Shizuka Arakawa is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004 World champion. Arakawa is the first Japanese skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating and the second Japanese skater to win any Olympic medal in figure skating, after Midori Ito, who won silver in 1992. She is also the second Japanese woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics, following skier Tae Satoya. She was the only Japanese medalist at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Arakawa at the 2009 Festa On Ice.
Arakawa performs a donut spin at the 2003 Skate Canada International in her free skate to Violin Fantasy on the opera Turandot.
Arakawa performs a Kerrigan spiral in her exhibition to "Memory" from Cats at the 2004 NHK Trophy.
Arakawa performs her signature layback Ina Bauer in her exhibition to You Raise Me Up by Celtic Woman at the 2006 Olympics.
Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Japan competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Shizuka Arakawa won the country's only medal, a gold, in women's figure skating. She was the first person born and raised in Asia to become an Olympic champion in that event. Athletes representing Japan participated in all but one of the 2006 Olympics' 15 sports, with Ice hockey the only exception.
Manami Hino and Chisato Nagaoka
