth.[4][3]

2021–22 season

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Yoshioka competed at the 2021–22 Japan Junior Championships, where he won the bronze medal and was thus invited to compete at the 2021–22 Japan Senior Championships, where he finished twentieth.[1]

2022–23 season

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Making his debut on the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix series, Yoshioka won the gold medal at the 2022 JGP Czech Republic and placed fifth at the 2022 JGP Poland I. These results secured a spot for Yoshioka at the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final in Torino, Italy.

Yoshioka then went on to compete at the 2022–23 Japan Junior Championships, where he won the gold medal.[3]

At the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final, Yoshioka placed fifth in the short program after losing points on a spin and having two jump errors in the program. However, Yoshioka managed to skate a more solid free skate, placing second in that segment of the competition and winning the bronze medal overall. Following the event, Yoshioka said, "I'm happy that I was able to stand on the stage (of the final). I was able to complete the free skate with the minimum number of mistakes."[5]

At the 2022–23 Japan Championships, Yoshioka finished tenth.

Yoshioka was selected to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Alberta. He placed seventh in the short program, scoring a new personal best score and managed to place second in the free skate, winning the bronze medal overall.[3]

Additionally, he was invited to skate in the gala at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama.[6]

Yoshioka closed his season with a gold medal at the 2023 Triglav Trophy.[3]

2023–24 season

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Yoshioka began the season by finishing fifth at the 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy.[3] Appearing on the Grand Prix at the 2023 Skate America, he set a new personal best in the short program (87.44) to come fourth in the segment. He dropped to sixth after the free skate. He said he was "disappointed" with the second half of the free skate, but said it was a "huge bonus" to be invited to the event.[7][8]

He went on to finish eighth at the 2023–24 Japan Championships, before ending his season with a silver medal at the 2024 Tallink Hotels Cup.[3]

2024–25 season

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Yoshioka started the season by winning bronze at the 2024 Asian Open Trophy. He then went on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, finishing eighth at 2024 Skate America.[3]

Programs

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Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2024–2025
[9][10]
  • Lullaby for Sadness
    by Eternal Eclipse
  • Fate of the Clockmaker
    by Eternal Eclipse and Flynn Hase Spence
    choreo. by Lori Nichol
2023–2024
[11][12]
  • Lullaby for Sadness
    by Eternal Eclipse
  • Fate of the Clockmaker
    by Eternal Eclipse and Flynn Hase Spence
    choreo. by Lori Nichol

2022–2023
[13]
2021–2022
[14]
2020–2021
[15]
  • Lorelei
    by Naoki Sato
    choreo. by Mari Araya
2019–2020
[14]
  • Lorelei
    by Naoki Sato
    choreo. by Mari Araya

Competitive highlights

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Competition placements at senior level [16]
Season 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Japan Championships 19th 20th 10th 8th 22nd
GP NHK Trophy 10th
GP Skate America 6th 8th
CS Lombardia Trophy 5th
Asian Open Trophy 3rd
Tallink Hotels Cup 2nd
Triglav Trophy 1st
Competition placements at junior level [16]
Season 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
World Junior Championships 3rd
Junior Grand Prix Final 3rd
Japan Championships 20th 21st 5th 11th 3rd 1st
JGP Czech Republic 1st
JGP Poland 5th
Challenge Cup 1st
Egna Spring Trophy 3rd

Detailed results

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ISU personal best scores in the 5/-5 GOE System [17]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 233.56 2023 Skate America
Short program TSS 87.44 2023 Skate America
TES 48.95 2023 Skate America
PCS 38.49 2023 Skate America
Free skating TSS 147.65 2022 JGP Czech Republic
TES 76.84 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final
PCS 75.66 2023 Skate America

