Cathy Reed

Reed was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her mother is Japanese and her father is American.^[1] She was a dual citizen of Japan and the United States until she turned 22. Japanese law required those who are dual citizens at birth to relinquish their dual citizenship, so Cathy Reed chose Japanese citizenship at the age of 22 in order to continue to represent Japan in ice dancing.^[2] She competed in ice dancing with her younger brother Chris Reed until her retirement in April 2015. Her younger sister Allison Reed is also an ice dancer, who represented Georgia with Otar Japaridze,^[1] and Israel with Vasili Rogov; she currently represents Lithuania with Saulius Ambrulevičius.

Reed and her skating siblings grew up in Warren Township, New Jersey.^[3]

On March 17, 2020, Reed's sister, Allison announced on her social media that their brother, Chris, had suddenly died in Detroit, Michigan, on March 14, 2020, due to cardiac arrest.^[4][5] President of the JSF, Akihisa Nagashima paid tribute to him: "I am absolutely stunned by the sad news. I would like to offer my deepest appreciation to Chris Reed for his contribution to Japanese ice dancing over the years and extend condolences to his family. May Mr. Reed rest in peace."^[5]

A memorial service was held at a Michigan funeral home on March 21, 2020, and was publicly live-streamed on numerous platforms. Reed paid tribute to him in both Japanese and English: "I miss your voice. I miss your big smile. I miss holding your hand. But I'll be strong for you, Chris."^[6]

At the 2022 NHK Trophy, Reed got to see her sister, Allison, whom she hadn't previously been able to see in over two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[7]

Chris and Cathy Reed initially began with singles skating, before deciding to skate together when Cathy was 12. They approached Shae-Lynn Bourne and she became their coach, along with Nikolai Morozov, who choreographed their first program. They trained in Hackensack, New Jersey.^[8] The Reeds won the novice ice dancing title at the 2006 U.S. Championships. They decided to represent Japan beginning in the 2006–07 season.^[9][8] While novice national champions are usually given a chance to compete on the Junior Grand Prix, Cathy Reed was too old at the time of their win to compete as a junior internationally. The Reeds accepted an offer to compete for Japan, advancing immediately to the senior level.^[8]

After advancing to the senior level, they placed fourth at the 2006 Golden Spin of Zagreb,^[10] and second at the 2007 Japan Championships behind Nozomi Watanabe and Akiyuki Kido.^[11] At the 2007 Four Continents, they placed 7th, ahead of several teams who had been competing as seniors much longer.^[12]

Reed underwent knee surgery twice after tearing the meniscus in his knee, and later tearing the medial collateral ligament. He was off the ice for five months.^[8]

Making their Grand Prix debut, the Reeds placed 9th at the 2007 Skate America and 8th at the 2007 NHK Trophy.^[13][14] They won the Japanese national championships.^[15] They repeated their 7th-place finish at the Four Continents,^[16] and then placed 16th at the 2008 Worlds.^[17] They represented Japan at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver,^[18] finishing in 17th place.^[19] They won the silver medal at the 2011 Asian Winter Games.^[5]

The Reeds finished 5th at both the NHK Trophy and Skate America during the 2012–13 season.^[5] They were named in the Japanese team to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and 2015 Worlds, where they finished outside the top 20.^[19]

After the 2014–15 figure skating season, Reed retired from competitive figure skating and now works as a coach and choreographer; she coaches ice dance as well as skating skills for singles skaters.^[20] She is currently based at the Kinoshita Academy in Uji, Kyoto.^[21][22] She has spoken about the challenges of teaching ice dance in Japan, as there are relatively few rinks and singles skating is more popular, making it difficult for teams to find time on the ice to practice. As a choreographer, she takes inspiration from both Japanese and international dance and theater styles.^[22]

Her current and former students include:

(with Chris Reed)