Tomoki Hiwatashi

Tomoki Richard Hiwatashi (born January 20, 2000) is an American figure skater. He is the 2018 CS Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy bronze medalist and a two-time U.S. national medalist.

Tomoki Hiwatashi
Personal information
Country represented United States
Born (2000-01-20) January 20, 2000
Englewood, New Jersey
Home townHoffman Estates, Illinois
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
CoachChristy Krall, Damon Allen, Mark Pillay
Former coachKori Ade, Alexander Ouriashev, Osadolo Irowa, Alexandre Fadeev, Oleg Podvalony
ChoreographerMark Pillay, Benjamin Agosto
Former choreographerMarina Zueva, Olga Ganicheva
Skating clubDuPage FSC
Training locationsColorado Springs, Colorado
Former training locationsGlen Ellyn, Illinois
Began skating2005
ISU personal best scores
Combined total240.78
2020 Four Continents
Short program88.09
2020 Four Continents
Free skate159.84
2019 Four Continents
Medal record
Representing  United States
Figure skating: Men's singles
World Junior Championships
2019 ZagrebMen's singles
2016 DebrecenMen's singles

On the junior level, he is the 2019 World Junior champion, the 2016 World Junior bronze medalist, a five-time medalist on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, and the 2016 U.S. junior national champion.

Personal life

Hiwatashi was born on January 20, 2000, in Englewood, New Jersey.[1] His mother, Satomi, and father, Satoshi Hiwatashi,[2] are both from Kobe, Japan.[3] He was raised with two sisters. [2] For much of his early life, he lived in the Chicago suburb Hoffman Estates. He currently trains and resides for the bulk of his time in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Career

Early career

Hiwatashi began skating at the age of five after a rink opened near his house.[2] He competed on the juvenile level during the 2008–2009 season, placing fourth at the Upper Great Lakes Regional Championships. Continuing as a juvenile in 2009–2010, he won the bronze medal at the Upper Great Lakes Regionals before finishing sixth at the 2010 U.S. Championships. During the 2010–2011 season, he won the juvenile gold medal at both the Upper Great Lakes Regionals and the 2011 U.S. Championships.

In 2011–2012, Hiwatashi moved up to the intermediate level, winning the gold medal at the Upper Great Lakes Regionals and the 2012 U.S. Championships. He advanced to the novice level in 2012–13, winning the gold medal at the Upper Great Lakes Regionals, the Midwestern Sectionals, and the 2013 U.S. Championships.

Coached by Alexandre Fadeev in Wilmette, Illinois,[4] Hiwatashi was scheduled to make his ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut in Mexico in early September 2013 but sustained a medial malleolus fracture in his left foot during an official practice at the competition. As a result, he missed the rest of the 2013–2014 season.

2014–2015 season

Hiwatashi competed on the junior level during the 2014–2015 season. He won the bronze medal at the Midwestern Sectionals and placed fifth at the 2015 U.S. Championships. He ended his season with the junior gold medal at the International Challenge Cup.

2015–2016 season

In 2015–2016, Hiwatashi debuted on the JGP series, placing fifth in Colorado Springs, Colorado before winning the bronze medal in Zagreb, Croatia. He won the junior silver medal at the Midwestern Sectionals, finishing second to Alexei Krasnozhon, and went on to become the junior national champion, outscoring Kevin Shum by 14.78 points for gold at the 2016 U.S. Championships. Later that month, he was selected to replace the injured Nathan Chen at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.[5]

In March at the World Junior Championships, he placed sixth in the short program and third in the free skate to win the bronze medal behind Daniel Samohin of Israel and Nicolas Nadeau of Canada. He was coached by Alexander Ouriashev in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.[6]

2016–2017 season

Hiwatashi started his season at 2016 JGP Saint-Gervais, where he placed sixth. He competed at the 2016 CS Warsaw Cup, placing ninth, and finished fifteenth at the 2017 U.S. Championships on the senior level. During the season, he was coached by Kori Ade in Monument, Colorado.[7]

2017–2018 season

Hiwatashi won two bronze medals on the 2017 JGP circuit, at 2017 JGP Riga and 2017 JGP Egna. At the 2018 U.S. Championships, he placed fifteenth in the short program, seventh in the free skate, and twelfth overall. He finished seventh at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. By the end of the season, he was training under Christine Krall and Damon Allen in Colorado.[8]

2018–2019 season

In September 2018, Hiwatashi won the silver medal at the 2018 JGP Canada, behind Petr Gumennik. At his second event, the 2018 JGP Slovenia, he won another silver medal. These results qualified Hiwatashi to the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final in Vancouver, Canada. He next competed on the senior level at the 2018 CS Alpen Trophy, where he won the bronze medal. Concluding the fall season at the Junior Grand Prix Final, he placed sixth overall after struggling in both programs.

