# Yuna Aoki

Yuna Aoki (Japanese: 青木祐奈 born 10 January 2002) is a Japanese competitive figure skater. She is the 2024 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, 2019 Bavarian Open silver medalist, the 2023 Triglav Trophy silver medalist, and the 2024 Challenge Cup silver medalist.

## Personal life

Aoki was born on January 10, 2002, in Yokohama, Japan. She graduated from Nihon University in 2024, where she earned a degree in the School of Sports Sciences.
Aoki has expressed interest in becoming a choreographer after finishing her competitive skating career.

## Career
### Early career

Aoki started skating at age five after being inspired by Shizuka Arakawa's 2006 Olympic victory.$^{:2}$ Shoichiro Tsuzuki would begin coaching her at the age of six.$^{:1}$
As an advanced novice skater, Aoki won the silver medal at the 2013–14 Japanese Novice Championships and went on to place fifteenth at the Japan Junior Championships. The following season, she won the 2024–15 Japan Novice Championships before placing fifth at the 2014–15 Japan Junior Championships. During the 2015 World Team Trophy, Aoki was invited to perform in the gala.

### 2015–16 season: Junior debut and injury

Shortly before the 2015–16 season, Aoki developed spondylolysis following a hard fall on a triple axel attempt in practice. This injury greatly hindered her training. Looking back on this injury, Aoki stated, "It first took a year for my spine to separate, and then another year after that. It hurt when I was skating, and even moving back and forth in my daily life hurt. Jumping hurt, and spins and other movements that require a lot of bending are a strain on my body." She further detailed how her parents tried encouraging her to quit skating due to how much pain she was in but Aoki persisted onwards due to her love for the sport.
In spite of this, Aoki debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, placing seventh at 2015 JGP Latvia. She would then go on to finish seventh at the 2015–16 Japanese Junior Championships and sixteenth at the senior championships.

### 2016–17 season

Competing on the Junior Grand Prix series for a second time, Aoki finished fourth at 2016 JGP Czech Republic and fifth at 2016 JGP Germany. She then ended the season by finishing ninth at the 2016–17 Japanese Junior Championships.

### 2018–19, 2019–2020, & 2020–21 seasons: Struggles and injury

Aoki began the season by finishing seventh at 2018 JGP Canada. She then placed fifth at the Japan Junior Championships and fourteenth at the senior event. Aoki went on to make her senior international debut at the 2019 Bavarian Open, where she won the silver medal.
Following the season, Aoki injured her left ankle and required surgery to treat it. This would cause her to miss the whole 2019–20 season. She would return to competition during the subsequent season and finished nineteenth at the 2020–21 Japan Championships.
Competing at the 2021–22 Japan Championships the following year, Aoki placed thirtieth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate. She would later describe this to be a dark point in her life and had deliberated on whether or not she should continue skating. "Looking back, after going through a long and difficult period," Aoki later stated, "There were many times when I thought about quitting skating. I have had the support of many people and I have always loved skating. Figure skating is an indispensable part of me. I feel most confident on the ice."
Upon deciding that she wanted to continue competing, Aoki decided that she was in need of a fresh start. In April 2022, she moved from her hometown of Yokohama to Chiba so she could train under Kensuke Nakaniwa, Makoto Nakata, Momoe Naguma, and Aya Tanoue at the MF Skating Academy.

### 2022–23 season

At the Japan Championships, Aoki placed tenth in the short program and sixth in the free skate, finishing in seventh place overall. This was her first time finishing in the top ten at the senior national championships.
She then competed at the 2023 Triglav Trophy, where she won the silver medal behind Hana Yoshida.

### 2023–24 season

Aoki was invited to make her Grand Prix debut at the 2023 NHK Trophy, where she placed eighth in the short program after receiving three underrotation calls on jumps, though she observed that despite this she landed them "comfortably." In the free skate she received only one quarter underrotation call, placing fifth in that segment and rising to fifth place overall. Aoki said she was "very happy to have been able to show my personal skating skills without mistakes on such a big stage."
She went on to finish ninth at the 2023–24 Japan Championships, before closing her season with a silver medal win at the 2024 Challenge Cup.

