is a retired Japanese figure skater. He is the 2016 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, 2019 Skate Canada bronze medalist, three-time ISU Challenger Series medalist (including gold at the 2019 U.S. Classic), 2017 Winter Universiade silver medalist, 2011 World Junior silver medalist, six-time medalist on the ISU Junior Grand Prix, and a two-time Japanese national silver medalist (2016, 2017). He represented his country at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Career Tanaka began skating in 2002. He trains in Osaka and Kurashiki under coaches Utako Nagamitsu and Yusuke Hayashi.
2010–2011 season: Silver at Junior Worlds Tanaka won the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix in Romania and placed sixth in his second JGP event in the U.K. He finished ninth at the Japan Junior Championships. At the World Junior Championships, he placed sixth in the short program and first in the long program to win the silver medal.
2011–2012 season Tanaka won two medals on the JGP series and qualified for his first JGP Final, where he finished sixth. He finished second at the Junior National Championships. He was seventh in his second trip to the World Junior Championships.
2012–2013 season Tanaka won silver at one JGP event and finished 4th in another, qualifying for his second JGP Final, where he placed sixth again. After receiving the junior national bronze medal, he was selected to compete at the 2013 World Junior Championships but withdrew due to injury.
2013–2014 season Tanaka won two gold medals during the 2013–14 JGP series and qualified for his third JGP Final. He finished fourth after placing first in the short program and fourth in the free skate. He won his first junior national title and was selected to go to the 2014 World Junior Championships, where he once again finished in seventh place.
2014–2015 season Tanaka received one Grand Prix assignment, the 2014 Cup of China, where he placed eighth. He finished eighth at the 2014-15 Japanese National Championships and second at the Gardena Spring Trophy later that season.
2016–2017 season: National silver medal During the Grand Prix series, Tanaka placed seventh at the 2016 Rostelecom Cup and won the bronze medal at the 2016 NHK Trophy. He received silver at the Japan Championships, in December 2016. In February 2017, he took silver at the Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
2017–2018 season: Pyeongchang Olympics Tanaka finished eighth at the 2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy after placing fourth in the short program and ninth in the free skate. He received two Grand Prix assignments, 2017 Rostelecom Cup and 2017 Cup of China. He withdrew from the first event due to a muscle injury in his right hip-pelvic area. In December, Tanaka won his second National silver medal, and was named to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics, 2018 Four Continents Championships and the 2018 World Championships.
At the 2018 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, Tanaka set new personal bests in the short program, free skate and overall, finishing fourth. He placed eighteenth at the 2018 Winter Olympics after placing twentieth in the short and fifteenth in the free. He ended the season with a thirteenth-place finish at the World Championships.
2018–2019 season Again beginning the season at the Ondrej Nepela Trophy, Tanaka won the bronze medal. He placed eighth at both of his two Grand Prix assignments, the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki and the 2018 Internationaux de France. At the Japanese National Championships, he won the bronze medal behind Shoma Uno and Daisuke Takahashi. He placed seventh at the 2019 Four Continents Championships, and fourteenth at the 2019 World Championships.
2019–2020 season
Tanaka began his season at the 2019 U.S. Classic, where he won the gold medal.
Tanaka's first Grand Prix assignment was the 2019 Skate Canada International in Kelowna. Whilst traveling from a training session at the arena, Tanaka and fellow Japanese skater Marin Honda were in a car accident that led to both being briefly hospitalized. Tanaka was left with a sore knee. Tanaka was fifth in the short program after tripling a planned quad Salchow and managing only a double toe loop as part of his combination jump. He skated a new personal best in the free skate, despite two jump errors, and won the bronze medal. Tanaka was fifth at the Cup of China, his second Grand Prix.
At the 2019–20 Japan Championships, Tanaka placed fourth in both programs to place fourth overall. He was nevertheless assigned to Japan's team for the 2020 World Championships over bronze medalist Yuma Kagiyama who was assigned to the World Junior and the Four Continents championships. The World Championships were subsequently cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
2020–2021 season Tanaka was assigned to compete at the 2020 NHK Trophy on the Grand Prix, as part of an all-Japanese men's field in light of the ongoing pandemic limiting international travel. He was fourth in the short program after multiple jump errors. He was fifth in the free skate, but remained in fourth place overall. He placed fourth at the 2020–21 Japan Championships.
In the spring of 2021 Tanaka was cast as Narcissus' reflection (Narcissus himself was portrayed by Olympic bronze medalist Daisuke Takahashi) in the on-ice revue LUXE, which was a spin-off of the cross-genre Hyoen series, starring Daisuke Takahashi.
2021–2022 season Beginning the Grand Prix at the 2021 Skate Canada International, Tanaka finished in tenth place. At his second event, the 2021 Rostelecom Cup, he was ninth.
Tanaka finished in eleventh place at the 2021–22 Japan Championships.
Post-competitive career On April 11, 2022, Tanaka announced his retirement from competitive figure skating, intending to skate in shows and work as an assistant coach.
As a coach, his current students include Nozomu Yoshioka and Haru Kakiuchi.
Tanaka is a recurring cast member at the annual ice show Yuzuru Hanyu Notte Stellata, a commemoration event of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, led by two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu.
In the spring of 2023 it was announced that Tanaka would be portraying Roronoa Zoro in the show One Piece on Ice.
In October 2024 he joined forces with Olympic champion Shizuka Arakawa, Olympic bronze medalist Daisuke Takahashi, Kana Muramoto, Takahito Mura, Kazuki Tomono, Yuna Aoki, Kosho Oshima, Yuto Kishina and Rena Uezono to launch the members-only official fan community F-Ske on the platform FANICON.
