# Koshiro Shimada

Koshiro Shimada (島田 高志郎, Shimada Kōshirō, born September 11, 2001) is a Japanese figure skater. He is the 2022 Japanese national silver medalist, the 2024 Grand Prix de France silver medalist, a three-time ISU Challenger Series medalist, and the 2019 Bavarian Open champion. On the junior level, he is the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, a three-time ISU Junior Grand Prix medalist, and a two-time Japan Junior national medalist.

## Personal life

Koshiro Shimada was born in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. In 2020, he enrolled at Waseda University where he currently studies Human Sciences.
Shimada is bilingual. In addition to Japanese, he learned to speak English while living in Champéry, Switzerland for his training.

## Career
### Early years

Shimada began learning to skate at the age of six years old. He originally trained in his hometown of Matsuyama before moving with his mother to Okayama, the same city where Daisuke Takahashi and Tatsuki Machida would train, when Shimada was around ten years old. There, he trained at the Shujitsu Gakuen Okayama and was coached by Kotoe Nagasawa.
At the 2013–14 Japan Championships, Shimada won the gold medal on the advanced novice level and finished seventeenth on the junior level. The following year, he finished second on the advanced novice level and sixteenth on the junior level at the 2014–15 Japan Championships.

### 2015–2016 season: Junior international debut and Youth Olympics

Shimada made his junior international debut on the 2015–16 Junior Grand Prix circuit, finishing seventh at 2015 JGP Slovakia and fifth at 2015 JGP Croatia. Ranked fourth at the 2015–16 Japan Championships on the junior level and eleventh on the senior level, he was assigned to the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Hamar, Norway, where he finished sixth.

### 2016–2017 season

Shimada began the season by winning gold on the junior level of the 2016 Asian Open Trophy. He then went on to compete on the 2016–17 Junior Grand Prix series, he won the bronze medal at 2016 JGP France and finishing fourth at 2016 JGP Estonia. Following a second-place finish in the junior level and a seventh-place finish of the 2016–17 Japan Championships, Shimada was assigned to compete at the 2017 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Taiwan, where he placed fourteenth.
In the spring of 2017, Shimada relocated to Champéry, Switzerland to train under Stéphane Lambiel.

### 2017–2018 season

During the off-season, Shimada tore his left hip abductor muscle. In July, he underwent rehabilitation with a physiotherapist in Toronto, Canada.
He did end up competing on the 2017–18 Junior Grand Prix series, finishing fifth at 2017 JGP Croatia and seventh at 2017 JGP Poland. Shimada would not compete for the remainder of the season.

### 2018–2019 season: Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medal

After almost a full year of not competing, Shimada started the season by competing on the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix series. He won the silver medal at 2018 JGP Austria and the bronze medal at 2018 JGP Slovenia. With these results, Shimada qualified for the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Following a bronze medal win at the 2018–19 Japan Junior Championships, Shimada won also win bronze at the Junior Grand Prix Final. A couple weeks following the latter event, he would place fifth at the 2018–19 Japan Championships on the senior level.
He subsequently won gold on the senior level of the 2019 Bavarian Open before closing his season with a ninth-place finish at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

### 2019–2020 season: Senior Grand Prix debut

Shimada began the season by winning the silver medal at the 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy before finishing fourth at the 2019 Japan Open. Going on to make his senior debut on the 2019–20 Grand Prix series, finishing tenth at 2019 Skate America and ninth at the 2019 NHK Trophy. Shimada then finished the season by placing tenth at the 2019–20 Japan Championships.

### 2020–2021 season

Although Shimada was assigned to compete at the 2020 Internationaux de France, the event was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His only other competition was the 2020–21 Japan Championships, where he finished eighth.

### 2021–2022 season

Shimada's first competition of the season was at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup, where he finished fifth. He would then finish the season by placing tenth at the 2021–22 Japan Championships.

