| Most Recent Results : | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Points | Finish | Year |
| 2009 Skate America | 148.99 | 4th | 2009 |
| 2009 Cup of China | 145.99 | 7th | 2009 |
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Skating is so much fun. Every day I have a new experience — like body, music, technique. [1]
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Fumie Suguri born in 1984 in Chiba, Japan is a Japanese figure skater. She is a five-time Japanese and three-time World Championship medalist, as well as the 2004 Grand Prix Final Champion.
Latest News[]
Videos[]
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| Short Program, Four Continents 2009 | Skating to "Tango Para Percusion" by Lalo Schifrin, "Carmen Fantasie", and "Carmen" |
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| Fumie v. male break dancer to see who can do more spins | Commercial for Ghana chocolate |
Image Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Suguri took skating lessons because of her mother who didn't want her to lose her memories of playing winter sports in Alaska. [2]
- Suguri had never heard of the Rolling Stones until she skated to "Paint It Black". [3]
- At the end of her 2002 Olympic free program, Suguri accidentally turned the wrong way. [3]
Quotes[]
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When I was young I didn't think I would skate this long. The skaters are getting younger, and the media likes the younger skaters a lot. I seem to be going in the opposite direction. I may become the oldest skater in figure skating history! [1]
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I am really interested in the artistic part more than the sports side, but the best part about figure skating is that these two elements work in tandem. I like the combination of the two. [1]
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People tell me I cry if I don’t skate well, and I skated well and I cried. Everyone thinks I’m crying girl. [3]
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Biography[]
Personal life[]
Suguri in 2007
Practicing at the Ice House in Hackensack in 2008
Suguri was born in Chiba, Japan. Her younger sister, Chika Suguri, is also a figure skater.
Her father was a pilot for JAL and Suguri lived in Anchorage, Alaska was a child. As a result, she is bilingual in Japanese and English.
She graduated from Waseda University.
Career[]
Suguri with Evgeni Plushenko
She began skating at age 5 in Alaska. When she returned to Japan, she began training.
In 1994, Suguri visited the practice rink for the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships and learned the triple Lutz jump personally from Michelle Kwan, who was competing in those Worlds. Suguri won her first Japanese national title in 1997, and won it three more times between 2001-2003 and again in 2006.
In 2001, Suguri won the 2001 Four Continents Championships. She is the first Japanese woman to win that competition. She would go on to win that competition three more times in her career and she holds the most Four Continents titles of any Japanese skater and any female skater.
In 2002, she competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics and placed 5th. A month later, she won the bronze medal at the 2002 World Figure Skating Championships behind Michelle Kwan and Irina Slutskaya. Her bronze medal at Worlds was the first medal for a Japanese woman at the World Championships since Yuka Sato won the title in 1994.
In 2003, Suguri won the bronze medal again at the World Championships, this time behind Kwan and Elena Sokolova.
In 2004, she won the NHK Trophy, placed 3rd at Cup of China and qualified for the 2004 Grand Prix Final. Suguri won the Final over Sasha Cohen. Suguri is the first Japanese woman to win that competition.
In 2006, she won the Japanese Figure Skating Championships ahead of Mao Asada and Shizuka Arakawa. She competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where she placed 4th. She won the silver medal at the 2006 World Figure Skating Championships behind Kimmie Meissner. She became the first Japanese woman to win three World medals.
In 2007, Suguri finished fourth at the Japanese championships behind younger competitors Yukari Nakano, Miki Ando and Mao Asada missing a spot to the World Championships in her home country. She competed at the Four Continents Championships, where she withdrew due to injury after falling on two jumps in her short program.
In 2008 at the Japanese National Championship, although Suguri placed third after her short program, she stumbled in the free program, finishing fourth overall, again missing a spot on the World Championship team.
Coaching changes[]
She trained under Nobuo Sato, a ten-time Japanese national champion, for 19 years, until she moved her training ground to New Jersey to work with Nikolai Morozov. She was previously coached by Oleg Vasiliev for a brief time during the 2004-05 season, but he was fired by the Japanese federation after she struggled with her jumps and had poor results in her competitions.
