, born February 7, 1998) is a Japanese

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 ...

. She has won four senior international medals.

Personal life

Riona Kato was born in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan. She trained in gymnastics as a child.

Career

On the ice from the age of two years and eight months, Riona Kato was encouraged by her aunt, Yukari Kato, a skating coach. She debuted on the

ISU Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international figure skating competition, junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded ...

series in 2011. In 2013, Kato began training in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, coached by

Anthony Liu Anthony Liu (born Liu Yueming on 4 July 1974) is a Chinese-Australian figure skater. A seven-time Australian national champion, he represented Australia at the 1998 Winter Olympics, where he placed 25th, and at the 2002 Winter Olympics, wh ...

as well as her aunt. She won a bronze medal at the 2013 JGP in Slovakia. Her first senior international was the

Triglav Trophy The Triglav Trophy is an international figure skating competition which is generally held in the spring in Jesenice, Slovenia. The competition takes its name from the nearby mountain Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia. Medals may be awarded i ...

at the end of the 2013–14 season, where she placed 4th.

2014–15 season

Kato began the 2014–15 season by winning two senior medals, silver at the Asian Trophy and bronze at a Challenger Series event, the U.S. Classic. Making her

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

debut, she finished 5th at the 2014 NHK Trophy and earning a personal best of 117.51 in the freeskate. She then went on to finish 7th at the 2015 Japanese Championships.

2015–16 season

For the 2015-16 Grand Prix series, Kato was assigned to compete at 2015 Rostelecom Cup. She started her season by finishing 5th at the 2015 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy.

Programs

Competitive highlights

''GP:

; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kato, Riona 1998 births Japanese female single skaters Living people Figure skaters from Osaka 21st-century Japanese sportswomen