Masaya Morita
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| Masaya Morita | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native name | 森田 真沙也 | |||||
| Born | November 16, 2003 Kyoto, Japan | |||||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | |||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||
| Country |  Japan | |||||
| Discipline | Ice dance | |||||
| Partner | Utana Yoshida (since 2023) Nao Kida (2020–2023) Nagomi Okada (2017–2019) | |||||
| Coach | Cathy Reed Rie Arikawa | |||||
| Skating club | Kinoshita Academy | |||||
| Began skating | 2013 | |||||
| Medal record | ||||||
| ||||||
Masaya Morita (森田 真沙也, Morita Masaya, born November 16, 2003) is a Japanese ice dancer who currently competes with Utana Yoshida. Together, they are the 2023–24 Japanese national bronze medalists.
With his former partner, Nao Kida, he is a two-time Japan junior national champion (2021–22, 2022–23) and the 2022 JGP Czech Republic bronze medalist. They also competed at two World Junior Championships (2022, 2023).
Personal life
[edit]Morita was born on November 16, 2003.[1] In 2021, after graduating from Kyoto Ryōyō High School, he would enroll at Doshisha University's Faculty of Commerce.[2][3]
He admires Japanese singles skater Kazuki Tomono and Canadian ice dance team Gilles/Poirier.[3][2]
Career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Morita began figure skating in 2013. He originally competed as a singles skater and trained at the Kyoto Daigo Figure Skating Club, where he was coached by Hikako Watanabe.[2][4] At the age of thirteen, Morita would make the decision to switch to the ice dance discipline due to his struggles with mastering jumps.[2] Prior to the 2017–18 figure skating season, Morita would team up with Nagomi Okada. Together, they won silver on the novice level at the 2017–18 and the 2018–19 Japan Championships.[5] The team parted ways in 2019 and Morita briefly returned to singles skating for the 2019–20 figure skating season.[2][6]
Partnership with Kida
[edit]2020–2021 season
[edit]Prior to the season, Morita moved his training base to Kyoto's newly established Kinoshita Academy. There, former Japanese ice dancer Cathy Reed became his new coach. Subsequently, Morita teamed up with former singles skater Nao Kida.[2][4][7]
Kida/Morita debuted as a team at the 2020–21 Japan Novice Championships, where they won the gold medal.[8]
2021–2022 season
[edit]Kida/Morita began the season in November by competing 2021–22 Japan Junior Championships, winning the gold medal. They would go on to make their international debut at the 2022 Bavarian Open, where they placed ninth on the junior level.[8]
Selected to compete at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, the team finished in twelfth place.[8][9]
2022–2023 season
[edit]Kida/Morita started the season by competing on the 2022–23 ISU Junior Grand Prix. They won the bronze medal at 2022 JGP Czech Republic, becoming the first ice dance team from Japan to win a Junior Grand Prix medal.[10] Subsequently, the team finished eighth at 2022 JGP Poland.[8][9]
In November, Kida/Morita won the 2022–23 Japan Junior Championships for a second consecutive time. They would then finish the season by placing sixteenth at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The pair parted ways following the season.[8][9]
Partnership with Yoshida
[edit]2023–2024 season
[edit]In April 2023, Morita sent a message to the then-partnerless Utana Yoshida on Instagram, asking if she would be interested in having a tryout with him. Yoshida agreed to this and the two would met up at the Okayama International Skating Rink in Okayama, where their tryout was monitored by Morita's coach, Cathy Reed, and Yoshida's coach, Rie Arikawa. This tryout would prove successful and end with Yoshida/Morita agreeing to pair up on that same day. Yoshida moved to Uji, Kyoto to train with Morita at the Kinoshita Skate Academy under both of their coaches, Reed and Arikawa.[11][12][13]
Yoshida/Morita made their international competitive debut on the Challenger circuit at the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they finished in fifth place.[14] They next competed at the 2023–24 Japan Championships, which proved to be a tight contest between them and two other senior teams. They finished third in the rhythm dance after Morita fell in their twizzle sequence, coming behind Yoshida's former partner Nishiyama and his new partner Azusa Tanaka and the four-time national champions Komatsubara/Koleto. Yoshida/Morita then won the free dance, but they remained in third place overall for the bronze medal. Yoshida said that they were "happy to have skated at Nationals," but admitted they had come just short of their goal of hitting 110 points in the free dance.[15]
With the close result at the national championships, the Japan Skating Federation opted to postpone assigning Japan's lone berth at the 2024 World Championships pending the results of all three teams at the 2024 Four Continents Championships. After traveling to Shanghai to compete, Yoshida/Morita finished tenth overall but more than sixteen points behind national champions Komatsubara/Koleto.[16]
2024–25 season
[edit]Yoshita/Morita started the season by competing at the 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where they finished in fifth place. Going on to make their Grand Prix series debut, the duo finished ninth at the 2024 NHK Trophy.[17]
Programs
[edit]Ice dance with Utana Yoshida
[edit]| Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–2025 [1] |
