Narumi Takahashi

Japanese name
Kanji	高橋 成美
Kana	たかはし なるみ
Transcriptions Romanization Takahashi Narumi

Narumi Takahashi
180px Takahashi at the 2012 World Championships
Personal information
Country represented	Japan
Born	(1992-01-15) January 15, 1992 Chiba, Japan
Residence	Tokyo
Height
Partner	Alexandr Zaboev
Former partner	Ryuichi Kihara, Mervin Tran, Yoshiaki Yamada, Gao Yu (CHN)
Former coach	Yuka Sato, Jason Dungjen, Sergei Petrovski, Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, Sylvie Fullum
Choreographer	Nikolai Morozov
Former choreographer	Marina Zueva, Julie Marcotte
Skating club	Kinoshita Tokyo
Former skating club	Aqua Rink Chiba
Training locations	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Began skating	1997
Season's bests	41 (2014–2015) 42 (2013–2014) 6 (2011–2012) 14 (2010–2011) 19 (2009–2010) 32 (2008–2009)
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	141.41 2013 Rostelecom Cup
Short program	49.54 2013 NHK Trophy
Free skate	92.77 2013 Rostelecom Cup
Medal record Representing Japan Figure skating: Pairs World Championships 2012 Nice Pairs World Junior Championships 2011 Gangneung Pairs 2010 The Hague Pairs Junior Grand Prix Final 2010–2011 Beijing Pairs 2009-2010 Tokyo Pairs

Narumi Takahashi (高橋 成美, Takahashi Narumi, born January 15, 1992) is a Japanese pair skater and six-time Japanese national champion (2009-2012, 2014, 2015). She currently skates with partner Alexandr Zaboev. She also skated with Ryuichi Kihara from 2013 to 2015. With former partner Mervin Tran, she is also the 2012 World bronze medalist, the 2010 Junior World silver medalist, and the 2010–11 Junior Grand Prix Final champion. They were the first pair to win a World medal for Japan.

Personal life

Narumi Takahashi was born in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Her father's job took the family to China when she was nine. She lived in China for five years. She moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada to train with Tran in 2007. As a result, Takahashi is fluent in Japanese, Mandarin and English. In addition to skating, Takahashi also played soccer for six years on a city team.

Career

Early career

Narumi Takahashi began skating at age five, following in the footsteps of her elder sister. She won the Japanese bronze medal in novice ladies' singles.

After moving to China at the age of nine, Takahashi continued skating in singles until she was about 12–13 and then switched to pair skating. She skated with Chinese partner Gao Yu for one season; they placed 6th at the 2004 Chinese Championships on the senior level. She decided to leave China and skate for Japan so she asked the Japanese federation for help in finding a partner; she eventually found a partner in Japan but the partnership was unsuccessful due to insufficient height difference.

Partnership with Tran

File:2011 Four Continents Narumi TAKAHASHI Mervin TRAN.jpg

Takahashi/Tran in 2011

Takahashi moved to Montreal, Quebec after two years of corresponding with Richard Gauthier, whom she met at a competition in China. Gauthier began looking for a partner for her in Canada. Bruno Marcotte recommended Mervin Tran, who until that point had been a single skater. Tran agreed to come to Montreal for a tryout and the pair began training together in July 2007. During their career together, they trained in St. Leonard and received funding from the Japanese skating association.

Takahashi/Tran made their international debut on the 2007–2008 ISU Junior Grand Prix, where they placed 12th and 6th at their events. They won the Japan Junior Championships and earned a trip to 2008 Junior Worlds, where they placed 15th.

In the 2008–2009 season, Takahashi/Tran placed 4th at their first Junior Grand Prix event. They won the bronze medal at their second event, qualifying them for the 2008-2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, where they placed 7th. They won the senior title at the 2008–2009 Japanese Championships. At the 2009 Junior Worlds, they placed 7th.

During the 2009–2010 season, Takahashi/Tran competed on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. They won the bronze medal at their first event and gold at their second event, which qualified them for the 2009–2010 Junior Grand Prix Final. They also debuted on the senior Grand Prix series with an 8th-place finish at NHK Trophy. They won silver at the JGP Final and at the Junior World Championships. They became the second pair representing Japan to medal at an ISU Championships (Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Markuntsov were the first pair when they won silver in 2001).

During the 2010–2011 season, Takahashi/Tran won silver medals at their JGP events and qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final. They won gold at the event, becoming the first pair representing Japan to win the title. They also won their first medals on the senior Grand Prix series, a bronze at 2010 NHK Trophy, and then silver at 2010 Cup of Russia. As a result, they were first alternates to the senior Grand Prix Final. They won the bronze medal at the 2011 Junior Worlds. They also made their senior World Championships debut, finishing 9th.

