Daisuke Takahashi

Daisuke Takahashi (髙橋 大輔, Takahashi Daisuke, born March 16, 1986) is a Japanese figure skater. He is the 2010 Olympic bronze medalist, the 2010 World champion, the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final champion, a two-time (2008, 2011) Four Continents champion, and a five-time (2006-2008, 2010, 2012) Japanese national champion. Takahashi represented Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics, 2010 Winter Olympics, and 2014 Winter Olympics. His bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics was the first Olympic medal for Japan in the men's singles event. He was also the first Asian man to win a World title at the 2010 World Championships. At the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final, Takahashi made history again as the first Japanese man to win a gold medal in the event, an addition to his previous accomplishment of being the first Japanese man to medal at the event in 2005.

Early career

Born in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, Takahashi began figure skating when he was 8 years old. When a skating rink was built near his house, he went with his mother to watch the skaters at the rink, and afterwards, enrolled in the figure skating club. His mother intended for him to enroll in the ice hockey club, but he did not like the protective gear of ice hockey and enrolled instead in the figure skating club.

Takahashi had a successful junior career, winning the 2002 World Junior Championships, in his first, and only, appearance at that competition. Takahashi is the first Japanese man to have won the title.

Senior career

Takahashi at the 2011 Skate Canada International.

Senior debut

For the 2002-2003 season, Takahashi turned senior. He struggled with consistency during the first few years of his senior career. In 2004, he moved to Osaka to attend university – the university built a rink for him and other elite skaters.

Takahashi won a bronze medal at the 2005 Four Continents and went on to the 2005 World Championships as the second-ranked of the two Japanese men on the World team, after Takeshi Honda. However, when Honda was forced to withdraw due to injury, it fell on Takahashi to qualify spots for Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Takahashi placed 15th, qualifying only one spot for the Japanese men.

2005–2006 season

In the 2005–2006 season, Nobunari Oda emerged as a challenger for the Olympic spot. Oda and Takahashi both had very good Grand Prix seasons. At the 2005–2006 Japanese nationals, Oda was declared the winner, and, thus, seemed to have qualified for the one Olympic slot, but his gold medal was quickly taken back, when an error was found in the way scores were calculated in the computer system at the event; Takahashi was awarded the gold. The Japanese Skating Federation split the international assignments, giving Takahashi the Olympic berth and Oda a place at the World Championship. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Takahashi was in a good position after the short program, but had a poor long program and placed 8th overall.

2006–2007 season

In the 2006–2007 competitive season, Takahashi won a silver medal at 2006 Skate Canada International, then gold at the 2006 NHK Trophy. He qualified for the Grand Prix Final and won the silver medal, although he was ill. He won the Japanese Championships, taking the national title for the second year in a row, and then went on to the Winter Universiade in Turin, Italy which he won as well.

At the 2007 World Championships, Takahashi placed third in the short program. In the free skate, he skated the performance of his life in his home country, placing first in that segment and ending up winning the silver medal, trailing Brian Joubert narrowly. This was the first silver medal for Japan in the men's event at Worlds.

Following that season, Takahashi was ranked as first in the World by the ISU. However, over the summer, the ISU tweaked their scoring criteria. Takahashi had been placed on top, just ahead of Brian Joubert, in part due to Takahashi's victory at the Winter Universiade, a competition for which Brian Joubert was not eligible, as Joubert was not a university student. The ISU determined that the results of the Winter Universiade could not be used to calculate world ranking, and Takahashi's ranking fell from first to second place.

2007–2008 season

In the 2007–2008 season, he won gold at both his Grand Prix events and then silver at the Grand Prix Final behind Stéphane Lambiel. A few weeks later, he won his third Japanese national title and was named to the Four Continents and Worlds teams.

Takahashi won the 2008 Four Continents, scoring a new record in the free skate (175.84) and in the total score (264.41) under the ISU Judging System.

He was considered a favorite heading into the 2008 World Championships but finished off the podium after a disappointing free skate in which he fell on his second quad toe attempt, then stumbled on a triple axel and triple loop, and, finally, performed an extra combination, an invalid element, which did not count towards his points total.

