Fumie Suguri Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Fumie Suguri
Suguri at the 2016 ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition
Personal information
Country represented	Japan
Born	(1980-12-31) December 31, 1980 (age 44)
Residence	Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
Height	1.57 m
Former coach	Noriko Sato, Igor Pashkevich, Nikolai Morozov, Alexander Zhulin, Nobuo Sato, Nobuko Fukui, Shinji Someya, Oleg Vasiliev
Former choreographer	Lori Nichol, Vakhtang Murvanidze, Nikolai Morozov, Alexander Zhulin, David Wilson, Noriko Sato
Skating club	Yoshindo
Began skating	1986
Retired	November 23, 2014
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	182.08 2004 GPF
Short program	62.12 2006 Worlds
Free skate	120.06 2004 GPF

Fumie Suguri (村主章枝, Suguri Fumie, born December 31, 1980) is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is a three-time World medalist, a three-time Four Continents champion, the 2003 Grand Prix Final champion, and a five-time Japanese national champion.

About Fumie Suguri's Life
Fumie Suguri's Skating Career
Images for kids
See also

About Fumie Suguri's Life

Fumie Suguri was born in Chiba, Chiba, Japan. Her younger sister, Chika, is also a figure skater. When Fumie was three, her family moved to Anchorage, Alaska. This move happened because her father was a pilot for JAL. Fumie can speak both Japanese and English very well.

She studied at Waseda University, after attending Seisen junior and senior high school. She earned a degree in social sciences.

Fumie Suguri's Skating Career

Fumie Suguri started skating when she was 5 years old in Alaska. When she came back to Japan, she began serious training. Her coach was Nobuo Sato, a famous skater who won the Japanese national championship ten times.

In 1994, Fumie visited the practice rink for the 1994 World Championships. There, Michelle Kwan, a top skater, taught her how to do the triple Lutz jump.

Early Success: 1996 to 2002

Fumie became Japan's national champion for the first time in 1997. She won her second national title in the 2000–01 season. After that, she won a gold medal at the 2001 Four Continents competition. She was the first Japanese woman to win this event.

In the 2001–02 season, Fumie won her third national title. She competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics and finished in 5th place. A month later, she won the bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships. This was a big achievement, as it was the first World Championship medal for a Japanese woman since 1994.

Winning More Titles: 2002 to 2006

For the 2002–03 season, Fumie won her fourth national title. She also won gold at the Four Continents competition again. She earned another bronze medal at the World Championships.

In 2003–04, Fumie won gold at the NHK Trophy and bronze at Cup of China. This helped her qualify for the Grand Prix Final. She won the gold medal at the Final, beating Sasha Cohen. This made her the first Japanese woman to win this competition. After the 2004 World Championships, Fumie changed coaches. She moved to Chicago, USA, to train with Oleg Vasiliev.

In the 2004–05 season, Fumie placed fourth in her Grand Prix events. She finished third at the Japanese Championships. Then, she won her third Four Continents title. She placed fifth at the World Championships. After this, she returned to her former coach, Nobuo Sato.

In the 2005–06 season, Fumie won her fifth national title. She competed against other top skaters like Mao Asada and Shizuka Arakawa. She finished fourth at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. She ended her season with a silver medal at the 2006 World Championships. This made her the first Japanese woman to win three World Championship medals.

Later Career: 2006 to 2010

Suguri at 2008 Skate Canada

In the 2006–07 season, Fumie placed fourth at the Japanese championships. This meant she missed out on a spot at the World Championships. She also had to withdraw from the Four Continents Championships due to an injury. She later changed coaches again.

For the 2007–08 season, Fumie trained in Russia with Alexander Zhulin. She also spent time with Igor Pashkevich. At the Japanese National Championships, she finished fourth overall and missed the World Championship team again.

Suguri at 2010 Skate Canada International

During the 2008–09 season, Fumie trained with coach Nikolai Morozov in New Jersey. She improved her jumps there. She placed second at Skate Canada and third at Cup of Russia. At the 2008/2009 Japanese Championships, she placed second overall behind Mao Asada. This earned her a spot on the World team for the first time in three years. She finished 6th at the 2009 Four Continents and 8th at the 2009 World Championships.

In the summer of 2009, Fumie changed coaches again, hoping to improve her triple/triple jump combinations. She finished 7th at the 2010 Japanese National Championships.

Retirement and Beyond: 2010 to Present

In March 2011, Fumie announced she would continue competing. She also started working in sports marketing. She had an ankle injury that affected her skating.

Fumie Suguri officially announced her retirement from competitive skating on November 13, 2014. In 2016, she participated in her first adult skating event.