Aiko Sugihara (杉原 愛子, Sugihara Aiko, born 19 September 1999)[2] is a Japanese female artistic gymnast. She was the 2015 Asian team and all-around champion and uneven bars and floor exercise silver medalist. She was also the 2019 Summer Universiade champion with the team and silver medalist on the floor exercise. She represented Japan at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.[3]
Junior career
Sugihara made her international debut at the 2013 City of Jesolo Trophy and placed thirteenth in the all-around.[4] At the 2013 All-Japan Championships, she finished eighth in the all-around.[5] She then finished eleventh in the all-around at the 2013 NHK Trophy.[6] At the 2013 All-Japan Event Championships, she finished fourth on the vault and eighth on the floor exercise.[7] In September, she competed at the 2013 Junior Japan International, where she placed eighth on the vault and sixth on the floor exercise.[8] At the 2014 All-Japan Championships, she finished sixteenth in the all-around.[9] Then at the 2014 NHK Cup, she finished twelfth in the all-around.[10]
Senior career
2015
Sugihara won the bronze medal in the all-around at the All-Japan Championships behind Asuka Teramoto and Yuki Uchiyama.[11] She then won the all-around at the NHK Cup and was named to compete at the World Championships.[12] At the All-Japan Event Championships, she finished eighth on the uneven bars and won the bronze medal on the balance beam and the silver medal on the floor exercise.[13]
She was selected to compete at the Asian Championships in Hiroshima alongside Natsumi Sasada, Asuka Teramoto, Sakura Yumoto, Yuki Uchiyama, and Sae Miyakawa, and they won the team gold medal.[14] Individually, Sugihara won the gold medal in the all-around with a total score of 58.050.[15] In the event finals, she won the silver medal on the uneven bars behind Zhu Xiaofang and on the floor exercise behind Wang Yan.[16][17] She then competed at the World Championships alongside Asuka Teramoto, Mai Murakami, Sae Miyakawa, Sakura Yumoto, and Natsumi Sasada, and they finished fifth in the team final.[18]
2016
Sugihara won the bronze medal in the all-around at the All-Japan Championships.[19] She also won the bronze medal in the all-around at the NHK Cup behind Asuka Teramoto and Mai Murakami, and she was named to the seven-person Olympic training squad from whom the final team of five would be selected.[20] At the All-Japan Event Championships, she won the silver medals on the uneven bars and the balance beam.[21]
She was selected to represent Japan at the 2016 Summer Olympics alongside Sae Miyakawa, Mai Murakami, Asuka Teramoto, and Yuki Uchiyama, and they finished fourth in the team final.[22] After the Olympics, she competed at the Toyota International and won the silver medals on the uneven bars and on the floor exercise, and she finished fourth on the balance beam.[23]
2017
At the All-Japan Championships, Sugihara won the silver medal in the all-around behind Mai Murakami.[24] She then won another all-around silver medal at the NHK Trophy.[25] At the All-Japan Event Championships, she finished fourth on the uneven bars and fifth on the floor exercise.[26]
Sugihara competed at the World Championships in Montreal, where she finished sixth in the all-around final.[27] In December, at the Toyota International, she finished ninth on the balance beam and won the silver medal on the floor exercise behind Mai Murakami.[28]
2018
Sugihara finished sixth in the all-around at the Tokyo World Cup.[29] She then finished fourth in the all-around at the All-Japan Championships and at the NHK Cup.[30][31] She withdrew from the World Championships due to a back injury.[1] She returned to competition at the Toyota International and won the silver medal on the floor exercise behind Asuka Teramoto.[32]
2019
Sugihara finished fourth in the all-around at the Tokyo World Cup.[33] She then competed at the All-Japan Championships and finished fifth in the all-around.[34] At the NHK Cup, she finished fourth and was selected to compete at the World Championships.[35] At the All-Japan Event Championships, she placed sixth on the balance beam and won the silver medal on the floor exercise behind Asuka Teramoto.[36]
Athe Summer Universiade, she won the team gold medal alongside Teramoto and Hitomi Hatakeda.[37] She finished fourth in the all-around final with a total score of 52.450, and she also finished fourth in the balance beam final.[38][39] In the floor exercise final, she scored 13.000 and won the silver medal behind Italian gymnast Carlotta Ferlito.[40] She then competed at the World Championships alongside Hitomi Hatakeda, Nagi Kajita, Akari Matsumura, and Asuka Teramoto, and they finished eleventh in the qualification round, which earned Japan a team spot for the 2020 Olympic Games.[41][42] After the World Championships, she competed at the Toyota International, where she finished sixth on the balance beam.[43]
2020-2021
The 2020 All-Japan Championships were postponed until December due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, and Sugihara finished eighth in the all-around.[44] Then at the 2021 All-Japan Championships, she finished fourth in the all-around.[45] At the 2021 NHK Trophy, she once again finished fourth in the all-around and was named to Japan's 2020 Olympic team alongside Hitomi Hatakeda, Mai Murakami, and Yuna Hiraiwa.[46] Then at the All-Japan Event Championships, she won the silver medal on the balance beam behind Murakami, and she won the gold medal on the floor exercise.[47]
At the postponed 2020 Olympic Games, she helped Japan finish fifth in the team final, contributing scores on vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise.[48]
2022