### 2022–2023 season: Japan national silver medal and Four Continents

Starting the season at the 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy, Shimada won the silver medal. He was given two Grand Prix assignments, coming ninth at the 2022 Skate America and fourth at the 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy.
Shimada unexpectedly finished in second place at the 2022–23 Japan Championships, despite a "shaky" landing on his attempted quad Salchow. He was only sixth in the free skate, struggling with a number of jumps, but he remained second overall, less than two points ahead of bronze medalist Kazuki Tomono. Despite being the national silver medalist, the Japan Skating Federation's selection criteria for the 2023 World Championships led to his not being named to one of Japan's three berths, which drew protest from Shimada's friend and training partner, Japanese national champion Shoma Uno. Shimada was instead assigned to compete at the 2023 Four Continents Championships, where he came eleventh.
During the off-season, Shimada was cast to play Sanji for the summer show, One Piece on Ice.

### 2023–2024 season

Shimada began the season at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, winning the bronze medal. He was invited to participate in the Japan Open as part of the host team, finishing third in the men's event, while Team Japan won gold.
The week before competing at the 2023 Grand Prix de France, Shimada twisted his ankle in practice. He ultimately placed tenth at the event, and said he hoped his ankle would be healed in time for his second Grand Prix event.He went on to finish sixth at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo.
He would close the season with an eleventh-place finish at the 2023–24 Japan Championships.

### 2024–2025 season: Grand Prix medal

Beginning his season by competing on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, Shimada finished sixth at 2024 Skate America. He would then go on to win his first ISU senior Grand Prix medal, a silver at the 2024 Grand Prix de France. Shimada expressed elation at this result, saying, "I still can’t believe that I am here in the medals. I've worked with Stéphane for such a long time, I appreciate his support so much. I want to thank him dearly for all of put hard work together. Last night he told me “you’re the best”, and put me in a really positive mindset. I was really calm ahead of my skate today and in a really positive mindset."
In December, Shimada placed ninth at the 2024–25 Japan Championships.

## Programs

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2024–2025 | Can't Take My Eyes Off You by Bob Crewe & Bob Gaudio performed by Shawn Mendes choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne | Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel | Not a Damn Thing Changed by Lukas Graham choreo. by Kana Muramoto |
| 2023–2024 | Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) by Louis Prima choreo. by Jeffrey Buttle | Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel | Come What May (from Moulin Rouge!) by Ewan McGregor & Nicole Kidman |
| 2022–2023 | Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) by Louis Prima choreo. by Jeffrey Buttle | City Memories (from City Lights) by Charlie Chaplin choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel | Come What May (from Moulin Rouge!) by Ewan McGregor & Nicole Kidman |
| 2021–2022 | Giving Up by Donny Hathaway, Van McCoy choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel | City Memories (from City Lights) by Charlie Chaplin choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel | |
| 2020–2021 | Fire Dance (from Illumination) by Jennifer Thomas choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto | Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel | I Will Remain by Matthew and the Atlas choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel |
| 2019–2020 | Stay by Cynthia Erivo and Oliver Tompsett choreo. by Sarah Dolan | The Artist Ouverture George Valentin Comme Une Rosee de Larmes Peppy and George (from The Artist) by Ludovic Bource choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel | I Want to Break Free by Queen |
| 2018–2019 | Adios by Benjamin Clementine choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel | Winter in Buenos Aires by Ástor Piazzolla choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel | She performed by Elvis Costello |
| 2017–2018 | Pina (soundtrack) Rooftop by Thomas Hanreich Lillies of the Valley by Jun Miyake All Names by Jun Miyake choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel | Charms (from W.E.) by Abel Korzeniowski Forbidden Love (from Romeo & Juliet (2013 film)) by Abel Korzeniowski Found by Kerry Muzzey choreo. by Nikolai Morozov | |
| 2016–2017 | Art on Ice by Edvin Marton choreo. by Misao Sato | Romeo + Juliet (soundtrack) O Verona by Craig Armstrong Kissing You by Des'ree O Verona by Craig Armstrong choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto | |

