Riku Tsuchiya
Japan
| Sport | Speed Skating | |
| FederationID | SSJPN11412199701 | |
| NOC | Japan | |
| Born | 14 Dec 1997
in  Karuizawa | |
| Gender | Men |
| Occupation | Athlete, Office Worker | |
| Languages | Japanese |
| Personal Bests | Event | Record | Date | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal Bests | ||||||
| Event | Record | Date | Location | |||
| 500m | 36.18 | 02 Mar 2019 |  Calgary |
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| 1000m | 1:10.33 | 16 Oct 2021 | Nagano |
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| 1500m | 1:43.74 | 11 Dec 2021 | Calgary |
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| 5000m | 6:14.01 | 10 Dec 2021 | Calgary |
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| 10000m | 13:16.17 | 17 Dec 2022 | Calgary |
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| Main Achievements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Main Achievements |
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| World Junior Championships | Event | |||||
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World Junior Championships
|
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| Team Pursuit 8 Laps | 1 | |||||
| World Single Distances Championships | Event | |||||
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World Single Distances Championships
|
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| Team Pursuit 8 Laps | 1 | |||||
Social Media
Social Media
| www.facebook.com/riku.tsuchiya |
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
| Name of coach | Joji Kato [national], JPN; Keiichiro Nagashima [national], JPN | |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He began skating at age 10 in Karuizawa, Japan. | |
| Club / Team | Hakudo : Japan | |
| Reason for choosing this sport | He was encouraged to take up the sport by his parents, who were also involved in skating. |
General Interest
General Interest
| Most influential person in career | Coach Toshiaki Imamura. (Athlete, 21 Nov 2019) | |
| Hero / Idol | Japanese speed skater Shane Williamson. (Athlete, 21 Nov 2019) | |
| Hobbies | Visiting hot springs, eating desserts. (skatingjapan.or.jp, 01 Sep 2022) | |
| Awards and honours | In 2017 he was given an Excellence Award by the Nagano Skate Association in Japan. (skating-nsa.jp, 2017) | |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "Take on a challenge." (Athlete, 21 Nov 2019) | |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning gold in team pursuit at the 2017 World Junior Championships in Helsinki, Finland. (Athlete, 21 Nov 2019) | |
| Milestones | He and his teammates Seitaro Ichinohe and Shane Williamson became the first male speed skaters representing Japan to win a medal in team pursuit at the world single distances championships by claiming silver at the 2020 edition of the tournament in Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America. (SportsDeskOnline, 25 Jan 2021; news.yahoo.co.jp, 07 Mar 2020) | |
| Ambitions | To win a medal at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (hakudo.co.jp, 31 Oct 2022) |
| Championships results | Year | Competition | Event | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Championships results
|
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| 2019/2020 | World Single Distances Championships | Team Pursuit 8 Laps | 2 | |||
| 2021/2022 | World Allround Championships | 500m | 2 | |||
| 2021/2022 | World Allround Championships | Allround | 6 | |||
| 2019/2020 | World Allround Championships | Allround | 9 | |||
| 2018/2019 | World Allround Championships | Allround | 10 | |||
| World Cups | Year | Competition | Event | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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World Cups
|
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| 2019/2020 | World Cup Nagano | Team Pursuit 8 Laps | 2 | |||
| 2019/2020 | World Cup Tomaszów Mazowiecki | Team Pursuit 8 Laps | 2 | |||
| 2018/2019 | World Cup Tomakomai | Team Pursuit 8 Laps | 3 | |||
| 2019/2020 | World Cup | 5000/10000m | 20 | |||
| 2019/2020 | World Cup | 1500m | 25 | |||
| 2021/2022 | World Cup | 5000/10000m | 28 | |||
| 2018/2019 | World Cup | 5000/10000m | 32 | |||
| 2021/2022 | World Cup | 1500m | 39 | |||
| 2018/2019 | World Cup | 1500m | 51 | |||