Sugihara took a year off from competition due to burnout.[49]
2023
In June, Sugihara founded her own company, TRyAS, to popularize artistic gymnastics and support gymnasts.[49] That month, she also returned to competing at the All-Japan Event Championships, where she competed on floor. She scored 13.400 and won that event.[50]
2024
Sugihara worked with a leotard manufacturer to design a new leotard, which she dubbed the "Aitard" after herself and debuted in competition. The leotard has a lower cut, with fabric extending to the top of the legs, and is based on the attire worn by men's aerobic gymnasts. Sugihara said that while she had not minded wearing high-cut leotards when she was younger, as she grew older, she began to have concerns about wearing them, and photographs of her in leotards had received sexual comments online. She was inspired to create a new leotard design after the German women's gymnastics team competed in unitards at the 2020 Summer Olympics and after a male employee of hers suggested creating a new gymnastics outfit for parents who did not want their children wearing revealing leotards. The new leotards conform to International Gymnastics Federation rules.[49]
She finished fifth in the all-around at the All-Japan Artistic Gymnastics Championships in April, then competed at the NHK Trophy in May and again finished in 5th place.[51] Due to her results, she was named an alternate for the Japanese team for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[49] Although one of the team's gymnasts, Shoko Miyata, was withdrawn from competing, Sugihara did not compete in her stead because the withdrawal was not for medical reasons.[52]
In September, Sugihara competed in the National Sports Festival, representing her home prefecture of Osaka, where she won a team gold medal. One week later, she competed at the All-Japan Senior Championships, which she won for the third time, seven years after her prior victory there.[51]
Eponymous skill
Sugihara has one eponymous skill listed in the Code of Points.[53][54]
| Apparatus | Name | Description | Difficulty[a] | Added to the Code of Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance beam | Sugihara | 2/1 (720°) turn with free leg held upward in 180° split position throughout the turn | E (0.5) | 2017 World Championships |
- ^ Valid for the 2025–2028 Code of Points
Competitive history
| Year | Event | Team | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | City of Jesolo Trophy | 13 | |||||
| All-Japan Championships | 8 | ||||||
| NHK Trophy | 11 | ||||||
| All-Japan Event Championships | 4 | 8 | |||||
| Junior Japan International | 8 | 6 | |||||
| 2014 | All-Japan Championships | 16 | |||||
| NHK Cup | 12 | ||||||
| 2015 | All-Japan Championships |  |
|||||
| NHK Cup |  |
||||||
| All-Japan Event Championships | 8 | |
| ||||
| Asian Championships | |
|
|
| |||
| World Championships | 5 | ||||||
| 2016 | All-Japan Championships | |
|||||
| NHK Cup | |
||||||
| All-Japan Event Championships | |
|
|||||
| Olympic Games | 4 | ||||||
| Toyota International | |
4 |
| ||||
| 2017 | All-Japan Championships | |
|||||
| NHK Cup | |
||||||
| All-Japan Event Championships | 4 | 5 | |||||
| World Championships | 6 | ||||||
| Toyota International | 9 |
| |||||
| 2018 | Tokyo World Cup | 6 | |||||
| All-Japan Championships | 4 | ||||||
| NHK Cup | 4 | ||||||
| Toyota International |
| ||||||
| 2019 | Tokyo World Cup | 4 | |||||
| All-Japan Championships | 5 | ||||||
| NHK Cup | 4 | ||||||
| All-Japan Event Championships | 6 |
| |||||
| Summer Universiade | |
4 | 4 |
| |||
| World Championships | 11 | ||||||
| Toyota International | 6 | ||||||
| 2020 | All-Japan Championships | 8 | |||||
| 2021 | All-Japan Championships | 4 | |||||
| NHK Cup | 4 | ||||||
| All-Japan Event Championships | |
| |||||
| Olympic Games | 5 | ||||||
| 2025 | Antalya World Cup |
References
- ^ a b "Sugihara Aiko". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Aiko Sugihara". Olympedia. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "Aiko Sugihara". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "6° Trofeo Città di Jesolo Classifica individuale" (PDF). Gymnastics Results (in Italian). Italian Gymnastics Federation. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "第67回全日本体操個人総合選手権 女子個人総合" (PDF). Gymnastics Results (in Japanese). Japan Gymnastics Association. 12 May 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (9 June 2013). "2013 NHK Trophy Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (30 June 2013). "2013 All-Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "2013 International Junior Gymnastics Competition" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (9 May 2014). "2014 All-Japan Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (8 June 2014). "2014 NHK Trophy Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (7 May 2015). "2015 Japanese Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "Uchimura, Sugihara claim titles at NHK Cup". The Japan Times. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (29 June 2015). "2015 Japanese Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "6th Senior Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships Women's Final Team All-Around Result" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. Japan Gymnastics Association. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "6th Senior Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships Women's Final Individual All-Around Result" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. Japan Gymnastics Association. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "6th Senior Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships Women's Finals Apparatus Result Uneven Bars" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. Japan Gymnastics Association. