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is an American
figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...
. With partner John Zimmerman, she is the 2002 World bronze medalist and a three-time (2000–2002) U.S. national champion. The pair also competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics. With previous partner Jason Dungjen, Ina was a two-time (1997 & 1998) U.S. champion and competed at the 1994 and 1998 Olympics.


Personal life

Kyoko Ina was born in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and raised in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Her grandfather, Katsuo Okazaki, was an Olympic runner (and Japanese Foreign Minister between 1952 and 1954), her grandmother, Shimako Okazaki, was a tennis player, and her mother, Yoshi Ina, competed as a swimmer and a sculler.


Skating career

Ina started skating at the rink at
Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...
at the age of three or four. She skated singles and pairs for Japan in the Junior ranks, but eventually decided to compete solely for the United States. Her first American partnership was with Jason Dungjen from 1991 to 1998, under the coaching of Peter Burrows and Marylynn Gelderman in
Monsey, New York Monsey (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. The village of Kaser is surrounded by ...
. They placed 4th at the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...
but withdrew from the 1998 World Championships after an accident during a practice session – while practicing a triple twist, Ina's arm hit Dungjen's forehead, fracturing the browbone above his right eye. Their partnership ended following that season. Ina teamed up with John Zimmerman in 1998. Initially, they were coached by Peter Burrows and Mary Lynn Gelderman in Monsey, New York and they also commuted to
Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...
, to work with Tamara Moskvina. They later trained under Moskvina and Igor Moskvin in Hackensack,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. Ina and Zimmerman are able to capitalize on their height difference and perform various difficult lifts. They won three U.S. Championships and competed at the
2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...
. They won the bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships. Ina had not yet turned professional when, on July 18, 2002, the USADA chose to perform an out-of-competition
doping test A drug test (also often toxicology screen or tox screen) is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs o ...
on her. The agent came to her home for an unscheduled test at 10:30 at night. Ina stated that she could not produce the urine sample because she had already prepared to go to sleep. Ina was led to believe by the agent that the test could be rescheduled for the following day, but she was later charged with refusing to take a doping test. She was suspended by the USADA because of this and faced fines. Despite what had been reported, Ina never faced suspension from the
International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international sport governing body, governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded ...
because the refused test was a national out of competition test. Ina's case was further complicated because it was not clear at the time if she had or had not officially retired from competition at the time of the attempted test. Ina eventually filed a case with the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
, but later withdrew it. In the end, Ina accepted a two-year sanction from the USADA. Ina and Zimmerman skated with the Stars on Ice tour for many years. In 2010, Ina competed in the second season of the Canadian reality competition '' Battle of the Blades'' partnered with retired
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
player Kelly Chase. Ina currently coaches in New York. Ina was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2018.Weiss, Ina/Zimmerman make figure skating Hall of Fame
AP News, 1 December 2017.


Programs


With Zimmerman


With Dungjen


Competitive history

''GP: Champions Series / Grand Prix''


Pair skating with Zimmerman


Pair skating with Dungjen


Single skating for the United States


Single skating for Japan


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ina, Kyoko 1972 births American female pair skaters Japanese female pair skaters Japanese female single skaters Figure skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Living people Olympic figure skaters for the United States Figure skaters from Tokyo Japanese emigrants to the United States Battle of the Blades participants American sportspeople of Japanese descent World Figure Skating Championships medalists Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists Winter World University Games medalists in figure skating FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States Competitors at the 1991 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 1993 Winter Universiade 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen