is a Japanese curler. She currently plays

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

on the

Hokkaido Bank is a Japanese regional bank that is headquartered in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. The Hokkaido Bank is a subsidiary of the Hokuhoku Financial Group as a result of a merger with the Hokuriku Bank on September 1, 2004. The Hokkaido Bank has 134 domesti ...

curling team skipped by

Miku Nihira is a Japanese curler from Sapporo. She currently skips and throws third rocks on Team Momoha Tabata, known in Japan as the Hokkaido Bank curling team. Career Nihira began curling in 2014 after being selected as one of the first group of stud ...

. In 2022, she medaled gold at the

World Junior Curling Championships The World Junior Curling Championships are an annual curling bonspiel featuring the world's best curlers who are 21 years old or younger. The competitions for both men and women occur at the same venue. The men's tournament has occurred since 19 ...

as the skip for the Japanese team.

Early life and education

Yamamoto was born in

Saku, Nagano is a Cities of Japan, city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 97,454 in 41,522 households, and a population density of 230 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Saku is located ...

. She graduated from and , and currently attends

Japan Women's University is the oldest and largest of private Japanese women's universities. The university was established on 20 April 1901 by education reformist . The university has around 6000 students and 200 faculty. It has two campuses, named after the neighbo ...

. She began curling in fourth grade through the SWAN Project, which was held in Nagano to train Winter Olympic medalists.

Career

In November 2015, Yamamoto was the runner up in the Japan Junior Curling Championship. At the Japan Curling Championships in February 2016, although she advanced to the playoffs in 3rd place, Yamamoto ultimately placed 4th. She competed in the

the next month in replacement of Miyu Ueno who was absent because of her high school entrance exams; Yamamoto placed tenth. In May 2016, she joined the Karuizawa Fire Bomber as a first-generation student of the Curling Elite Academy opened by . In August 2019, Karuizawa Fire Bomber disbanded after the JCA Jr. training camp. In May 2022, Yamamoto won the first Japanese gold medal for the World Junior Curling Championship. Yamamoto joined the

Women's Curling Club in November 2022.

Teams

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamamoto, Sae 2001 births Living people Japanese female curlers Curlers from Nagano Prefecture Competitors at the 2023 Winter World University Games 21st-century Japanese sportswomen