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "6th Senior Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships Women's Finals Apparatus Result Floor" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. Japan Gymnastics Association. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "46th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, Glasgow (GBR) Women's Team Final" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. International Gymnastics Federation. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (1 April 2016). "2016 All-Japan Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "Teramoto takes step toward Rio with NHK Cup triumph". The Japan Times. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (7 June 2016). "2016 All-Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "Artistic Gymnastics Women's Team Final" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. Rio 2016. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (10 December 2016). "2016 Toyota International Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (7 April 2017). "2017 All-Japan Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (20 August 2017). "2017 NHK Trophy Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (25 June 2017). "2017 All-Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "47th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2017 Montréal (CAN) Women's Individual All-Around Final" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. International Gymnastics Federation. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (10 December 2017). "2017 Toyota International Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (16 April 2018). "2018 Tokyo World Cup Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (1 May 2018). "2018 All-Japan Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (21 May 2018). "2018 NHK Trophy Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (8 December 2018). "2018 Toyota International Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (9 April 2019). "2019 Tokyo World Cup Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (28 April 2019). "2019 All-Japan Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "Asuka Teramoto wins NHK Cup women's title for third time". The Japan Times. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (26 June 2019). "2019 All-Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "30th Summer Universiade 2019 Artistic Gymnastics Teams Qualification Women Team Results" (PDF). 30th Summer Universiade 2019 Main Results. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "30th Summer Universiade 2019 Artistic Gymnastics All-Around Final SENIORS Women" (PDF). 30th Summer Universiade 2019 Main Results. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "30th Summer Universiade 2019 Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus Final SENIORS Women" (PDF). 30th Summer Universiade 2019 Main Results. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "30th Summer Universiade 2019 Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus Final SENIORS Women" (PDF). 30th Summer Universiade 2019 Main Results. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Stuttgart (GER), 4 October - 13 October 2019 Women's Team Qualification" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. International Gymnastics Federation. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "List of the Artistic Gymnastics 2020 Olympic Qualifiers" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. International Gymnastics Federation. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (16 December 2019). "2019 Toyota International Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (12 December 2020). "2020 All-Japan Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (17 April 2021). "2021 All-Japan Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "MURAKAMI Mai lifts NHK Trophy to punch ticket to second Games". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. 15 May 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Lauren (8 June 2021). "2021 All-Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "Artistic Gymnastics: Women's Team Final – Results" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d Uchida, Kai (5 June 2024). "Gymnast devises outfit showing less skin to block photo voyeurism". The Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
- ^ "1年ぶりに現役復帰の杉原 床優勝に「自分でもめっちゃ驚いている」" [Sugihara returns after a year-long break "I'm also super surprised" at her victory on floor]. Mainichi Shimbun. 12 June 2023. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023.
- ^ a b Yanai, Yumiko (28 December 2024). "杉原愛子は2025年も現役続行！ 「アイタード」の改良品も完成" [Sugihara Aiko will continue competing in 2025! And the "Aitards" have been improved]. Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 February 2025.
- ^ Lamba, Tanveen Kaur (21 July 2024). "Shoko Miyata Kicked Out of Paris Olympics for Unforgivable Act, How Will Japanese Gymnastics Team Respond?". EssentiallySports. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
- ^ "2022-2024 Code of Points Women's Artistic Gymnastics" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation. pp. 129, 209. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Women's Artistic Gymnastics – 2025-2028 Code of Points" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation. 22 April 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
External links
Asian Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's All-Around | |
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