## 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
* C – Event was cancelled
* Medals at team events are awarded for the team results only. Individual placements at team events are listed in parentheses.
Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| Four Continents Championships | | | | | 11th | | |
| Japan Championships | 5th | 10th | 8th | 10th | 2nd | 11th | 9th |
| GP Finland | | | | | | 6th | |
| GP France | | | C | | | 10th | 2nd |
| GP NHK Trophy | | 9th | | | | | |
| GP Skate America | | 10th | | | 9th | | 6th |
| GP Wilson Trophy | | | | | 4th | | |
| CS Lombardia Trophy | | | | | 2nd | | |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | | 2nd | | | | 3rd | |
| CS Warsaw Cup | | | | 5th | | | |
| Bavarian Open | 1st | | | | | | |
| Coupe du Printemps | | | | | 2nd | | |
| Japan Open | | 2nd (4th) | | | | 1st (3rd) | |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 |
| Winter Youth Olympics | | | 6th | | | |
| World Junior Championships | | | | 14th | | 9th |
| Junior Grand Prix Final | | | | | | 3rd |
| Japan Championships (Senior) | | | 11th | 7th | | |
| Japan Championships (Junior) | 17th | 16th | 4th | 2nd | | 3rd |
| JGP Austria | | | | | | 2nd |
| JGP Croatia | | | 5th | | 5th | |
| JGP Estonia | | | | 4th | | |
| JGP France | | | | 3rd | | |
| JGP Poland | | | | | 7th | |
| JGP Slovakia | | | 7th | | | |
| JGP Slovenia | | | | | | 3rd |
| Asian Open Trophy | | | | 1st | | |

## Detailed results

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 247.43 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| Short program | TSS | 90.55 | 2021 CS Warsaw Cup |
| Short program | TES | 49.27 | 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy |
| Short program | PCS | 41.80 | 2021 CS Warsaw Cup |
| Free skating | TSS | 167.86 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| Free skating | TES | 88.78 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| Free skating | PCS | 81.42 | 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy |

### Senior level

Results in the 2015–16 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 24–27, 2015 | 2015–16 Japan Championships | 17 | 58.41 | 9 | 130.35 | 11 | 188.76 |
Results in the 2016–17 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 22–25, 2016 | 2016–17 Japan Championships | 10 | 62.66 | 6 | 137.52 | 7 | 200.18 |
Results in the 2018–19 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 20–24, 2018 | 2018–19 Japan Championships | 3 | 80.46 | 11 | 139.32 | 5 | 219.78 |
| Feb 5–10, 2019 | 2019 Bavarian Open | 2 | 69.29 | 1 | 141.51 | 1 | 210.80 |
Results in the 2019–20 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 25–28, 2019 | 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 1 | 74.32 | 4 | 140.66 | 2 | 212.95 |
| Oct 5, 2019 | 2019 Japan Open | – | – | 4 | 153.37 | 2 | – |
| Oct 18–20, 2019 | 2019 Skate America | 11 | 72.12 | 7 | 143.91 | 10 | 216.03 |
| Nov 22–24, 2019 | 2019 NHK Trophy | 6 | 75.98 | 10 | 137.67 | 9 | 213.65 |
| Dec 18–22, 2019 | 2019–20 Japan Championships | 5 | 80.59 | 13 | 131.65 | 10 | 212.24 |
Results in the 2020–21 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 24–27, 2020 | 2020–21 Japan Championships | 9 | 71.88 | 7 | 149.06 | 8 | 220.94 |
Results in the 2021–22 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 17–20, 2021 | 2021 CS Warsaw Cup | 2 | 90.55 | 9 | 138.22 | 5 | 228.77 |
| Dec 22–26, 2021 | 2021–22 Japan Championships | 9 | 86.76 | 10 | 146.91 | 10 | 233.67 |
Results in the 2022–23 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 16–19, 2022 | 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy | 1 | 89.18 | 4 | 148.84 | 2 | 235.90 |
| Oct 21–23, 2022 | 2022 Skate America | 12 | 62.54 | 5 | 152.58 | 9 | 215.12 |
| Nov 11–13, 2022 | 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy | 5 | 80.84 | 4 | 166.33 | 4 | 247.17 |
| Dec 21–25, 2022 | 2022–23 Japan Championships | 2 | 87.69 | 6 | 164.87 | 2 | 252.56 |
| Feb 7–12, 2023 | 2023 Four Continents Championships | 10 | 74.06 | 8 | 143.79 | 11 | 217.85 |
| Mar 17–19, 2023 | 2023 Coupe du Printemps | 3 | 73.99 | 3 | 140.99 | 2 | 214.98 |
Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 21–24, 2023 | 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 3 | 79.57 | 3 | 167.86 | 3 | 247.43 |
| Oct 7, 2023 | 2023 Japan Open | – | – | 3 | 164.26 | 1 | – |
| Nov 3–5, 2023 | 2023 Grand Prix de France | 8 | 79.30 | 11 | 137.88 | 10 | 217.18 |
| Nov 17–19, 2023 | 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo | 4 | 77.81 | 6 | 140.63 | 6 | 218.44 |
| Dec 20–24, 2023 | 2023–24 Japan Championships | 11 | 76.57 | 12 | 139.40 | 11 | 215.97 |
Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 18–20, 2024 | 2024 Skate America | 6 | 81.88 | 10 | 137.80 | 6 | 219.68 |
| Nov 1–3, 2024 | 2024 Grand Prix de France | 5 | 80.42 | 3 | 153.42 | 2 | 233.84 |
| Dec 19–22, 2024 | 2024–25 Japan Championships | 15 | 73.20 | 5 | 150.84 | 9 | 224.04 |