At the 2019 U.S. Championships, Hiwatashi won the Pewter medal.[9]

Due to US national champion Nathan Chen's schedule conflicting with the 2019 Four Continents Championships, Hiwatashi made his senior ISU Championship debut after being named to the Four Continents team with Vincent Zhou and Jason Brown. He set a new personal best score and placed eighth, calling his free skate "the greatest program I’ve ever done in my life."[10]

In his final event of the season, Hiwatashi competed at the 2019 World Junior Championships alongside countrymen Alexei Krasnozhon and Camden Pulkinen. He placed second in the short program, briefly holding the junior world record until it was reclaimed minutes later by Pulkinen.[11] In the free skate, he placed second behind Russian competitor Roman Savosin after cleanly landing a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination but popping a second planned quadruple toe loop to a double toe loop. However, his strong placement from the short program combined with his performance in the free skate allowed him to claim victory overall, and he became the World Junior Champion, ahead of Savosin and bronze medalist Daniel Grassl of Italy.[12]

2019–2020 season

Hiwatashi began his first full senior season with a fifth-place finish at the 2019 CS U.S. Classic. Making this debut on the senior Grand Prix at the 2019 Internationaux de France, Hiwatashi placed tenth in the short program after multiple jump errors but rose to fifth place overall in the free skate.[13]

Competing at the 2020 U.S. Championships, Hiwatashi placed fifth in the short program with a clean skate.[14] Third in the free skate, he won the bronze medal, standing on the senior national podium for the second time.[15] Despite placing third, he was not chosen for one of America's three berths at the 2020 World Championships, the third spot going to reigning World bronze medalist Vincent Zhou, who finished slightly under three points behind Hiwatashi in fourth. Hiwatashi was instead assigned to compete at the 2020 Four Continents Championships in Seoul.[16] He placed ninth at Four Continents.[17]

2020–2021 season

With the coronavirus pandemic raging, Hiwatashi was assigned to compete at the 2020 Skate America, the ISU having made Grand Prix assignments based primarily on geography.[18] Hiwatashi placed fourth at the event, despite a fall and a singled jump in the free skate.[19][20]

Competing at the 2021 U.S. Championships, also held in Las Vegas, Hiwatashi placed seventh.[21]

Skating technique

Unlike most skaters, Hiwatashi jumps and spins clockwise. He also has the ability to perform the Biellmann spin, an element rarely performed by men due to the flexibility it requires.[22]

Programs
Tomoki Hiwatashi at the Skate Milwaukee 2015
Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2020–2021
[23]
2019–2020
[24]
2018–2019
[1]
2017–2018
[8]
2016–2017
[7]
2015–2016
[6]		 Charlie Chaplin medley
2013–2015
[2][4]
2012–2013
[2]

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix. Pewter medals (4th place) awarded only at U.S. national, sectional, and regional events.

2013–2014 to present
International[25]
Event 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21
Four Continents8th9th
GP NHK Trophy10th
GP Skate America4th
GP France5th
CS Alpen Trophy3rd
CS U.S. Classic5th
CS Warsaw Cup9th
International: Junior[25]
Junior Worlds3rd7th1st
JGP Final6th
JGP Canada2nd
JGP Croatia3rd
JGP France6th
JGP Italy3rd
JGP Latvia3rd
JGP MexicoWD
JGP Slovenia2nd
JGP U.S.5th
Challenge Cup1st
National[2]
U.S. Champ.5th J1st J15th12th4th3rd7th
Midwestern Sect.3rd J2nd J2nd
ISP Points Chal.3rd
J = Junior level
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew

2008–2009 to 2012–2013
National[2]
Event 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13
U.S. Championships14th VQ6th V1st V1st I1st N
Midwestern Sectionals1st N
Upper Great Lakes Regionals4th V3rd V1st V1st I1st N
Levels: V = Juvenile, I = Intermediate, N = Novice
Q = Qualifying round

Detailed results

Senior level
Hiwatashi at the 2019 Internationaux de France

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. Pewter medals (fourth place) awarded only at U.S. domestic events. Current ISU world bests highlighted in bold and italic. Personal bests highlighted in bold.

2020–21 season
Date Event SP FS Total
January 11–21, 2021 2021 U.S. Championships 9
75.51		 6
154.63		 7
230.14
October 23–24, 2020 2020 Skate America 4
87.17		 4
158.13		 4
245.30
2019–20 season
Date Event SP FS Total
February 4–9, 2020 2020 Four Continents Championships 8
88.09		 9
152.69		 9
240.78
January 20–26, 2020 2020 U.S. Championships 5
94.21		 3
183.87		 3
278.08
November 22–24 2019 2019 NHK Trophy 11
64.54		 9
142.76		 10
207.30
November 1–3 2019 2019 Internationaux de France 10
68.70		 4
158.73		 5
227.43
September 17–22, 2019 2019 CS U.S. International Classic 4
76.96		 5
137.96		 5
214.82

Junior level

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships.

