Sōta Yamamoto

Sōta Yamamoto (山本 草太, Yamamoto Sōta, born 10 January 2000) is a Japanese figure skater. He is the 2022–23 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time silver medalist on the Grand Prix circuit (2022 Grand Prix de France, 2022 NHK Trophy), and the 2023 World University Games champion.

Sota Yamamoto
Yamamoto at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics
Native name	山本 草太
Born	(2000-01-10) January 10, 2000 (age 23) Kishiwada, Osaka, Japan
Hometown	Nagoya, Japan
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Japan
Coach	Machiko Yamada Yuko Hongo Yukiko Murakami
Skating club	Chukyo University
Began skating	2006
Medal record Representing  Japan Figure skating: Men's singles Grand Prix Final 2022–23 Torino Men's singles Winter World University Games 2023 Lake Placid Men's singles Winter Youth Olympics 2016 Lillehammer Men's singles World Junior Championships 2015 Tallinn Men's singles Junior Grand Prix Final 2014–15 Barcelona Men's singles 2015–16 Barcelona Men's singles

Earlier in his career, he was 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.

Personal life

Tsuboi was born on January 10, 2000 in Kishiwada, Osaka, Japan.^[1] He is currently a student at the School of Sport Sciences at Chukyo University.^[2]

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.^[3]

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 led 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.^[4]

2020–21 season

Yamamoto won the gold medal at the domestic Western Sectionals championship, qualifying for a berth to the national championships.^[5] Assigned to the 2020 NHK Trophy, he placed eighth.^[6] He was ninth at the 2020–21 Japan Championships.

2021–22 season

Yamamoto debuted on the Grand Prix at the 2021 Skate Canada International, finishing in seventh.^[7] He was seventh as well at the 2021 NHK Trophy, and said afterwards he felt he was "able to grow a little bit since Skate Canada."^[8] Yamamoto finished the fall season with a gold medal at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup.^[9]

At the 2021–22 Japan Championships, Yamamoto finished in eight place.^[10] He went on to win the bronze medal at the International Challenge Cup.^[9]

2022–23 season

Beginning the season on the Grand Prix, Yamamoto won the short program at the 2022 Grand Prix de France. He was overtaken in the free skate by Frenchman Adam Siao Him Fa, but still scored a new personal best in that segment and won the silver medal, his first Grand Prix podium placement. Yamamoto reflected on his past struggles with injury, saying that it made the moment "special for me, and I know I couldn't have achieved it myself. I have had all the support from my team as well as support from the fans."^[11] At his second event, the 2022 NHK Trophy on home ice in Sapporo, Yamamoto again finished first in the short program with a new personal best score of 96.49, ahead of reigning World champion Shoma Uno.^[12] He was again overtaken in the free skate, this time by Uno, but won his second silver medal and qualified to the Grand Prix Final for the first time. He said that he was pleased at the prospect of competing together with Uno at the Final.^[13][14]

At the Final in Turin, Yamamoto finished second in the short program behind Uno. He assessed that his quad Salchow was "not perfect, but I am happy I was able to skate without any mistakes and going into the free skating, it will be a confidence boost." The segment also saw several other skaters, such as widely-favoured American Ilia Malinin, underperform.^[15][16] In the free skate, Yamamoto set a new personal best (on his way to a personal best total score as well), finishing third in the segment behind Uno and Malinin, but remaining second overall. Winning the silver medal, he said he was pleased to have delivered a satisfactory free skate for the first time in the season and to have achieved his goal of making the podium.^[17][18]

Yamamoto finished third in the short program at the 2022–23 Japan Championships, but a seventh-place free skate dropped him to fifth overall.^[19][20] Despite this, due to the Japan Skating Federation's selection criteria incorporating international results, he was selected as Japan's third man for the 2023 World Championships, which occasioned some controversy due to national silver medalist Koshiro Shimada being passed over.^[21]

Named to the Japanese team for the 2023 Winter World University Games in Lake Placid, Yamamoto won the gold medal, finishing more than thirty points ahead of silver medalist Tatsuya Tsuboi.^[22] He then won the silver medal at the International Challenge Cup at the end of February.^[23] Yamamoto was fifteenth in his World Championship debut on home ice in Saitama.^[24]

2023–24 season

Yamamoto began the season at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International, finishing in fourth place.^[9]