In May 2008, Takahashi announced that he had parted ways with Nikolai Morozov, who had been his co-coach for several years in Hackensack, New Jersey. Morozov explained the split by stating that he could no longer coach Takahashi due to problems with Takahashi's new agent. Takahashi continued training under coach Utako Nagamitsu and jump coach Takeshi Honda in Osaka, Japan.

2008–2009 season

Takahashi was originally assigned to the 2008 Cup of China and the 2008 NHK Trophy for the 2008-2009 Grand Prix season. He had to withdraw after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee on October 31, 2008, only a few days before his first event. It was later reported that Takahashi would undergo surgery to repair ligament damage and his right meniscus and would miss the entire 2008-2009 season. A bolt was inserted into his right knee. He was able to return to the ice in April and began practicing jumps in June.

2009–2010 season

Takahashi at the 2010 World Championships.

After recovering from the surgery and getting back to training normally, Takahashi began the Olympic season at the 2009 Finlandia Trophy, which he won. For the Grand Prix season, he was assigned to compete at the 2009 Skate Canada International and 2009 NHK Trophy for the 2009-2010 season. He placed second at Skate Canada and fourth at the NHK Trophy. Those placements qualified him to compete in the Grand Prix Final. At the final, he led after the short program with a new personal best of 89.95, but was fifth in the free skate and fifth overall.

He won his fourth national title at the 2009-2010 Japanese Championships. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Takahashi won the bronze medal with a score of 247.43. It is the first Olympic medal to be won by Japan in men's figure skating. He then won the gold medal at 2010 World Championships, becoming the first Asian to win a world championship in men's singles. At, this competition Takahashi attempted a quadruple flip, but underrotated the jump and two-footed the landing.

2010–2011 season

Takahashi's 2010-2011 ISU Grand Prix events were the NHK Trophy and Skate America. At the 2010 NHK Trophy, he placed first with 234.79 points, 16.60 ahead of silver medalist Jeremy Abbott. Takahashi won 2010 Skate America as well, despite having flawed short and free skates. During a practice session at the Grand Prix Final, Takahiko Kozuka inadvertently collided with him while Takahashi was doing his run-through; Takahashi said, "it wasn't such a serious injury, just a bit of bruising. [...] It was the first time for me (to be involved in such an accident). I was surprised but there was no malice involved." Takahashi placed third in the short program. In the long program, he attempted a quad flip but landed it two-footed. Multiple problems, including low levels on two spins, resulted in a sixth-place finish in that segment, dropping him to fourth overall.

Takahashi won the bronze medal at the 2010–2011 Japan Nationals. Takahashi won the 2011 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. At the 2011 World Championships he was third in the short program but finished in fifth overall. In the long program, a screw in his boot came loose on his first element, a quad toe. The Japanese team was able to get it fixed within the three minutes allowed and he resumed his program. He said it may occur at any time regardless of inspections, which his coach does every day, and he does not blame her. On May 19, Takahashi underwent surgery to remove a bolt in his right knee stemming from surgery in late 2008. Following the surgery, he said, "It is thinner around my knee, but I feel better now that there is nothing inside my body. I might be imagining it, but it feels lighter."

2011–2012 season

As part of his preparation for the 2011–2012 season, Takahashi spent two weeks in August 2011 working with ice dancing specialists Muriel Boucher-Zazoui, Romain Haguenauer, and Olivier Schoenfelder in Lyon, France to hone his skating skills. He said, "I wanted to improve my skating technique, not because I was bad in this sector but I think Olivier is the best. I love the way he skates."