### 2024–25 season

Beginning her season on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, Aoki finished seventh at 2024 Skate America. She then competed at the 2024 NHK Trophy as the host pick, where she gained a new personal best short program score by over eleven points, with 69.78. Aoki finished fifth in the free skate segment, but her lead from the short program put her third overall with a new personal best total score of 195.07, successfully taking her first Grand Prix medal, and rounding out a Japanese women's podium sweep at the competition alongside Kaori Sakamoto and Mone Chiba. Following the event, Aoki expressed elation at the result saying, "I competed in the Junior Grand Prix but I never stood on the podium. So at this age, just standing on the podium, I'm so grateful for it. I'm so glad that I kept on going." Chloe Flower, the composer of Aoki's free program music, also took to her Instagram, where she praised Aoki's performance and thanked her for "bringing life to my song."
In October 2024, Aoki joined forces with Olympic champion Shizuka Arakawa, Olympic bronze medalist Daisuke Takahashi, Kana Muramoto, Takahito Mura, Kazuki Tomono, Keiji Tanaka, Kosho Oshima, Yuto Kishina and Rena Uezono to launch the members-only official fan community F-Ske on the platform FANICON.
Going on to compete at the 2024–25 Japan Championships in December, Aoki finished the event in fourteenth place.

## Programs

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2024–2025 | Adiós Nonino by Astor Piazzolla choreo. by Misha Ge | Popsical by Chloe Flower choreo. by Misha Ge | like you're god (AWAY Remix) by mehro & AWAY Glimpse of Us by Joji performed by emlyn choreo. by Yuna Aoki |
| 2023–2024 | Young and Beautiful (from The Great Gatsby) by Lana Del Rey choreo. by Yuna Aoki | She by Evgeny Khmara choreo. by Misha Ge | Better Man by Ellie Goulding The Artist by Ludovic Bource choreo. by Akiko Suzuki |
| 2022–2023 | Byakuya wo Iku (from Byakuyakō) by Shin Kono choreo. by Akiko Suzuki | Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Minor by Niccolò Paganini Io Ti Penso Amore by David Garrett & Nicole Scherzinger choreo. by Misha Ge | |
| 2021–2022 | The Artist by Ludovic Bource choreo. by Akiko Suzuki | Beethoven's 5 Secrets by The Piano Guys choreo. by Misha Ge | |
| 2020–2021 | Live For The One I Love by Céline Dion choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel | Beethoven's 5 Secrets by The Piano Guys choreo. by Misha Ge | |
| 2019–20 | Did not compete this season | Did not compete this season | Did not compete this season |
| 2018–2019 | East of Eden by Charles Gerhadt & Lee Holdridge choreo. by Nakako Tsuzuki | Piano Concerto in A minor by Edvard Grieg choreo. by Nakako Tsuzuki | |
| 2017–2018 | | | |
| 2016–2017 | Méditation (from Thaïs) by Jules Massenet choreo. by Nakako Tsuzuki | On My Own (from Les Misérables) performed by Lea Salonga choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel, Michel Shanonn | |
| 2015–2016 | Méditation (from Thaïs) by Jules Massenet choreo. by Nakako Tsuzuki | Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff choreo. by Nakako Tsuzuki | |
| 2014–2015 | Fantaisie-Impromptu by Frédéric Chopin | Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | For the First Time in Forever (from Frozen) by Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel |

## Competitive highlights
### Senior results

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series
International :
| Event | 15–16 | 18–19 | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 | 23–24 | 24–25 |
| GP NHK Trophy | | | | | | 5th | 3rd |
| GP Skate America | | | | | | | 7th |
| Bavarian Open | 2nd | | | | | | |
| Challenge Cup | | | | | | 2nd | |
| Triglav Trophy | | | | | 2nd | | |
| National ||||||||
| Japan | 16th | 14th | 19th | 30th | 7th | 9th | 12th |

### Junior results

JGP: Junior Grand Prix
International: Junior :
| Event | 12–13 | 13–14 | 14–15 | 15–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 |
| JGP Canada | | | | | | | 7th |
| JGP Czech Rep. | | | | | 4th | | |
| JGP Germany | | | | | 5th | | |
| JGP Latvia | | | | 7th | | | |
| Asian Open | | | | 1st | | | |
| Bavarian Open | | | | 2nd | | | |
| National ||||||||
| Japan Junior | 15th | 5th | 7th | 9th | 17th | 5th | |

