# Nozomu Yoshioka

Nozomu Yoshioka (吉岡 希, Yoshioka Nozomu, born 15 December 2003) is a Japanese figure skater. He is the 2023 World Junior bronze medalist, 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, the 2022 JGP Czech Republic champion, and the 2022 Japanese junior national champion.

## Personal life

Yoshioka was born on 15 December 2003 in Osaka, Japan.
As a child, Yoshioka also practiced soccer and martial arts before ultimately deciding to focus on figure skating.
He is currently a student at Hosei University, where he also trains.
Yoshioka's figure skating idol is the late Denis Ten.

## Career
### Early career

Yoshioka began figure skating in 2010 after being encouraged by his mother to give it a try.
Throughout his childhood, Yoshioka trained at the Aquapia Skating Rink in Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture until it closed down. As a result, he relocated to Takatsuki to train at the Kansai University Takatsuki Ice Arena.
He made his junior-level debut at the 2017–18 Japan Junior Championships, where he finished twentieth and then went on to finish twenty-first at the 2018–19 Japan Junior Championships the following year.

### 2019–20 season

Feeling that he needed a training environment that had more "discipline," Yoshioka decided to move to Hyōgo to train at the Hyogo Nishinomiya FSC under Utako Nagamitsu.
After finishing fifth at the 2019–20 Japan Junior Championships, Yoshioka was selected to compete at the 2019–20 Japan Senior Championships where he finished in nineteenth place.
He then went on to compete at the 2020 Challenge Cup as a junior and won the event.

### 2020–21 season

Yoshioka competed at the 2020–21 Japan Junior Championships, finishing eleventh.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of modifications were made to the Grand Prix structure, where competitors consisted only of skaters from the home country, skaters already training in the host nation, and skaters assigned to that event for geographic reasons. As a result, Yoshioka was invited to compete at the 2020 NHK Trophy where he finished tenth.

### 2021–22 season

Yoshioka competed at the 2021–22 Japan Junior Championships, where he won the bronze medal and was thus invited to compete at the 2021–22 Japan Senior Championships, where he finished twentieth.

### 2022–23 season

Making his debut on the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix series, Yoshioka won the gold medal at the 2022 JGP Czech Republic and placed fifth at the 2022 JGP Poland I. These results secured a spot for Yoshioka at the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final in Torino, Italy.
Yoshioka then went on to compete at the 2022–23 Japan Junior Championships, where he won the gold medal.
At the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final, Yoshioka placed fifth in the short program after losing points on a spin and having two jump errors in the program. However, Yoshioka managed to skate a more solid free skate, placing second in that segment of the competition and winning the bronze medal overall. Following the event, Yoshioka said, "I'm happy that I was able to stand on the stage (of the final). I was able to complete the free skate with the minimum number of mistakes."
At the 2022–23 Japan Championships, Yoshioka finished tenth.
Yoshioka was selected to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Alberta. He placed seventh in the short program, scoring a new personal best score and managed to place second in the free skate, winning the bronze medal overall.
Additionally, he was invited to skate in the gala at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama.
Yoshioka closed his season with a gold medal at the 2023 Triglav Trophy.

### 2023–24 season

Yoshioka began the season by finishing fifth at the 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy. Appearing on the Grand Prix at the 2023 Skate America, he set a new personal best in the short program (87.44) to come fourth in the segment. He dropped to sixth after the free skate. He said he was "disappointed" with the second half of the free skate, but said it was a "huge bonus" to be invited to the event.
He went on to finish eighth at the 2023–24 Japan Championships, before ending his season with a silver medal at the 2024 Tallink Hotels Cup.

### 2024–25 season

Yoshioka started the season by winning bronze at the 2024 Asian Open Trophy. He then went on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, finishing eighth at 2024 Skate America.
In December, he finished twenty-second at the 2024–25 Japan Championships.

## Programs

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2024–2025 | Lullaby for Sadness by Eternal Eclipse Fate of the Clockmaker by Eternal Eclipse and Flynn Hase Spence choreo. by Lori Nichol | Felix Tango by Luca Lucini, Mario Stefano, & M. Falloni Il Postino by Luis Bacalov Mi Mancherai performed by Josh Groban & Joshua Bell choreo. by Lori Nichol | |
| 2023–2024 | Lullaby for Sadness by Eternal Eclipse Fate of the Clockmaker by Eternal Eclipse and Flynn Hase Spence choreo. by Lori Nichol | Pirates of the Caribbean by Hans Zimmer, Klaus Badelt, and Geoff Zanelli choreo. by Kohei Yoshino Final Fantasy by Nobuo Uematsu choreo. by Kohei Yoshino | |
| 2022–2023 | Malagueña by Ernesto Lecuona performed by Stanley Black and His Orchestra choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto | Pirates of the Caribbean by Hans Zimmer, Klaus Badelt, and Geoff Zanelli choreo. by Kohei Yoshino | Mountain Top (from Legend of the Demon Cat) by Yojiro Noda performed by RADWIMPS choreo. by Kohei Yoshino |
| 2021–2022 | Mountain Top (from Legend of the Demon Cat) by Yojiro Noda performed by RADWIMPS choreo. by Kohei Yoshino | Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin choreo. by Misao Sato | |
| 2020–2021 | Mountain Top (from Legend of the Demon Cat) by Yojiro Noda performed by RADWIMPS choreo. by Kohei Yoshino | Lorelei by Naoki Sato choreo. by Mari Araya | |
| 2019–2020 | Art on Ice by Edvin Marton choreo. by Kohei Yoshino | Lorelei by Naoki Sato choreo. by Mari Araya | |

