is a Japanese curler. He is a two-time Japanese men's champion, playing

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

for the SC Karuizawa team, skipped by Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi.

Career

Koizumi joined the SC Karuizawa team in 2018, initially throwing

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

stones on the team, which was skipped by Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi. He began throwing

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 ...

stones in 2019, when the team's alternate

Riku Yanagisawa is a Japanese curler. He is a three-time Japanese men's champion skip. Career Yanagisawa played second on the Karuizawa SC team skipped by Yoshiro Shimizu 2018 Japan Curling Championships. The team finished the round robin portion of the tour ...

was promoted to third. The team played in the

2020 Japan Curling Championships The 2020 Japan Curling Championships ('), or the 37th Zen-Noh Japan Curling Championships ('), the Japanese national men's and women's curling championships, were held from February 8 to 16 in 2020 at the Karuizawa Ice Park in Karuizawa, Nagano. ...

, where went 6–2 in the round robin. In the playoffs, they defeated Yuya Takigahira in the 3 vs. 4 game, before losing to

Yusuke Morozumi is a Japanese curler from Karuizawa. He skipped the Japanese men's team at the 2018 Winter Olympics. He currently coaches the Chubu Electric Power Curling Team. Curling career Yusuke Morozumi was the skip of the Japanese team at the 2004 Wor ...

in the semifinal. That season, the team played in many tour events, winning the Moosehead Fall Open in Canada, and the Keijinkai Rizing Cup back home in Japan. The team played in the 2021 Japanese Championship as well, finishing the round robin with a 4–2 record. However, in the playoffs, they lost in the 3 vs. 4 game to Morozumi. The following season, Yanagisawa took over as

skip Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aiding ...

of the Karuizawa SC team, with Yamaguchi throwing third rocks, 15 year old Takeru Yamamoto throwing second, and Koizumi now at lead. The team went undefeated in the round robin of the 2022 Japanese championship. In the playoffs, they lost the 1 vs. 2 game to Hayato Sato's Sapporo International University team. They rebounded by defeating Yasumasa Tanida in the semifinal, before defeating Sato in the final, winning the gold medal. With the win, the team represented Japan at the inaugural

2022 Pan Continental Curling Championships The inaugural Pan Continental Curling Championships were held from October 31 to November 6 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta. The event was used to qualify teams for the 2023 World Curling Championships ...

. There, he led Japan to a 3–4 round robin record. This was still good enough to make it to the playoffs, but they lost the semifinal to Canada, and the bronze medal game to the United States. The team had a strong season on the tour, winning the Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic, Karuizawa International Curling Championships and the King Cash Spiel. The team would tour Canada for over three months from August to December, and were based out of

Kelowna, British Columbia Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ', ...

, where they trained with their coach

Bob Ursel Robert (Bob) "Bobby" Ursel (born February 12, 1965) is a Canadian curler and curling coach. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ursel lives of Kelowna, British Columbia. Curling career After finishing 6–5 at the 1983 Canadian Junior Men's Curling ...

. Later in the season, they had another successful run at the Japanese national championships in 2023. There, they went 7–1 in the round robin, before winning the 1 vs. 2 game against Kohsuke Hirata, and beating Hirata again in the final. The win qualified the team to represent Japan at the 2023 World Men's Curling Championship. At the Worlds, the team finished with a 5–7 record, missing the playoffs and finishing seventh overall.

Personal life

Koizumi is employed as a curling instructor and office worker.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koizumi, Satoshi 1987 births Living people Japanese male curlers Sportspeople from Nagano (city) Curlers from Nagano Prefecture