Programs

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2023–2024 ^[25]^[26]^[27]	Chameleon by Maynard Ferguson choreo. by David Wilson	Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3: Redemption by Muse choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto
2022–2023 ^[1]	Yesterday by The Beatles performed by Michael Bolton choreo. by David Wilson	Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Walter Afanasieff choreo. by Akiko Suzuki	Teeth by 5 Seconds of Summer choreo. by Misao Sato Poeta by Vicente Amigo choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto
2021–2022 ^[28]	Yesterday by The Beatles performed by Michael Bolton choreo. by Mihoko Higuchi	Io Ci Saro by David Foster, Walter Afanasieff performed by Andrea Bocelli choreo. by Mihoko Higuchi
2020–2021 ^[29]	Dark Eyes choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto	Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story by Randy Edelman choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto
2019–2020 ^[30]	East of Eden by Lee Holdridge choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo	In This Shirt by The Irrepressibles choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo	You're Beautiful by James Blunt
2018–2019 ^[31]	Air on the G String by Johann Sebastian Bach choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto	Nobunaga Concerto by Taku Takahashi choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto	Anthem Performed by Josh Groban choreo. by Akiko Suzuki
2017–2018	Anthem Performed by Josh Groban choreo. by Akiko Suzuki	Jekyll & Hyde by Frank Wildhorn and Steve Cuden choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto
2015–2016 ^[32]^[33]^[34]^[35]	Poeta by Vicente Amigo choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto	Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto	Love Theme performed by Joseph Calleja
2014–2015 ^[36]	Piano Concerto by Sergei Rachmaninov	Lorelei by Naoki Satō	Love Theme performed by Joseph Calleja Tenchijin by Michiru Oshima
2013–2014 ^[37]	Tenchijin by Michiru Oshima	Lorelei by Naoki Satō
2012–2013		Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story by Randy Edelman choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto

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

2016–17 season to present

International^[9]
Event	16–17	17–18	18–19	19–20	20–21	21–22	22–23	23–24
Worlds							15th
GP Final							2nd
GP Cup of China								TBD
GP France	WD						2nd
GP NHK Trophy	WD		6th	6th	8th	7th	2nd
GP Skate Canada						7th		TBD
CS Asian Open			1st
CS Autumn Classic								4th
CS Finlandia	WD		9th	2nd
CS U.S. Classic				2nd
CS Warsaw Cup						1st
Challenge Cup			1st			3rd	2nd
Printemps		5th
World University Games							1st
National^[38]
Japan		9th	9th	7th	9th	8th	5th
Western Sect.		5th		2nd	1st
Chubu Reg.		4th			1st	1st	1st
Team events
Japan Open					1st T 2nd P	1st T 4th P
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew T = Team result; P = Personal result. Medals awarded for team result only.

Earlier career

International: Junior^[9]
Event	09–10	10–11	11–12	12–13	13–14	14–15	15–16
Junior Worlds						3rd	WD
Youth Olympics							1st
JGP Final						2nd	3rd
JGP Estonia						2nd
JGP France						2nd
JGP Poland							1st
JGP Latvia					11th
JGP United States							3rd
Printemps					1st
International: Advanced novice
Asian Trophy			2nd	2nd
Triglav Trophy			1st	1st
National^[38]^[39]
Japan					14th	6th	6th
Japan Junior			11th	4th	5th	2nd	1st
Japan Novice	5th B	1st B	2nd A	1st A
Western Sect.					3rd J	1st J	1st J
Chubu Reg.					2nd J		1st
Kinki Reg.			2nd A	2nd A
WD = Withdrew Levels: A = Novice A; B = Novice B; J = Junior