In 2025 Tanaka was cast as Sasa Morihiko in the storytelling ice show Hyoen – Mirror-Patterend Demon , starring Daisuke Takahashi and Takahisa Masuda. It was the first time he had to speak dialogue in an ice show.
Programs Post-Competitive Career Programs SeasonExhibition2022-2023 Run Boy Run The Prophet Somewhere in Time Forever Young All My Love to You 2021-2022 24 Preludes, Op.28, No.4 & No.24 Somewhere in Time Progress Starland Competitive Career Programs Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 2021–2022 Shin Evangelion Whiplash Godzilla Main Theme Here We Go (Godzilla vs. Kong Trailer Music) Tasman Sea
Je te veux
Primavera Porteña
Whiplash 2020–2021 Hip Hip Chin Chin Sherlock Holmes JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Yugo Kannochoreo. by Misao Sato
EVANGELION:3.0+1.0 -LE FILM AVANT 111170 CH edition 0706 2019–2020 Pump It 2018–2019 Memories William Tell Overture JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Yugo Kannochoreo. by Misao Sato 2017–2018 The Prophet Federico Fellini films Just Like Fire
La traviata
Spirited Away 2016–2017 Primavera Porteña Spirited Away 2015–2016 Primavera Porteña La traviata Afro Freak 2014–2015 Instinct Rhapsody 2013–2014 Doctor Zhivago 2012–2013 Afro Freak The Untouchables Rise 2011–2012 Violentango 2010–2011 The Bolt
Competitive highlights GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
International Event 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21 21–22 Olympics 18th Worlds 19th 13th 14th C Four Continents 17th 6th 13th 4th 7th Cup of China 8th 7th 5th Finland 8th France 8th NHK Trophy 5th 3rd 4th Rostelecom Cup 7th WD 9th Skate Canada 3rd 10th U.S. Classic 2nd 10th 1st Ondrej Nepela 8th 3rd Asian Open 2nd 1st 1st Challenge Cup 2nd Cup of Nice 7th 3rd Gardena Trophy 2nd Triglav Trophy 2nd Universiade 2nd International: Junior Junior Worlds 2nd 7th 7th Final 6th 6th 4th Australia 2nd Austria 3rd Czech Rep. 1st Romania 3rd Slovakia 1st Slovenia 4th U.K. 6th USA 2nd Asian Trophy 1st National Japan Champ. 8th 11th 7th 7th 8th 8th 4th 2nd 2nd 3rd 4th 4th 11thJapan Junior 16th 8th 6th 6th 9th 2nd 3rd 1st Team events Olympics 5th T 5th P World Team Trophy 2nd T5th P Japan Open 2nd T3rd P
Detailed results Senior level
Small medals for short and free programs are awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals are awarded for team results only. T – team result. P – personal/individual result. Current ISU world bests highlighted in bold and italic. Personal bests are highlighted in bold.
2021–22 season Date Event SP FS Total December 22–26, 2021 2021–22 Japan Championships 10 84.10 9 148.32 11 232.42 November 26–28, 2021 2021 Rostelecom Cup 10 76.69 10 153.06 9 229.75 October 29–31, 2021 2021 Skate Canada International 6 78.83 12 143.37 10 222.20 October 3, 2021 2021 Japan Open – 3 163.93 2T 2020–21 season Date Event SP FS Total December 24–27, 2020 2020–21 Japan Championships 4 83.61 4 155.22 4 238.83 November 27–29, 2020 2020 NHK Trophy 4 76.57 5 138.95 4 215.52 2019–20 season Date Event SP FS Total February 20–23, 2020 2020 Challenge Cup 3 75.54 2 165.64 2 241.18 December 18–22, 2019 2019–20 Japan Championships 4 80.90 5 171.54 4 252.44 November 8–10, 2019 2019 Cup of China 7 74.64 5 158.98 5 233.62 October 25–27, 2019 2019 Skate Canada 5 80.11 3 169.91 3 250.02 September 17–22, 2019 2019 CS U.S. International Classic 2 88.76 1 161.20 1 249.96 2018–19 season Date Event SP FS Total April 11–14, 2019 2019 World Team Trophy 4 89.05 6 169.79 2T/5P 258.84 February 7–10, 2019 2019 Four Continents Championships 7 83.93 6 167.61 7 251.54 December 21–24, 2018 2018–19 Japan Championships 4 79.32 2 157.13 3 236.45 November 23–25, 2018 2018 Internationaux de France 8 79.35 8 136.97 8 216.32 November 2–4, 2018 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki 7 80.60 9 126.22 8 206.82 September 19–22, 2018 2018 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy 3 77.53 4 144.39 3 221.92 2017–18 season Date Event SP FS Total March 19–25, 2018 2018 World Championships 14 80.17 12 156.49 13 236.66 February 14–23, 2018 2018 Winter Olympics (men's singles) 20 80.05 15 164.78 18 244.83 February 9–11, 2018 2018 Winter Olympics (team event) – 5 148.36 5T/5P January 22–28, 2018 2018 Four Continents Championships 3 90.68 5 169.63 4 260.31 December 21–24, 2017 2017–18 Japan Championships 2 91.34 2 175.81 2 267.15 November 3–5, 2017 2017 Cup of China 4 87.19 8 159.98 7 247.17 September 21–23, 2017 2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy 4 75.81 9 121.37 8 197.18 August 2–5, 2017 2017 Asian Trophy 2 68.75 1 151.33 1 220.08
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