|
|
|
| 2023–2024 [12][18] |
|
|
Ice dance with Nao Kida
[edit]| Season | Rhythm dance | Free dance |
|---|---|---|
| 2022–2023 [19] |
|
|
| 2021–2022 [4][20] |
|
Competitive results
[edit]Ice dance with Utana Yoshida
[edit]GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series
| International[14] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Event | 23–24 | 24–25 |
| Four Continents | 10th | |
| GP NHK Trophy | 9th | |
| CS Golden Spin | 5th | |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 5th | |
| National[17] | ||
| Japan | 3rd | |
Ice dance with Nao Kida
[edit]JGP: Junior Grand Prix
| International: Junior[9] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Event | 21–22 | 22–23 |
| Junior Worlds | 12th | 16th |
| JGP Czech Republic | 3rd | |
| JGP Poland | 8th | |
| Bavarian Open | 9th | |
| National[8] | ||
| Japan Junior | 1st | 1st |
Detailed results
[edit]Ice dance with Utana Yoshida
[edit]| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 171.59 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| Rhythm dance | TSS | 68.94 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| TES | 39.01 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | |
| PCS | 29.93 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | |
| Free dance | TSS | 103.27 | 2024 Four Continents Championships |
| TES | 58.79 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | |
| PCS | 45.10 | 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy |
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Dec 6–9, 2023 |  2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb
|
7 | 62.88 | 5 | 101.32 | 5 | 164.20 |
| Dec 20–24, 2023 | 2023–24 Japan Championships
|
3 | 64.00 | 1 | 109.17 | 3 | 173.17 |
| Jan 30 – Feb 4, 2024 |  2024 Four Continents Championships
|
10 | 62.86 | 10 | 103.27 | 10 | 166.13 |
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 19–21, 2024 |  2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy
|
6 | 68.94 | 5 | 102.65 | 6 | 171.59 |
| Nov 8–10, 2024 | 2024 NHK Trophy
|
9 | 64.30 | 9 | 97.06 | 9 | 161.36 |
Ice dance with Nao Kida
[edit]| 2022–23 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total |
| February 27–March 5, 2023 | 2023 World Junior Championships | 18 54.19 |
15 82.53 |
16 136.72 |
| November 25–27, 2022 | 2022–23 Japan Junior Championships | 1 65.17 |
1 96.75 |
1 161.92 |
| September 28–October 1, 2024 | 2022 JGP Poland | 7 56.96 |
11 78.56 |
8 135.52 |
| August 31–September 3, 2022 | 2022 JGP Czech Republic | 3 61.05 |
5 88.61 |
3 149.66 |
| 2021–22 season | ||||
| Date | Event | RD | FD | Total |
| April 13–17, 2022 | 2022 World Junior Championships | 14 52.02 |
12 80.92 |
12 132.94 |
| November 19–21, 2021 | 2021–22 Japan Junior Championships | 1 52.44 |
1 78.62 |
1 131.08 |
| January 18–23, 2022 | Bavarian Open | 11 47.40 |
7 80.51 |
9 127.91 |
| November 19–21, 2021 | 2021–22 Japan Junior Championships | 1 52.44 |
1 78.62 |
1 131.08 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Utana YOSHIDA / Masaya MORITA: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f 藤塚, 大輔. "【森田真沙也〈中〉】後輩のジャパンジャージー、友野への憧れ…世界を目指すまでの道". Nikkan Sports. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ a b 浅野, 有美. "吉田唄菜、森田真沙也の「うたまさ」カップル 全日本優勝へ「大きな差をつけて勝つ」". 4 Years. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ a b c "Nao KIDA / Masaya MORITA: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022.
- ^ "Nagomi Okada / Masaya Morita". Skating Scores. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Masaya Morita". Skating Scores. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Nao Kida". Skating Scores. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Nao Kida / Masaya Morita". Skating Scores. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Nao KIDA / Masaya MORITA: Competition Results". International Skating Union. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ Gallagher, Jack (6 September 2022). "[ICE TIME] Japan Continues Junior Grand Prix Success with Four More Medals in Czech Republic". Japan Forward. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ 藤塚, 大輔. "【森田真沙也〈下〉】インスタのDM、岡山で語り合った夢…吉田唄菜と駆け抜けた１年". Nikkan Sports. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Utana YOSHIDA / Masaya MORITA: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024.
- ^ @kinoshita_skate_academy (June 2, 2023). "新カップル誕生のお知らせ" [Announcement of the birth of a new couple] – via Instagram.
- ^ a b "Utana YOSHIDA / Masaya MORITA: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
- ^ Di Sanzio, Chloé (December 24, 2023). "Komatsubara and Koleto reclaim national title". Golden Skate. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ Gallagher, Jack (February 5, 2024). "Komatsubara, Koleto Clinch Ticket to Worlds by Placing 8th at Four Continents". Japan Forward. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "JPN–Utana Yoshida/Masaya Morita". SkatingScores.com.
- ^ "吉田 唄菜 Utana YOSHIDA / 森田 真沙也 Masaya MORITA". Fuji TV. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "Nao KIDA / Masaya MORITA: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023.
- ^ "來田 奈央 Nao KIDA / 森田 真沙也 Masaya MORITA". Fuji TV. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
External links
[edit]- Utana Yoshida / Masaya Morita at the International Skating Union
- YOSHIDA Utana / MORITA Masaya at the Japan Skating Federation
- Utana Yoshida / Masaya Morita at SkatingScores.com
- Nao Kida / Shingo Nishiyama at the International Skating Union
- Nao Kida / Masaya Morita at SkatingScores.com
- Masaya Morita on Instagram