Detailed results

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

Senior level

2023–2024 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
November 10–12, 2023	2023 Cup of China			TBD
October 27–29, 2023	2023 Skate Canada International			TBD
September 14–16, 2023	2023 CS Autumn Classic International	7 70.39	3 160.84	4 231.23
2022–23 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 20–26, 2023	2023 World Championships	17 75.48	15 156.91	15 232.39
February 23–26, 2023	2023 International Challenge Cup	2 84.72	2 160.89	2 245.61
January 13–15, 2022	2023 Winter World University Games	1 101.32	1 173.54	1 274.86
December 21–25, 2022	2022–23 Japan Championships	3 86.89	7 158.52	5 245.41
December 8–11, 2022	2022–23 Grand Prix Final	2 94.86	3 179.49	2 274.35
November 18–20, 2022	2022 NHK Trophy	1 96.49	6 161.36	2 257.85
November 4–6, 2022	2022 Grand Prix de France	1 92.42	3 165.48	2 257.90
2021–22 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
February 24–27, 2022	2022 Challenge Cup	1 90.25	3 147.51	3 237.76
December 22–26, 2021	2021–22 Japan Championships	4 93.79	12 146.39	8 240.18
November 17–20, 2021	2021 CS Warsaw Cup	1 91.75	3 155.90	1 247.65
November 12–14, 2021	2021 NHK Trophy	5 86.05	8 152.85	7 238.90
October 29–31, 2021	2021 Skate Canada International	7 78.78	8 146.96	7 225.74
October 3, 2021	2021 Japan Open	–	4 156.13	1T
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. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022.
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3. [Yamamoto fractures right ankle in practice, will miss Junior Worlds] (in Japanese). Sanspo. 10 March 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016.
4. Browne, Ken (October 13, 2019). "SHOMA UNO LEADS JAPAN 1-2 IN FINLANDIA TROPHY". Olympic Channel.
5. "2020 JAPAN OPEN & NATIONALS UPDATE". International Figure Skating.
6. Slater, Paula (November 28, 2020). "Yuma Kagiyama commands men's event; snatches NHK Trophy gold". Golden Skate.
7. Slater, Paula (October 30, 2021). "USA's Chen back on track; takes gold at Skate Canada". Golden Skate.
8. Slater, Paula (November 13, 2021). "Shoma Uno defends NHK Trophy title". Golden Skate.
9. "Competition Results: Sota YAMAMOTO". International Skating Union.
10. Slater, Paula (December 26, 2021). "Yuzuru Hanyu reigns in Saitama". Golden Skate.
11. Slater, Paula (November 5, 2022). "Fa captures gold on home ice at Grand Prix de France". Golden Skate.
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13. "Uno (JPN) proves he is the one to beat as Free Skating fightback secures Sapporo gold". International Skating Union. November 19, 2022.
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17. Slater, Paula (December 11, 2022). "Uno wins first Grand Prix Final gold". Golden Skate.
18. "World Champion Uno (JPN) proves his class with ISU Grand Prix Final gold". International Skating Union. December 10, 2022.
19. Gallagher, Jack (December 23, 2022). "Shoma Uno Powers to Big Lead in Short Program at Japan Championships". Japan Forward.
20. Gallagher, Jack (December 26, 2022). "Shoma Uno Claims Fifth National Title By a Large Margin at Japan Championships". Japan Forward.
21. Gallagher, Jack (December 27, 2022). "Shoma Uno is Unhappy with Team Selection Process for World Championships". Japan Forward.
22. Gallagher, Jack (January 18, 2023). "Mihara and Yamamoto Lead Japan Medal Rush at the Winter World University Games". Japan Forward.
23. Gallagher, Jack (February 27, 2023). "Japan Continues Domination with Medal Bonanza at Challenge Cup". Japan Forward.
24. Gallagher, Jack (March 26, 2023). "Shoma Uno Wins Second Straight World Title Despite Free Skate Struggles". Japan Forward.
25. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023.
26. "2023/24 Free Program". Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
27. Wilson, David. "Short Program 2023/24". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
28. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021.
29. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020.
30. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 13, 2019.
31. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 18, 2019.
32. Dreams on Ice 2015 (Television production) (in Japanese). Japan: Fuji TV. 22 June 2015.
33. フィギュアスケート [Figure Skate TV!] (in Japanese). Japan. 12 July 2015. BS Fuji.
34. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 29, 2015.
35. Xiong, Wei (August 29, 2015). "Sota Yamamoto sets sights on Junior World title". Golden Skate.
36. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 20, 2015.
37. . International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 22, 2014.
38. "山本 草太 / YAMAMOTO Sota" (in Japanese). Japan Skating Federation. from the original on October 4, 2014.
39. "JPN-Sota YAMAMOTO". SkatingScores.

External links

  Media related to Sota Yamamoto at Wikimedia Commons

• Sota Yamamoto at the International Skating Union