45 Facts About Shizuka Arakawa

1.

Shizuka Arakawa is a retired Japanese figure skater.

2.

Shizuka Arakawa is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004 World champion.

3.

Shizuka Arakawa is the second Japanese woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics, following skier Tae Satoya.

4.

Shizuka Arakawa was the only Japanese medalist at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

5.

Shizuka Arakawa retired from competitive skating following her Olympic win and began skating professionally in ice shows and exhibitions.

6.

Shizuka Arakawa was born in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan, and grew up in Sendai and its suburbs.

7.

Shizuka Arakawa is the only child of Koichi and Sachi Arakawa and was named Shizuka after Shizuka Gozen.

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8.

In March 2000, Shizuka Arakawa enrolled at Waseda University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in social sciences in 2004, while still competing as a skater.

9.

Shizuka Arakawa won the 2004 World Figure Skating Championships days after completing her graduation examinations at Waseda University.

10.

Shizuka Arakawa lived and trained for a time at the International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury, Connecticut after the closure of the Konami Sports Ice Rink in Sendai, where she began her career.

11.

Shizuka Arakawa listens to music by Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Mai Kuraki and EXILE, and likes shopping, driving, swimming, golf and practicing marine sports.

12.

Shizuka Arakawa collects beanie babies, has a pet shih tzu and hamster.

13.

Shizuka Arakawa has four dogs, named Choco, Tiramisu, Aroma and Rosa.

14.

Shizuka Arakawa was married on December 29,2013, her 32nd birthday.

15.

When Shizuka Arakawa was 5 years old, she became interested in skating and entered the Chibikko Skate School.

16.

Shizuka Arakawa was named the 1994,1995,1996 All Japan Junior Figure athlete.

17.

Shizuka Arakawa progressed through the Japanese ranks quickly and was the first skater in Japan to win three consecutive junior national titles.

18.

Shizuka Arakawa was the senior national Japanese champion in both 1998 and 1999.

19.

Shizuka Arakawa made her Olympic debut when she represented Japan in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano at age 16.

20.

In 2002, Shizuka Arakawa finished second at Japan's national championships and, as a result, was not named to the Japanese 2002 Winter Olympics team.

21.

Shizuka Arakawa earned her second consecutive silver medal at the Four Continents Championships.

22.

Shizuka Arakawa took the bronze at the NHK Trophy, and placed fifth at the Cup of Russia.

23.

Shizuka Arakawa later placed third at the Japanese Nationals, marking her fifth medal from this meet, with two golds and two silvers from previous seasons.

24.

Shizuka Arakawa was the third Japanese woman to win this title after Midori Ito who won in 1989 and Yuka Sato in 1994.

25.

Shizuka Arakawa had planned to retire after the 2004 World Championships, but her victory there convinced her to change her plans.

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26.

At the 2005 World Championships, Shizuka Arakawa finished 9th, a disappointment which she later credited as a motivation to stay in the sport and regain top form.

27.

Shizuka Arakawa felt she could not quit on such a down note.

28.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Shizuka Arakawa skated in the short program to Fantaisie-Impromptu by Chopin.

29.

Shizuka Arakawa went into the long program in third place, behind pre-event favorites Sasha Cohen and Irina Slutskaya.

30.

Shizuka Arakawa won the free program, skating to Vanessa Mae's Violin Fantasy on Puccini's Turandot by Giacomo Puccini.

31.

Shizuka Arakawa performed an Ina Bauer and then did a three jump combination.

32.

Shizuka Arakawa earned a total combined score of 191.34 points, almost eight points ahead of the second-place Cohen.

33.

At age 24, Shizuka Arakawa became the oldest women's Olympic skating champion in more than 80 years.

34.

Shizuka Arakawa continued to skate in ice shows and is a regular skating commentator on Japanese television.

35.

Shizuka Arakawa competed at the 2006 Ice Wars on the World team.

36.

Shizuka Arakawa produces her own show, Friends on Ice, and is a recurring cast member at Fantasy on Ice, where she performed with Mai Kuraki to the charity song "Anata ga Irukara" in 2011 amongst others.

37.

In 2006, Shizuka Arakawa appeared in a Japanese TV drama, Shichinin no onna bengoshi, presented by Asahi TV.

38.

Shizuka Arakawa played the role of a cool public prosecutor, Yayoi Shimasaki, in the 8th episode.

39.

Shizuka Arakawa competed in an ABC skating series "Thin Ice," aired on March 19,2010, paired with 2006 Olympic men's silver medallist Stephane Lambiel.

40.

Shizuka Arakawa is known for her jumping ability, particularly her difficult triple-triple combinations, like the triple Salchow-triple toe and the triple Lutz-triple toe, sometimes combined with a double loop.

41.

Shizuka Arakawa has executed triple-triple-triple combinations in practice, the most of which have been the triple Salchow-triple toe-triple loop combination.

42.

Shizuka Arakawa has executed the triple Lutz-triple loop combination in practice.

43.

Shizuka Arakawa has an excellent donut spin, a difficult variation of the Camel spin, that requires great flexibility.

44.

Shizuka Arakawa's signature spiral is a Y-spiral where she releases her free leg and completes the spiral with her leg still close to her head, without the hand assist.

45.

Shizuka Arakawa's trademark move is the Ina Bauer with a full backbend.

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