Sakura Noshitani
Japanese rhythmic gymnast From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sakura Noshitani (熨斗谷さくら, Noshitani Sakura; born 29 September 1997) is a Japanese former group rhythmic gymnast. She won three medals at the 2019 World Championships, including gold in the 5 balls final. She is a 2016 and 2019 Asian group all-around champion. She represented Japan at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.
| Sakura Noshitani | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 29 September 1997 Tokyo, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Rhythmic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented | Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Konami Sports Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Hiroko Yamasaki | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
Summarize
Perspective
Noshitani began rhythmic gymnastics when she was four years old.[2]
Noshitani won a silver medal in the group all-around, behind China, at the 2013 Asian Championships. The group then won the gold medal in the 10 clubs final and the silver medal in the 3 balls and 2 ribbons final.[3] At the 2013 World Championships, she finished eighth in the group all-around, eighth in 10 clubs, and seventh in 3 balls and 2 ribbons.[4] At the 2014 World Championships, Noshitani and the Japanese group once again finished eighth in the all-around.[5] She helped Japan win the bronze medal in the 5 ribbons final at the 2015 World Championships, which was Japan's first Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships medal in 40 years.[6]
Noshitani was selected to represent Japan at the 2016 Summer Olympics alongside Airi Hatakeyama, Rie Matsubara, Sayuri Sugimoto, and Kiko Yokota. They qualified for the group all-around final and finished in eighth place.[7][8][9] This was the best-ever Olympic result for the Japanese rhythmic gymnastics group.[10]
Noshitani was injured at the 2018 Guadalajara World Challenge Cup and withdrew.[2] She returned in time for the Minsk World Challenge Cup and helped Japan win the group all-around bronze medal. They then won the gold medal in the 3 balls and 2 ropes final.[11] Then at the Kazan World Challenge Cup, they won the bronze medal in the 3 balls and 2 ropes final.[12] At the 2018 World Championships, they won the silver medal in the 5 balls final behind Bulgaria.[13]
Noshitani helped Japan win the group all-around title ahead of the reigning World champions at the 2019 Baku World Cup. They also won a silver medal in the 5 balls final.[14] At the 2019 World Championships, she won a group all-around silver medal, which matched Japan's best-ever group all-around result from 1975.[15][16] They then won the gold medal in the 5 balls final, becoming the first Japanese group to win a title at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships. They also won the silver medal in the 3 hoops and 4 clubs final.[6]
Noshitani represented Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics alongside Rie Matsubara, Sayuri Sugimoto, Ayuka Suzuki, and Nanami Takenaka. They advanced into the group all-around final and finished eighth after major mistakes in their 3 hoops and 4 clubs routine.[17] She announced her retirement from the sport in September 2021.[2]
References
External links
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