At 2011 Skate Canada, Takahashi earned a score of 84.66 in the short program and 153.21 in the free skate to win the bronze medal with a combined score of 237.87. At the 2011 NHK Trophy, he earned a new personal best score of 90.43 to take the lead in the short program, with a 10.66 point lead over teammate Takahiko Kozuka. He won the gold medal with a combined total of 259.75 points and qualified for the Grand Prix Final. He finished second at the Final. At the Japanese Championships, Takahashi was first after the short program with a score of 96.05 and placed third in the free skate, scoring 158.38 points. With a total score of 254.60, he won his fifth national title, finishing ahead of Takahiko Kozuka and Yuzuru Hanyu, and was selected to compete at the 2012 World Championships, where he won the silver medal. Takahashi stated that he was pleased with the result, which he had not expected after his off-season surgery. Takahashi finished the season at the 2012 World Team Trophy. He set new personal best scores in the SP, the free skating, and overall, and finished first in the men's event. His short program score, 94.00, set a new record as the highest ever under the ISU Judging System. It was Takahashi's first win over Patrick Chan since the 2010 World Championships.

On June 15, 2012, Takahashi confirmed that he would resume working with Morozov – Nagamitsu remained his primary coach and Morozov became his advisory coach.

2012–2013 season

Takahashi presented his new long program for the season at the 2012 Japan Open. It was the first time since his injury that he performed two quad jumps in his long program. He placed first in the men's event and Japan took the team gold medal. He switched to new skating boots just after returning from training in the U.S. in October. This affected his practice schedule leading up to his Grand Prix events. Takahashi said: "The shoes happened to be uncomfortable beyond my expectations, which attributed to difficulty in blade adjustments. As a result, I was not able to practice as I had scheduled." At the 2012 Cup of China, his first Grand Prix event of the season, he won the silver medal behind Tatsuki Machida. Takahashi won the silver medal at his next Grand Prix event, the 2012 NHK Trophy, and qualified for his seventh Grand Prix Final. The 2012 Grand Prix Final took place in Sochi, Russia at the planned 2014 Winter Olympics rink. Takahashi placed first in the short program and third in the free skate and won his first GPF gold medal. He is also the first Japanese man ever to win a gold medal at the Grand Prix Final.

At the Japan Nationals, six strong competitors fought for three available spots on the Japanese men's world team. Takahashi came in second in the short program, nine points behind Yuzuru Hanyu. Takahashi was first in the long program but finished second overall. He was named in the Japanese team for the 2013 Four Continents Championships, held in Takahashi's current hometown, and the 2013 World Championships.

Takahashi announced he would change his short program to Moonlight Sonata. With roughly a month to prepare the new program, Takahashi said he was still trying to "feel" the music with his body. He was 4th in the short, 8th in the free skate, and finished 7th overall at the Four Continents Championships. Takahashi was also 4th in the short and 8th in the free skate at the World Championships, finishing sixth.

2013–2014 season

In the 2013-2014 ISU Grand Prix season, Takahashi was 4th at the 2013 Skate America before winning the 2013 NHK Trophy.

At the Japanese Nationals, he placed 4th in the short program and 5th in the free skate to place 5th overall. He was named to the Sochi Olympic team.

At the Olympics, he finished 4th in the short program and 6th in the free to finish 6th overall, with a total score of 250.67. He was originally slated to compete at the 2014 World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan, but pulled out due to knee injury.

Takahashi announced his retirement from competitive skating in October 2014.

Takahashi was a student at Kansai University, along with Nobunari Oda. He has three elder brothers.

After retirement from figure skating, Takahashi moved to Long Island, New York to study English at a local university.

With the silver medal at 2007 Worlds, Takahashi made many media appearances and performed in many ice shows in Japan. He was also invited to the French team's show Stars sur glace (Stars On Ice) in Paris, France. In 2008, he performed at Festa On Ice in South Korea.

In July 2007, the Japanese Olympic Committee selected Takahashi as one of the "JOC symbol athletes" (JOC paid about 20 million yen per year to the symbol athletes for the image rights. JOC partner companies can use images of JOC Symbol Athletes for free). The program provided him with funding from JOC partner companies.

After his win at 2010 Worlds, Takahashi appeared as a guest on many TV shows and as an advertising spokesperson for "Use pesticides safety campaign" and Japan Post.

(Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at World, Four Continents, and World Junior Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only.)

Senior results

Takahashi with the other medalists at the 2011 Four Continents Championships.