is a Japanese former group

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, fle ...

. She won three medals at the 2019 World Championships, including gold in the 5 balls final. She is a

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and 2019 Asian group all-around champion. She represented Japan at the

and

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 ...

Career

Noshitani began rhythmic gymnastics when she was four years old. Noshitani won a silver medal in the group all-around, behind China, at the 2013 Asian Championships. The group then won the gold medal in the 10 clubs final and the silver medal in the 3 balls and 2 ribbons final. At the 2013 World Championships, she finished eighth in the group all-around, eighth in 10 clubs, and seventh in 3 balls and 2 ribbons. At the 2014 World Championships, Noshitani and the Japanese group once again finished eighth in the all-around. She helped Japan win the bronze medal in the 5 ribbons final at the 2015 World Championships, which was Japan's first

Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships The Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for the sport of rhythmic gymnastics. The tournament is promoted and organized by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). It is one of the three tournaments in r ...

medal in 40 years. Noshitani was selected to represent

Japan at the 2016 Summer Olympics Japan competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's official debut in 1912, Japanese athletes had appeared at every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, except for two editions; the ...

alongside

Airi Hatakeyama is a former group rhythmic gymnast and current television reporter in Japan. Career Hatakeyama has represented Japan at international competitions. She participated at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She competed at world championships, including at ...

, Rie Matsubara, Sayuri Sugimoto, and Kiko Yokota. They qualified for the group all-around final and finished in eighth place. This was the best-ever Olympic result for the Japanese rhythmic gymnastics group. Noshitani was injured at the 2018 Guadalajara World Challenge Cup and withdrew. She returned in time for the Minsk World Challenge Cup and helped Japan win the group all-around bronze medal. They then won the gold medal in the 3 balls and 2 ropes final. Then at the Kazan World Challenge Cup, they won the bronze medal in the 3 balls and 2 ropes final. At the 2018 World Championships, they won the silver medal in the 5 balls final behind Bulgaria. Noshitani helped Japan win the group all-around title ahead of the reigning World champions at the 2019 Baku World Cup. They also won a silver medal in the 5 balls final. At the 2019 World Championships, she won a group all-around silver medal, which matched Japan's best-ever group all-around result from

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. They then won the gold medal in the 5 balls final, becoming the first Japanese group to win a title at the

. They also won the silver medal in the 3 hoops and 4 clubs final. Noshitani represented

Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics Japan was the host nation of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020 but postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the nation's official debut in 1912 S ...

alongside Rie Matsubara, Sayuri Sugimoto,

Ayuka Suzuki is a Japanese group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2019 World Group All-around silver and the 2017 World Group All-around bronze medalist. Personal life She is studying at Nippon Sport Science University in Setagaya, Japan. Career She joined ...

, and Nanami Takenaka. They advanced into the group all-around final and finished eighth after major mistakes in their 3 hoops and 4 clubs routine. She announced her retirement from the sport in September 2021.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Noshitani, Sakura 1997 births Living people Japanese rhythmic gymnasts Gymnasts from Tokyo Gymnasts at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Japan Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Japanese sportswomen Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships