Sakura Noshitani

Sakura Noshitani
Born (1997-09-29) 29 September 1997
Tokyo, Japan
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Gymnastics career
DisciplineRhythmic gymnastics
Country
represented		 Japan
ClubKonami Sports Club
Head coach(es)Hiroko Yamasaki
Retired2021
Medal record
Women's rhythmic gymnastics
Representing  Japan
World Championships
2019 Baku 5 Balls
2018 Sofia 5 Hoops
2019 Baku Group All-around
2019 Baku 3 Hoops + 4 Clubs
2015 Suttgart 5 Ribbons
Asian Championships
2016 Tashkent Group All-around
2016 Tashkent 6 Clubs + 2 Hoops
2019 Pattaya Group All-around
2016 Tashkent 5 Ribbons
2013 Tashkent 10 Clubs
2013 Tashkent Group All-around
2013 Tashkent 3 Balls + 2 Ribbons
2019 Pattaya 5 Balls
2019 Pattaya 3 Hoops + 4 Clubs

Sakura Noshitani (熨斗谷さくら, Noshitani Sakura; born 29 September 1997) is a Japanese former group rhythmic gymnast. She won three medals at the 2019 World Championships, including gold in the 5 balls final. She is a 2016 and 2019 Asian group all-around champion. She represented Japan at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.

Career

Noshitani began rhythmic gymnastics when she was four years old.[2]

Noshitani won a silver medal in the group all-around, behind China, at the 2013 Asian Championships. The group then won the gold medal in the 10 clubs final and the silver medal in the 3 balls and 2 ribbons final.[3] At the 2013 World Championships, she finished eighth in the group all-around, eighth in 10 clubs, and seventh in 3 balls and 2 ribbons.[4] At the 2014 World Championships, Noshitani and the Japanese group once again finished eighth in the all-around.[5] She helped Japan win the bronze medal in the 5 ribbons final at the 2015 World Championships, which was Japan's first Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships medal in 40 years.[6]

Noshitani was selected to represent Japan at the 2016 Summer Olympics alongside Airi Hatakeyama, Rie Matsubara, Sayuri Sugimoto, and Kiko Yokota. They qualified for the group all-around final and finished in eighth place.[7][8][9] This was the best-ever Olympic result for the Japanese rhythmic gymnastics group.[10]

Noshitani was injured at the 2018 Guadalajara World Challenge Cup and withdrew.[2] She returned in time for the Minsk World Challenge Cup and helped Japan win the group all-around bronze medal. They then won the gold medal in the 3 balls and 2 ropes final.[11] Then at the Kazan World Challenge Cup, they won the bronze medal in the 3 balls and 2 ropes final.[12] At the 2018 World Championships, they won the silver medal in the 5 balls final behind Bulgaria.[13]

Noshitani helped Japan win the group all-around title ahead of the reigning World champions at the 2019 Baku World Cup. They also won a silver medal in the 5 balls final.[14] At the 2019 World Championships, she won a group all-around silver medal, which matched Japan's best-ever group all-around result from 1975.[15][16] They then won the gold medal in the 5 balls final, becoming the first Japanese group to win a title at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships. They also won the silver medal in the 3 hoops and 4 clubs final.[6]

Noshitani represented Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics alongside Rie Matsubara, Sayuri Sugimoto, Ayuka Suzuki, and Nanami Takenaka. They advanced into the group all-around final and finished eighth after major mistakes in their 3 hoops and 4 clubs routine.[17] She announced her retirement from the sport in September 2021.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Sakura Noshitani". Rio2016.com. Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Noshitani Sakura - FIG Athlete Profile". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Rhythmic Gymnastics Individual All-Around and Group Finals UZB 2013". Asian Gymnastics Union. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  4. ^ "32nd Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Kiev (UKR) Senior Group All-Around Final" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 31 August 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  5. ^ "33rd Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Izmir (TUR) Senior All-Around" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  6. ^ a b "With World Group title, the sun continues to rise over Japanese Rhythmic Gymnastics". International Gymnastics Federation. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Rhythmic Gymnastics: Group All-Around Standings". Rio2016.com. Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Russia wins another Olympic gold in rhythmic gymnastics group final". NBC Olympics. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  9. ^ "日本８位、ロシア５連覇 新体操" [Japan finished eighth, Russia wins its fifth consecutive gold in rhythmic gymnastics group all-around] (in Japanese). Japanese Olympic Committee. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  10. ^ "World-class performance from Fairy Japan at Tokyo 2020 test event". International Olympic Committee. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Ashram, Italian group victorious in Minsk". International Gymnastics Federation. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Soldatova, Italian group claim Kazan World Challenge Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  13. ^ "36th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Results Book" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Dina dominates in Baku as World Cup season closes". International Gymnastics Federation. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  15. ^ "Russian Federation wins Group All-around title, threatening a World sweep". International Gymnastics Federation. 21 September 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  16. ^ "'Fairy Japan' claims first world rhythmic gymnastic silver in 44 years". The Japan Times. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  17. ^ "2020 Summer Olympics Results – Gymnastics – Rhythmic". ESPN. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.