Sumire Kikuchi

Club / Team

Fuji Kyuko: Japan

Famous relatives	Her older sister Ayaka competed in speed skating at international level, and won gold in team pursuit at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. Her other older sisters Yuki and Moemi have both represented Japan in short track. Yuki competed at the Olympic Winter Games in 2018 and 2022, and Moemi won bronze in the 3000m relay at the 2017 World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Her sister Ayaka's husband Keiichiro Nagashima represented Japan in speed skating, winning silver in the 500m at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, and he has served as head coach of the Japanese national speed skating team. (SportsDeskOnline, 14 Feb 2023; hochi.news, 11 Sep 2021; nikkansports.com, 28 Oct 2021; Pyeongchang Entries, 2018; hochi.co.jp, 02 Sep 2017, 23 Oct 2020; nikkei.com, 04 Oct 2020)
Awards and honours	In 2014 she received the Nagano Prefecture Sports Honorary Award in Japan. (mainichi.jp, 26 Mar 2014) She was a flag bearer for Japan at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. (minamiaiki.jp, 23 May 2012) She received the Best New Athlete Award at the 2011 ABN Sports Grand Awards in Japan. (abn-tv.co.jp, 31 May 2014)

Reason for choosing this sport	Her older sister encouraged her to try the sport.
Name of coach	Ayaka Kikuchi [sister], JPN; Eiji Kohara, JPN; Masatoshi Ito, JPN
When and where did you begin this sport?	She began speed skating with short track at age eight in Japan.

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twitter.com/sumisatsu0115

Other sports	She has represented Japan in both short track and speed skating. She competed in short track at the Olympic Winter Games in 2018 and 2022, and made her speed skating World Cup debut in 2022. (SportsDeskOnline, 14 Feb 2023; fujitv.co.jp, 06 Aug 2020)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Keep growing, keep progressing." (Athlete, 04 Nov 2018)
Hobbies	Watching animated films, reading manga. (Athlete, 13 Feb 2023)
Ambitions	To compete in both speed skating and short track at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (hochi.news, 23 Oct 2022)
Other information	RETURN TO SPEED SKATING She combined short track and speed skating at youth and junior international level, but began focusing on short track after finishing high school. In 2019 she took up speed skating again after joining the Fuji Kyuko club in Japan, which has both short track and speed skating teams. She focused on short track in the 2021/22 season, and also competed in the sport at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. However, she returned to speed skating after the 2022 Games with the aim of competing in both sports at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (hochi.news, 23 Oct 2022, 25 Sep 2021; number.bunshun.jp, 18 Jan 2020)
Nicknames	Su (Athlete, 15 Nov 2023)