is a Japanese

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

specialised in synchronised

trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame often using many coiled spring (device), springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes. The fabric that use ...

. She is a six-time World champion and was the first Japanese female trampoline gymnast to win an individual title at the World Championships. She represented Japan at the 2020 and

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. She won a silver medal at the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games (), and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, were a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 201 ...

Early life

Mori was born on 7 July 1999 in Tokyo. She was introduced to trampolining at the age of four at a rooftop play area of a local supermarket. She then joined a trampoline club alongside her older twin brothers. She moved with her mother to

Kanazawa is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Etymology The name "Kanazaw ...

in grade 10 to improve her training.

Career

2015–2017

Mori won two gold medals at the 2015 World Age Group Competition in

Odense, Denmark Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210 ...

, in the 15-16 year old age group. She won the individual event by 0.070 points ahead of

Isabelle Songhurst Isabelle "Izzy" Songhurst (born 16 January 1999) is a British trampoline gymnast. She is a six-time medalist at the Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships, World Championships, including a gold medalist in the all-around team event. With Bryon ...

, and she won the

synchronized trampoline Trampolining or trampoline gymnastics is a competitive Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In competition, these can include simple jumps in the straight, pike, tuck, or straddle position to more co ...

title with her partner Yumi Takagi. She began competing in senior international competitions in 2016. At the 2016 Brescia

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

, she won a silver medal in the synchro event alongside

Rana Nakano is a Japanese individual trampoline gymnast, at international competitions. To date, she has competed in the 2014 and 2015 Trampoline World Championships, and Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2014, she won the silver medal in the girls' trampoli ...

. Then at the 2016 Arosa World Cup, Mori and Nakano won the bronze medal. Mori finished fifth in both the individual and synchro events at the 2017 Minsk World Cup. She then competed at the 2017 World Championships held in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

and won a silver medal in the synchro event with Takagi. Additionally, she helped Japan finished fourth in the team competition and was the first reserve for the individual final.

2018–2019

Mori and Takagi won a bronze medal at the 2018 Brescia World Cup. Mori then finished fourth in the individual event at the Maebashi World Cup, and she placed fifth at the Loule World Cup. She won the silver medal in the individual event at the

behind China's Liu Lingling. Later that year, she won a gold medal at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in synchronized trampoline alongside

Megu Uyama Megu Uyama (宇山芽紅, born 14 January 1996) is a Japanese gymnast specialised in synchronised trampoline, who has represented her country at four World Championships, as well as the 2018 Asian Games. Uyama won the gold medal in the women's ...

. They were the first female Japanese trampoline gymnasts to win a World title. Mori and Uyama had only been training together for a month before winning the title, because Takagi was injured. Mori also competed in the individual event and finished fifth. Mori finished fourth in the individual event at the 2019 Minsk World Cup, and she then won a silver medal behind Yana Pavlova at the Khabarovsk World Cup. Then at the Valladolid World Cup, she won the bronze medal behind Chinese gymnasts Liu Lingling and

Zhu Xueying Zhu Xueying (born 2 March 1998) is a Chinese trampoline gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic champion, the 2022 Asian Games champion, and the 2014 Youth Olympic champion in the individual event. Additionally, she has won five gold medals and two si ...

. At the 2019 World Championships, Mori helped the Japanese women's team win the gold medal for the first time ever. She then also won the gold medal in the individual event and qualified for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. This marked the first time a Japanese female gymnast won the World title in individual trampolining.

2021–2022

Mori won her first World Cup title at the 2021 Brescia World Cup. She competed at the postponed-

in her hometown, but mistakes in the

qualification round Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

led to a 13th place finish that kept her out of the final. She admitted that she struggled with the pressure of being the gold-medal favorite. She contemplated retirement after this performance but competed at the 2021 World Championships in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

and helped Japan successfully defend its team title. She also won a silver medal in the synchro event alongside Narumi Tamura. Mori competed at the 2022 Rimini World Cup and finished ninth in the individual semifinals. She then won the silver medal at the 2022 Arosa World Cup behind the defending World champion Bryony Page. She then won the individual event at the 2022 World Championships ahead of Page, and she also won a gold medal in the synchro event with Uyama. Additionally, she helped Japan win the bronze medal in the team event.

2023–2024

Mori finished fourth at the 2023 Palm Beach World Cup, and she then won the bronze medal at the Varna World Cup. She then competed at the 2023 World Championships but did not qualify for the individual final after finished 14th in the semifinals. She also competed in the synchro event alongside

, and they finished fourth in the final. Mori finished fifth at the 2024 Baku World Cup, eighth at the Cottbus World Cup, and seventh at the Arosa World Cup. She was selected to represent Japan at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She finished sixth in the individual final.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mori, Hikaru Living people 1999 births Gymnasts from Tokyo Japanese female trampolinists Gymnasts at the 2018 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Asian Games silver medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Japan 21st-century Japanese sportswomen