Senior level

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Results in the 2019–20 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Dec 18–22, 2019   2019–20 Japan Championships 16 64.56 20 116.06 19 180.62
Results in the 2020–21 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 27–29, 2020   2020 NHK Trophy 10 55.88 10 108.82 10 164.70
Results in the 2021–22 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Dec 22–26, 2021   2021–22 Japan Championships 14 72.94 24 97.63 20 170.57
Results in the 2022–23 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Dec 21–25, 2022   2022–23 Japan Championships 7 80.85 11 139.58 10 220.43
Apr 13–16, 2023   2023 Triglav Trophy 1 82.42 1 155.94 1 238.36
Results in the 2023–24 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 8–10, 2023   2023 CS Lombardia Trophy 4 70.07 5 140.39 5 210.46
Oct 20–22, 2023   2023 Skate America 4 87.44 7 146.12 6 233.56
Dec 20–24, 2023   2023–24 Japan Championships 8 85.27 8 164.11 8 249.38
Feb 15–18, 2024   2024 Tallink Hotels Trophy 2 78.02 2 141.96 2 219.98
Results in the 2024-25 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 2–6, 2024   2024 Asian Open Trophy 6 69.42 2 149.46 3 218.88
Oct 18–20, 2024   2024 Skate America 7 80.79 11 135.13 8 215.92
Dec 19–22, 2024   2024–25 Japan Championships 21 63.76 22 117.53 22 181.29

Junior level

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Results in the 2017–18 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 24–26, 2017   2017–18 Japan Championships (Junior) 23 41.82 19 89.70 20 131.52
Results in the 2018–19 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 23–25, 2018   2018–19 Japan Championships (Junior) 21 47.43 21 89.80 21 137.23
Results in the 2019–20 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 15–17, 2019   2019–20 Japan Championships (Junior) 9 61.98 5 122.37 5 184.35
Feb 20–23, 2020   2020 International Challenge Cup 1 70.92 1 130.76 1 201.68
Results in the 2020–21 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 21–23, 2020   2020–21 Japan Championships (Junior) 9 64.75 11 104.13 11 168.88
Results in the 2021–22 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 19–21, 2021   2021–22 Japan Championships (Junior) 2 68.55 3 123.25 3 191.80
Apr 7–10, 2022   2022 Egna Spring Trophy 3 67.82 4 119.54 3 187.36
Results in the 2022–23 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 31 – Sep 3, 2022   2022 JGP Czech Republic 2 72.03 1 147.65 1 219.68
Sep 28 – Oct 1, 2022   2022 JGP Poland I 4 69.97 6 124.66 5 194.63
Nov 25–27, 2022   2022–23 Japan Championships (Junior) 2 71.84 2 137.73 1 209.57
Dec 8–11, 2022   2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final 5 66.83 2 141.18 3 208.01
Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2023   2023 World Junior Championships 7 76.44 2 141.35 3 217.79

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "吉岡 希" [YOSHIOKA Nozomu] (in Japanese). Japan Skating Federation. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e 澤田亜, 紀. "世界ジュニア銅の法政大・吉岡希 「初めて勝ちたいと思った」シーズン終え、シニアへ". 4 Years. 4 Years. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Nozomu YOSHIOKA: Competition Results". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Grand Prix figure skating series downsized to localized events". CBC Sports. CBC Sports. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b 川村, 咲平. "フィギュア吉岡希 田中刑事コーチと探求する「世界トップへの道」". Manichi. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Exhibition Gala". YouTube. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b Gallagher, Jack (October 24, 2023). "Shun Sato Earns Third-Place Finish at Skate America". Japan Forward. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Slater, Paula (October 22, 2023). "'Quad God' Malinin takes second Skate America title". Golden Skate. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Nozomu YOSHIOKA: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 22, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "フィギュア 2024-2025男子新プログラム一覧【鍵山優真・三浦佳生・佐藤駿 等】". Skate Japan. Skate Japan. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Nozomu YOSHIOKA: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Nozomu Yoshioka: 2023/24 Programs". Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Nozomu YOSHIOKA: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c "吉岡 希 Nozomu YOSHIOKA". Fuji TV. Fuji TV. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Nozomu YOSHIOKA: 2020/2021". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021.
  16. ^ a b c "Nozomu Yoshioka". SkatingScores.com.
  17. ^ "Personal Bests – Nozomu Yoshioka". International Skating Union.
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