Rinka Watanabe [born 19 July 2002] is a Japanese figure skater. She is 2022 Lombardia Trophy Champion, the 2024 Four Continents bronze medalist and a three-time grand prix medalist.
Personal Life[]
Rinka Watanabe was born in Chiba, Japan. For training, she relocated to Vancouver, Canada, from 2017 until 2020; however, she has now moved back to Chiba. In Canada, she learnt to speak english fluently. She began University in 2022, studying commerce at Hosei University.
She started figure skating when she was three years old, after watching Shizuka Arakawa win gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics on television. In her free time, Watanabe enjoys watching anime, visiting aquariums, and collecting giant isopod (Bathynomus giganteus) figurines. She is also very interested in archeology.
Programs[]
| Season | Short program | Free skating |
|---|---|---|
| 2024–2025 |
|
|
| 2023–2024 |
|
|
| 2022–2023 |
|
|
| 2021–2022 |
|
|
| 2020–2021 |
|
|
Exhibitions[]
| Season | Exhibition |
|---|---|
| 2024–2025 |
|
| 2023–2024 |
|
| 2022–2023 |
|
| 2021–2022 |
|
International Results[]
(Season bests highlighted in bold, personal bests italicized)
| 2024-2024 Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| Sep 13–15, 2024 | 2024 CS Lombardia Trophy | 6
61.79 |
8
102.25 |
8
164.04 |
| Oct 18–20, 2024 | 2024 Skate America | 3
66.54 |
3
128.68 |
2
195.22 |
| Nov 22–24, 2024 | 2024 Cup of China | 5
69.08 |
6
127.87 |
5
196.95 |
| 2023–2024 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| January 30–February 4, 2024 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | 4
67.22 |
2
134.95 |
3
202.17 |
| November 10–12, 2023 | 2023 Cup of China | 2
65.09 |
2
138.13 |
2
203.22 |
| October 27–29, 2023 | 2023 Skate Canada International | 7
57.52 |
6
124.56 |
6
182.08 |
| October 4–9, 2023 | 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy | 3
62.73 |
4
117.63 |
2
180.36 |
| 2022–23 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| March 20–26, 2023 | 2023 World Championships | 15
60.90 |
7
131.91 |
10
192.81 |
| February 7–12, 2023 | 2023 Four Continents Championships | 8
65.60 |
4
134.90 |
5
200.50 |
| December 21–25, 2022 | 2022–23 Japan Championships | 18
56.23 |
9
127.76 |
12
183.99 |
| December 8–11, 2022 | 2022–23 Grand Prix Final | 4
72.58 |
3
123.43 |
4
196.01 |
| November 18–20, 2022 | 2022 NHK Trophy | 9
58.36 |
3
129.71 |
5
188.07 |
| October 28–30, 2022 | 2022 Skate Canada International | 6
63.27 |
1
134.32 |
1
197.59 |
| September 16–19, 2022 | 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy | 2
66.83 |
1
146.31 |
1
213.14 |
| 2021–22 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| March 18–20, 2022 | 2022 Coupe du Printemps | 1
64.07 |
1
126.77 |
1
190.84 |
| April 13–17, 2022 | 2022 World Junior Championships | 11
59.96 |
11
105.48 |
10
165.44 |
| January 18–23, 2022 | 2022 Bavarian Open | 2
59.57 |
2
124.12 |
2
183.69 |
| 2018–19 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| March 15–17, 2019 | 2019 Coupe du Printemps | 1
58.79 |
1
94.50 |
1
153.29 |
| 2017–18 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| January 26–31, 2018 | 2018 Bavarian Open | 2
57.41 |
2
106.95 |
2
164.36 |
Social Media[]
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rinkaaaa_0719?igsh=Znl6ZzgzbXBiNzJn
Sources[]
https://olympics.com/en/news/figure-skating-japan-watanabe-rinka-top-facts