Programs[]
| Season | Short Program | Long Program | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | Fanfan by Nicolas Jollere |
Otonal by Raul di Blasio |
Ein Wiener Walzer by Ein Wiener Walzer |
| 2007-08 | Take Five by Dave Brubeck |
Oblivion Tango (Calambre) by Ástor Piazzolla |
Cell Block Tango from Chicago (musical) by John Kander |
| Clair de lune from Suite bergamasque by Claude Debussy | |||
| 2006-07 | Bolero by Maurice Ravel |
Ein Wiener Walzer + Lacus Pereverantiae + Fantasia (Original song) by Ein Wiener Walzer, Karl Jenkins |
Carmen by George Bizet |
| The Chronicles of Narnia | |||
| The Girl from Ipanema by Antonio Carlos Jobim | |||
| 2005-06 | Cancion Triste + Toca Orilla by Jesse Cook, Alejandra Nuñez |
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff |
Oblivion by Ástor Piazzolla |
| Séisouso from Quidam by Cirque du Soleil | |||
| 2004-05 | The Pink Panther (soundtrack) by Henry Mancini |
Tango Para Percusion + Carmen + Carmen by Lalo Schifrin / Franz Waxman / Georges Bizet |
Adagio by Lara Fabian |
| Séisouso from Quidam by Cirque du Soleil | |||
| 2003-04 | Sympathy for the Devil + Paint It, Black by The Rolling Stones, performed by Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà |
Symphony No. 40 + Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
At the Shore by Susan Osborn |
| 2002-03 | Larghetto from Piano Concerto No. 2 by Frédéric Chopin |
Excerpts from Swan Lake and Russian Dance from Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky |
Sanctus (based on Pachelbel's Canon) by Libera |
| 2001-02 | Ellens Gesang III Ave Maria, song for voice & piano, D. 839 Op. 52/6 by Franz Schubert |
Piano sonata No.14 in C sharp minor Moonlight Op.27/2 by Ludwig van Beethoven |
Don't Cry for Me, Argentina from Evita (film) by Madonna (entertainer) |
| 2000-01 | Rustle of Spring, Op. 32 No. 3 by Christian Sinding |
Jupiter (planet), the Bringer of Jollity from The Planets by Gustav Holst |
Ave Maria (Giulio Caccini) performed by Charlotte Church, Composed by Giulio Caccini |
| 1999-00 | Blue Londo A La Turk by Dave Brubeck |
Flute concerto + The Fog is Lifting by Carl Nielsen |
Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To) by Mariah Carey |
| The Storm + Ave Maria (Giulio Caccini) performed by Vanessa-Mae / Charlotte Church, Composed by Giulio Caccini | |||
| 1998-99 | De profundis + Wanderer Fantasy by Franz Liszt |
Here the deities approve by Henry Purcell |
Frozen (song) by Madonna (entertainer) |
| Toccata and Fugue + Air on the G String + Cello Suites (Bach) by Johann Sebastian Bach | |||
| 1997-98 | Excerpts from Restoration by James Newton Haward |
The Seasons by Alexander Glazunov |
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| 1996-97 | Warm Air + Toccata and Fugue performed by Vanessa-Mae |
Violin concerto + Liebesleid + La Sylphide by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Fritz Kreisler / Herman Severin Løvenskiold |
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| 1995-96 | West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein |
Competitive highlights[]
Fumie Suguri has had a long competitive career. Her competitive highlights by season are split up into the tables below.
Post-2004[]
Suguri (left) with the other medalists at 2008 Skate Canada.
| Event/Season | 2004-2005 | 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 |
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| Winter Olympics | 4th | ||||
| World Championships | 5th | 2nd | TBD | ||
| Four Continents Championships | 1st | WD | 10th | 6th | |
| Japan | 3rd | 1st | 4th | 4th | 2nd |
| Asian Winter Games | 2nd | ||||
| Grand Prix Final | 4th | ||||
| Cup of Russia | 5th | 3rd | |||
| Skate Canada | 4th | 8th | 2nd | 2nd | |
| Cup of China | 4th | ||||
| NHK Trophy | 2nd | 2nd | |||
| Trophee Eric Bompard | 4th |
- WD = Withdraw
1998-2004[]
Suguri performs a forward spiral as part of her spiral sequence during her short program at the 2008 Skate Canada.
| Event/Season | 1998-1999 | 1999-2000 | 2000-2001 | 2001-2002 | 2002-2003 | 2003-2004 |
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| Winter Olympics | 5th | |||||
| World Championships | 20th | 7th | 3rd | 3rd | 7th | |
| Four Continents Championships | 5th | 4th | 1st | 1st | ||
| Japan | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd |
| Asian Winter Games | 3rd | 2nd | ||||
| Grand Prix Final | 5th | 6th | 1st | |||
| Skate Canada | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 2nd | ||
| Cup of China | 3rd | |||||
| NHK Trophy | 3rd | 8th | 5th | 7th | 4th | 1st |
| Bofrost Cup | 2nd |
Pre-1998[]
| Event/Season | 1992-1993 | 1993-1994 | 1994-1995 | 1995-1996 | 1996-1997 | 1997-1998 |
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| World Championships | 18th | |||||
| World Junior Championships | 4th | 4th | ||||
| Japan | 4th | 1st | 2nd | |||
| Japan | 10th | 9th | 10th | 2nd | 2nd | |
| Asian Winter Games | 3rd | |||||
| Cup of Russia | 7th | |||||
| NHK Trophy | 6th | 5th |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Suguri perseveres as rivals grow younger, Jack Gallagher, Japan Times. November 11, 2007.
- ↑ http://www.mceskating.com/biofumie.shtml Fumie Suguri: Olympian, World Bronze Medalist], Michael Collins Enterprises, mceskating.com.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 News, Features: The Latest on Fumie, Micheal Collins Enterprises, mceskating.com.