### Junior level

Results in the 2015–16 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 19–23, 2015 | 2015 JGP Slovakia | 12 | 47.77 | 4 | 122.12 | 7 | 169.89 |
| Oct 7–10, 2015 | 2015 JGP Croatia | 8 | 58.38 | 4 | 122.69 | 5 | 181.07 |
| Nov 21–23, 2015 | 2015–16 Japan Championships (Junior) | 8 | 55.04 | 2 | 122.39 | 4 | 177.43 |
| Feb 12–21, 2016 | 2016 Winter Youth Olympics | 6 | 63.18 | 6 | 119.34 | 6 | 182.52 |
Results in the 2016–17 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 4–7, 2016 | 2016 Asian Open Trophy | 3 | 60.22 | 1 | 124.87 | 1 | 185.09 |
| Aug 24–28, 2016 | 2016 JGP France | 5 | 59.32 | 3 | 126.86 | 3 | 186.18 |
| Sep 28 – Oct 2, 2016 | 2016 JGP Estonia | 4 | 70.48 | 4 | 132.81 | 4 | 203.29 |
| Nov 18–20, 2016 | 2016–17 Japan Championships (Junior) | 2 | 66.19 | 2 | 132.01 | 2 | 198.20 |
| Mar 15–19, 2017 | 2017 World Junior Championships | 12 | 68.77 | 13 | 125.33 | 14 | 194.10 |
Results in the 2017–18 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 27–30, 2017 | 2017 JGP Croatia | 6 | 64.85 | 5 | 131.87 | 5 | 196.72 |
| Oct 4–7, 2017 | 2017 JGP Poland | 12 | 59.47 | 4 | 130.99 | 7 | 190.46 |
Results in the 2018–19 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 29 – Sep 1, 2018 | 2018 JGP Austria | 3 | 74.78 | 2 | 145.67 | 2 | 220.45 |
| Oct 3–6, 2018 | 2018 JGP Slovenia | 4 | 73.48 | 5 | 139.47 | 3 | 212.95 |
| Nov 23–25, 2018 | 2018–19 Japan Championships (Junior) | 1 | 82.35 | 5 | 127.68 | 3 | 210.03 |
| Dec 6–9, 2018 | 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final | 4 | 73.97 | 4 | 140.41 | 3 | 214.38 |
| Mar 4–10, 2019 | 2019 World Junior Championships | 12 | 74.89 | 8 | 137.89 | 9 | 212.78 |