During the 2011–2012 season, Takahashi/Tran's first Grand Prix assignment was 2011 Skate Canada International, where they finished fourth. They won the silver medal at their second event, 2011 NHK Trophy. In November 2011, Tran said he was considering pursuing Japanese citizenship in order to allow the couple to compete at the Olympics but said it was a difficult decision because it would mean giving up his Canadian citizenship. They became the first Japanese pair to qualify for the senior Grand Prix Final.

At the 2012 World Championships, Takahashi/Tran placed third in both programs and won the bronze medal. They became the first pair to medal for Japan at a senior World Championships. They placed third at the 2012 World Team Trophy. In April 2012, Tran said he would continue to consider an application for Japanese citizenship and the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee said he was "willing to make a special request (on behalf of Tran) to the government if necessary." In May 2012, a government official said it would be difficult to naturalize Tran because he had never resided in Japan.

In April 2012, Takahashi dislocated her left shoulder while practicing a lift. After five or six recurrences, she decided to undergo surgery on October 30. As a result, the pair withdrew from their 2012–2013 Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and 2012 NHK Trophy. They said they would miss about four to six months. On December 18, 2012, the Japanese Skating Federation announced that the pair had ended their partnership.

Partnership with Kihara

The JSF said they hoped to find a new partner, with preference to skaters holding Japanese citizenship, by February 2013. On January 30, 2013, the JSF confirmed that Takahashi had teamed up with Ryuichi Kihara, until then a singles skater, and would be coached by Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen. They train in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. They represented Japan together at the 2014 Olympics and placed 19th. They pair split in March 2015.

Partnership with Zaboev

On July 6, 2015, it was announced that Takahashi had teamed up with Estonian pair skater Alexandr Zaboev and that Takahashi would continue to skate for Japan with him.

Programs

With Kihara

Season	Short program	Free skating
2014-2015	Bossa Nova Baby by Elvis Presley	That's Entertainment Love is Here to Stay I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise
2013–2014	Samson and Delilah by Camille Saint-Saëns	Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schoenberg

With Tran

File:NHK Trophy 2010 – Pairs.jpg

Takahashi / Tran won their first senior Grand Prix medal at 2010 NHK Trophy

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2012–2013	Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers	Gigi (1958 film): Main Title You Never Told Me Gigi's Big Moment Gaston's Decision	Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars
2011–2012	Imagine by John Lennon choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Concerto de Québec by André Mathieu	I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor A Little Less Conversation by Elvis Presley
2010–2011	Feeling Good by Michael Bublé	El Día Que Me Quieras by Raúl di Blasio
2009–2010	Farrucas by Pepe Romero Chano Lobato Maria Madgalena Paco Romero (Flamenco)	Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini performed by Vanessa Mae Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto performed by Vanessa Mae
2008–2009	Din Daa Daa (MI remix) by George Kranz Seventeen Years by Ratatat	Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini performed by Vanessa Mae	Shout by The Isley Brothers
2007–2008	Shout and Feel It by James Horner	Samurai (from Le Rêve) Banquine (from Journey of Man) by Benoit Jutras

Competitive highlights

With Kihara

Takahashi/Kihara in 2013

International
Event	2013–14	2014–15
Winter Olympics	18th
Worlds	17th	19th
Four Continents		10th
GP Rostelecom Cup		7th
GP NHK Trophy		7th
Lombardia Trophy	7th
Nebelhorn Trophy	11th	7th
National
Japan Champ.	1st	1st
Team events
Winter Olympics	5th (T)
GP = Grand Prix; TBD = Assigned T = Team result

With Tran

Takahashi/Tran with their fellow medalists at the 2012 World Championships

Results
International
Event	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13
Worlds				9th	3rd
Four Continents			5th	7th	5th
Grand Prix Final					6th
GP Cup of China						WD
GP NHK Trophy			8th	3rd	2nd	WD
GP Rostelecom				2nd
GP Skate Canada					4th
International: Junior
Junior Worlds	15th	7th	2nd	3rd
JGP Final		7th	2nd	1st
JGP Estonia	12th
JGP Germany	6th			2nd
JGP Great Britain		3rd		2nd
JGP Mexico		4th
JGP Poland			1st
JGP USA			3rd
National
Japan Champ.		1st	1st	1st	1st
Japan Jr. Ch.	1st
Team events
World Team					1T / 3P
GP = Grand Prix; JGP = Junior Grand Prix; WD = Withdrew T = Team result; P = Personal result; Medals awarded for team result only.

Previous partnerships

(with Yamada for Japan)

Event	2006–07
Japan Junior Championships	1st

(with Gao for China)

Event	2003–04
Chinese Championships	6th

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Narumi Takahashi / Ryuichi Kihara at the International Skating Union
• Narumi Takahashi / Mervin Tran at the International Skating Union