Shizuka Arakawa
Biographical information
| Roles | Competed in Olympic Games |
|---|---|
| Sex | Female |
| Full name | Shizuka•Arakawa |
| Used name | Shizuka•Arakawa |
| Original name | 荒川•静香 |
| Born | 29 December 1981 in Kamakura, Kanagawa (JPN) |
| Measurements | 164 cm / 50 kg |
| Affiliations | Prince Hotel |
| NOC |  Japan |
| Medals | OG |
| Gold | 1 |
| Silver | 0 |
| Bronze | 0 |
| Total | 1 |
Biography
Arakawa started figure skating as a young girl because she wanted to “wear those pretty clothes”. As a teenager, she made a fairly inconspicuous Olympic debut at Nagano, and disappeared into anonymity afterwards. She reappeared in 2003, winning gold medals at the Asian Winter Games and Winter Universiade, and placing 8th in the World Championships. The following season, she surprised by becoming the first Japanese woman to win the world title in 10 years. Her results in the following years did not earn her a role as a favourite for the 2006 Olympics, but she moved up from third place after the short program to become Japan’s first Olympic figure skating champion.
Results
| Games | Discipline (Sport) / Event | NOC / Team | Pos | Medal | As | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 Winter Olympics | Figure Skating (Skating) | JPN |
Shizuka Arakawa | |||
| Singles, Women (Olympic) | 13 | |||||
| 2006 Winter Olympics | Figure Skating (Skating) | JPN |
Shizuka Arakawa | |||
| Singles, Women (Olympic) | 1 | Gold |
Special Notes
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the Asian Winter Games (1–1–0 1999 Gangwon FSK silver: singles; 2003 Aomori FSK gold: singles)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the Winter Universiade (1–0–0 2003 Tarvisio FSK gold: singles)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the World Figure Skating Championships (1–0–0 2004 Dortmund gold: singles)