Irina Slutskaya
In 2001–02, Suguri won her third national title and competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics, where she placed 5th. A month later, she won the bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships behind Michelle Kwan and Irina Slutskaya. Her bronze medal at Worlds was the first medal for a Japanese woman at the World Championships since Yuka Sato won the title in 1994.