## Competitive highlights

* GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
* JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
* CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| Japan Championships | 19th | | 20th | 10th | 8th | 22nd |
| GP NHK Trophy | | 10th | | | | |
| GP Skate America | | | | | 6th | 8th |
| CS Lombardia Trophy | | | | | 5th | |
| Asian Open Trophy | | | | | | 3rd |
| Tallink Hotels Cup | | | | | 2nd | |
| Triglav Trophy | | | | 1st | | |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 |
| World Junior Championships | | | | | | 3rd |
| Junior Grand Prix Final | | | | | | 3rd |
| Japan Championships | 20th | 21st | 5th | 11th | 3rd | 1st |
| JGP Czech Republic | | | | | | 1st |
| JGP Poland | | | | | | 5th |
| Challenge Cup | | | 1st | | | |
| Egna Spring Trophy | | | | | 3rd | |

## Detailed results

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 233.56 | 2023 Skate America |
| Short program | TSS | 87.44 | 2023 Skate America |
| Short program | TES | 48.95 | 2023 Skate America |
| Short program | PCS | 38.49 | 2023 Skate America |
| Free skating | TSS | 147.65 | 2022 JGP Czech Republic |
| Free skating | TES | 76.84 | 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final |
| Free skating | PCS | 75.66 | 2023 Skate America |

### Senior level

Results in the 2019–20 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 18–22, 2019 | 2019–20 Japan Championships | 16 | 64.56 | 20 | 116.06 | 19 | 180.62 |
Results in the 2020–21 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 27–29, 2020 | 2020 NHK Trophy | 10 | 55.88 | 10 | 108.82 | 10 | 164.70 |
Results in the 2021–22 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 22–26, 2021 | 2021–22 Japan Championships | 14 | 72.94 | 24 | 97.63 | 20 | 170.57 |
Results in the 2022–23 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 21–25, 2022 | 2022–23 Japan Championships | 7 | 80.85 | 11 | 139.58 | 10 | 220.43 |
| Apr 13–16, 2023 | 2023 Triglav Trophy | 1 | 82.42 | 1 | 155.94 | 1 | 238.36 |
Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 8–10, 2023 | 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy | 4 | 70.07 | 5 | 140.39 | 5 | 210.46 |
| Oct 20–22, 2023 | 2023 Skate America | 4 | 87.44 | 7 | 146.12 | 6 | 233.56 |
| Dec 20–24, 2023 | 2023–24 Japan Championships | 8 | 85.27 | 8 | 164.11 | 8 | 249.38 |
| Feb 15–18, 2024 | 2024 Tallink Hotels Trophy | 2 | 78.02 | 2 | 141.96 | 2 | 219.98 |
Results in the 2024-25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 2–6, 2024 | 2024 Asian Open Trophy | 6 | 69.42 | 2 | 149.46 | 3 | 218.88 |
| Oct 18–20, 2024 | 2024 Skate America | 7 | 80.79 | 11 | 135.13 | 8 | 215.92 |
| Dec 19–22, 2024 | 2024–25 Japan Championships | 21 | 63.76 | 22 | 117.53 | 22 | 181.29 |

### Junior level

Results in the 2017–18 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 24–26, 2017 | 2017–18 Japan Championships (Junior) | 23 | 41.82 | 19 | 89.70 | 20 | 131.52 |
Results in the 2018–19 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 23–25, 2018 | 2018–19 Japan Championships (Junior) | 21 | 47.43 | 21 | 89.80 | 21 | 137.23 |
Results in the 2019–20 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 15–17, 2019 | 2019–20 Japan Championships (Junior) | 9 | 61.98 | 5 | 122.37 | 5 | 184.35 |
| Feb 20–23, 2020 | 2020 International Challenge Cup | 1 | 70.92 | 1 | 130.76 | 1 | 201.68 |
Results in the 2020–21 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 21–23, 2020 | 2020–21 Japan Championships (Junior) | 9 | 64.75 | 11 | 104.13 | 11 | 168.88 |
Results in the 2021–22 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 19–21, 2021 | 2021–22 Japan Championships (Junior) | 2 | 68.55 | 3 | 123.25 | 3 | 191.80 |
| Apr 7–10, 2022 | 2022 Egna Spring Trophy | 3 | 67.82 | 4 | 119.54 | 3 | 187.36 |
Results in the 2022–23 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 31 – Sep 3, 2022 | 2022 JGP Czech Republic | 2 | 72.03 | 1 | 147.65 | 1 | 219.68 |
| Sep 28 – Oct 1, 2022 | 2022 JGP Poland I | 4 | 69.97 | 6 | 124.66 | 5 | 194.63 |
| Nov 25–27, 2022 | 2022–23 Japan Championships (Junior) | 2 | 71.84 | 2 | 137.73 | 1 | 209.57 |
| Dec 8–11, 2022 | 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final | 5 | 66.83 | 2 | 141.18 | 3 | 208.01 |
| Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2023 | 2023 World Junior Championships | 7 | 76.44 | 2 | 141.35 | 3 | 217.79 |