2018–19 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
March 4–10, 2019 2019 World Junior Championships Junior 2
81.50		 2
148.82		 1
230.32
February 7–10, 2019 2019 Four Continents Championships Senior 9
76.95		 7
159.84		 8
236.79
Jan. 19 - 27, 2019 2019 U.S. Championships Senior 4
84.05		 4
169.23		 4
253.28
December 6–9, 2018 2018–19 JGP Final Junior 6
62.48		 5
128.32		 6
190.80
11-18 November 2018 2018 CS Alpen Trophy Senior 3
77.22		 7
121.99		 3
199.21
October 3–6, 2018 2018 JGP Slovenia Junior 3
74.17		 3
140.99		 2
215.16
September 12–15, 2018 2018 JGP Canada Junior 1
76.81		 2
136.43		 2
213.24
2017–18 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
March 5–11, 2018 2018 World Junior Championships Junior 11
67.85		 7
138.83		 7
206.68
Dec. 29 – Jan. 8, 2018 2018 U.S. Championships Senior 15
63.48		 7
154.05		 12
217.53
October 1–14, 2017 2017 JGP Italy Junior 3
73.28		 4
133.00		 3
206.28
6–9 September 2017 2017 JGP Latvia Junior 5
61.35		 3
128.54		 3
189.89
2016–17 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
January 14–22, 2017 2017 U.S. Championships Senior 13
71.79		 18
124.30		 15
196.09
17–20 November 2016 2016 CS Warsaw Cup Senior 8
63.54		 8
118.58		 9
182.12
24 – 28 August 2016 2016 JGP France Junior 6
57.90		 4
123.04		 6
180.94
2015–16 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
March 14–20, 2016 2016 World Junior Championships Junior 6
74.97		 3
147.55		 3
222.52
January 15–24, 2016 2016 U.S. Junior Championships Junior 1
65.90		 1
136.83		 1
202.73
7–11 October 2015 2015 JGP Croatia Junior 4
66.02		 3
131.60		 3
197.62
Sept. 2–5, 2015 2015 JGP United States Junior 6
59.84		 5
125.82		 5
185.66
2014–15 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
February 19–22, 2015 2015 Challenge Cup Junior 1
62.89		 1
110.46		 1
173.35
January 18–25, 2015 2015 U.S. Junior Championships Junior 5
61.20		 5
125.67		 5
186.87
2013–14 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
Sept. 4–8, 2013 2013 JGP Mexico Junior
WD
WD
WD
2012–13 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
Jan. 19–27, 2013 2013 U.S Championships Novice 1
52.05		 2
103.24		 1
155.29

References
  1. "Tomoki HIWATASHI: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. "Tomoki Hiwatashi". U.S. Figure Skating.
    "Earlier versions: 2015–2018". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. Gallagher, Jack (January 26, 2016). "Hiwatashi continues to build on outstanding record". The Japan Times.
  4. "Tomoki HIWATASHI: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. "Chen Undergoes Left Hip Surgery". U.S. Figure Skating. January 28, 2016.
  6. "Tomoki HIWATASHI: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 28, 2016.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. "Tomoki HIWATASHI: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 20, 2017.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. "Tomoki HIWATASHI: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. Mammoser, Scott. "Chen dominates U.S. men to win third national title". Golden Skate. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  10. Slater, Paula (February 10, 2019). "Revived, Uno rallies to capture first Four Continents title". Golden Skate.
  11. Slater, Paula (March 6, 2019). "Camden in true form at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate.
  12. Slater, Paula (March 8, 2019). "Hiwatashi captures Men's title at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate.
  13. Slater, Paula (November 2, 2019). "USA's Chen defends Grand Prix title in France; earns ticket to Final". Golden Skate.
  14. Slater, Paula (January 25, 2020). "Chen in comfortable lead at U.S. Nationals". Golden Skate.
  15. Slater, Paula (January 26, 2020). "Chen wins fourth consecutive U.S. National title". Golden Skate.
  16. "U.S Figure Skating Announces Men's, Pairs and Ice Dance Selections for World, Four Continents, World Junior Teams, and World Junior Camp". U.S. Figure Skating. January 26, 2020.
  17. Slater, Paula (February 9, 2020). "Hanyu bags first Four Continents gold". Golden Skate.
  18. "2020 Skate America". International Figure Skating. October 20, 2020.
  19. Slater, Paula (October 24, 2020). "Chen 'sensational' in Short Program at 2020 Skate America". Golden Skate.
  20. Slater, Paula (October 26, 2020). "Nathan Chen takes fourth consecutive Skate America title". Golden Skate.
  21. Slater, Paula (January 17, 2021). "Nathan Chen wins fifth consecutive US National title". Golden Skate.
  22. Slater, Paula (May 16, 2019). "USA's Tomoki Hiwatashi comes to 2019-20 season with renewed confidence". Golden Skate.
  23. "Tomoki HIWATASHI: 2020/2021". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  24. "Tomoki HIWATASHI: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. "Competition Results: Tomoki HIWATASHI". International Skating Union.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.