## Detailed results

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 195.07 | 2024 NHK Trophy |
| Short program | TSS | 69.78 | 2024 NHK Trophy |
| Short program | TES | 36.89 | 2024 NHK Trophy |
| Short program | PCS | 32.89 | 2024 NHK Trophy |
| Free skating | TSS | 126.52 | 2024 Skate America |
| Free skating | TES | 64.52 | 2024 Skate America |
| Free skating | PCS | 67.04 | 2024 NHK Trophy |
ISU personal best scores in the +3/-3 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 169.60 | 2016 JGP Germany |
| Short program | TSS | 56.67 | 2015 JGP Latvia |
| Short program | TES | 32.04 | 2015 JGP Latvia |
| Short program | PCS | 26.37 | 2016 JGP Germany |
| Free skating | TSS | 113.13 | 2016 JGP Germany |
| Free skating | TES | 61.07 | 2016 JGP Germany |
| Free skating | PCS | 54.06 | 2016 JGP Germany |
Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals are awarded for team results only. Bolded scores reflect an ISU personal best.

### Senior level

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 | 10 | 56.51 | 4 | 126.52 | 7 | 183.03 |
| Nov 8–10, 2024 | 2024 NHK Trophy | 3 | 69.78 | 5 | 125.29 | 3 | 195.07 |
| Dec 19–22, 2024 | 2024–25 Japan Championships | 6 | 70.07 | 14 | 124.00 | 12 | 194.07 |
2023–2024 season :
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| February 22–25, 2024 | 2024 Challenge Cup | 1 72.01 | 2 137.36 | 2 209.37 |
| December 20–24, 2023 | 2023–24 Japan Championships | 11 61.44 | 8 130.57 | 9 192.01 |
| November 24–26, 2023 | 2023 NHK Trophy | 8 58.28 | 5 126.18 | 5 184.46 |
| 2022–23 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| April 12–16, 2023 | 2023 Triglav Trophy | 2 57.22 | 2 128.70 | 2 185.92 |
| December 21–25, 2022 | 2022–23 Japan Championships | 10 62.48 | 6 129.41 | 7 191.89 |
| 2021–22 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| December 22-26, 2021 | 2021–22 Japan Championships | 30 46.90 | – | 30 46.90 |
| 2020–21 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| December 24–27, 2020 | 2020–21 Japan Championships | 14 59.97 | 21 98.27 | 19 158.24 |
| 2018–19 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| February 5–10, 2019 | 2019 Bavarian Open | 1 68.43 | 2 114.47 | 2 182.90 |
| December 20–24, 2018 | 2018–19 Japan Championships | 8 63.72 | 17 105.56 | 14 169.28 |
| 2015–16 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| December 24–27, 2015 | 2015–16 Japan Championships | 9 58.96 | 18 96.88 | 16 155.84 |

### Junior and novice level

2018–19 season :
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| November 23–25, 2018 | 2018–19 Japan Junior Championships | 4 55.23 | 6 102.11 | 5 157.34 |
| September 12–15, 2018 | 2018 JGP Canada | 8 54.81 | 7 99.43 | 7 154.24 |
| 2017–18 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| November 23–25, 2017 | 2017–18 Japan Junior Championships | 17 51.27 | 16 94.93 | 17 146.20 |
| 2016–17 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| November 18–20, 2016 | 2016–17 Japan Junior Championships | 8 53.72 | 9 104.55 | 9 161.35 |
| September 28–October 2, 2016 | 2016 JGP Germany | 5 56.47 | 3 113.13 | 5 169.60 |
| September 1–4, 2016 | 2016 JGP Czech Republic | 4 56.60 | 4 99.19 | 4 155.79 |
| 2015–16 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| February 17–21, 2016 | 2016 Bavarian Open | 2 62.84 | 3 85.38 | 2 148.22 |
| November 21–23, 2015 | 2015–16 Japan Junior Championships | 10 52.96 | 8 109.51 | 7 162.47 |
| August 26–30, 2015 | 2015 JGP Latvia | 5 56.67 | 10 89.56 | 7 146.23 |
| August 5–8, 2015 | 2015 Asian Open Trophy | 2 44.49 | 1 89.99 | 1 134.48 |
| 2014–15 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| November 22–24, 2014 | 2014–15 Japan Junior Championships | 3 60.37 | 6 103.31 | 5 163.68 |
| 2013–14 season |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| November 22–24, 2013 | 2013–14 Japan Junior Championships | 5 50.03 | 18 84.13 | 15 134.16 |