Kao Miura

Miura was born on 8 June 2005, in Tokyo, Japan.^[1] His mother, a doctor, raised him and his younger sister on her own after Miura's father passed away from cancer when he was seven years old.^[2][3]

His hobbies include watching anime and baseball matches.^[4]

After graduating from Meguro Nihon University High School, Miura enrolled into Meiji University School of Political Science and Economics in 2024. He has also expressed interest in learning English to better communicate with skaters from outside of Japan.^[5]

Summarize Timeline Top Qs Fact Check

Miura began skating in 2009. As the 2017 Japanese national novice champion, he was invited to skate in the gala at the 2017 NHK Trophy.

Miura made his Junior Grand Prix debut at Latvia and finished in seventh place. At 14, he became the youngest Japanese skater to land a quadruple toe loop in international competition with a successful attempt at the event's free skate.^[6]

Miura won the silver medal in 2020–21 Japan Junior Championships. Four days after the junior national championships, he made his Grand Prix debut at 2020 NHK Trophy and placed sixth. He was seventh at the senior national championships.^[6]

Miura was assigned to the Grand Prix at the 2021 NHK Trophy, where he finished eighth. He called the competition "a lot of fun" and without pressure.^[7]

At the 2021–22 Japan Championships in December, Miura finished in fourth place in the senior event after winning gold in the junior event the previous month. He was named as an alternate for the Japanese Olympic team and sent to make his ISU championship debut at the 2022 Four Continents Championships and the 2022 World Junior Championships.^[8] Miura won the bronze medal at Four Continents, his first ISU championship medal, saying "I think I was able to show the world what kind of a skater I am. Of course, there were some mistakes I made, but even with the mistakes, I was able to put on a good performance and round it off as I did today, so I'm very happy."^[9]

On March 1, Miura was assigned to replace Yuzuru Hanyu at the 2022 World Championships.^[10] He was subsequently himself forced to withdraw due to a left quadriceps injury, and was replaced by Kazuki Tomono.^[11] At the time of his withdrawal, Miura indicated that he hoped to recover in time to compete at the World Junior Championships scheduled for a few weeks later in mid-April. Multiple jump errors in the short program lead to his placing twentieth in that segment with a score of 60.03.^[12] He rose to thirteenth overall after the free skate.^[6]

Miura was invited to participate as part of Team Japan in the Japan Open following Yuma Kagiyama's withdrawal due to injury, finishing third in the men's competition while the team won gold.^[13]

Competing in the Grand Prix for his third season, and outside Japan for the first time, Miura's first assignment was the 2022 Skate America in Norwood. He unexpectedly placed first in the short program, aided by an error by pre-event favourite Ilia Malinin, and took the silver medal overall. He said that he "was in top form coming in, so I was able to do very well here."^[14] He placed first in the short program again at the 2022 Skate Canada International the following weekend, this time overtaking reigning world champion Shoma Uno and placed second in the free skate, earning his second consecutive Grand Prix silver medal.^[15] The two combined silver medals qualified Miura for the 2022–23 Grand Prix Final.^[16]

At the Final in Turin, Miura placed third in the short program despite falling on his jump combination, part of a Japanese sweep of the top three placements in that segment. He explained his error as having "panicked because my first jump was so good, and that's something I need to reflect on."^[17][18] He struggled in the free skate, tripling or doubling two planned quad jumps and falling on a third. He finished sixth in that segment and dropped to fifth overall. Very disappointed with the results and blaming a lack of focus, he said he hoped to "connect this frustration with the nationals and win and give it all."^[19][20]

Miura had a poor showing in the short program at the 2022–23 Japan Championships, falling on both of his attempted quad jumps. He placed thirteenth in that segment, well back of the leaders. He rallied in the free skate, placing second in that segment, sufficient to rise to sixth overall.^[21] As a result, he was named to compete at both the 2023 Four Continents Championships and the 2023 World Junior Championships.^[22]

At the 2023 Four Continents Championships Miura went into the event as one of the favorites for the podium along with Cha Jun-hwan of Korea, Keegan Messing of Canada, and compatriot Shun Sato. Miura had a shaky landing on his opening quad Salchow, but rallied to win the short program.^[23][24] After strong free skates by Sato and Messing, Miura needed to skate clean, and he did, landing all of his elements cleanly to achieve a new season's best score in the free program and overall to win the title.^[25][26]

Miura entered the World Junior Championships in Calgary as the favourite for the gold medal, and won the short program with a clean skate, placing five points clear of second-place Canadian skater Wesley Chiu. Referencing his poor short program at the previous year's event, he opined that he was able to "funnel that frustration into a good performance today."^[27] He went on to win the free skate by almost forty points, earning the gold medal, his second ISU championship of the year.^[28] "I give myself about a 70-percent score for my performance, especially in the second half of the program," he said regarding the free skate.^[29]

Following what he considered disappointments in the previous season, Miura vowed to change his mindset, with the goal of winning the national title and reaching the World Championship podium. He worked with choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne on a free skate to music from Attack on Titan, saying that he would be "acting as if I were fighting as a member of the Survey Corps."^[30] Beginning the season at the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy, Miura won the gold medal.^[6]

On the Grand Prix, Miura came fourth in the short program after doubling a planned quad toe loop. He went on to win the free skate, despite a triple Axel fall, rising to second place. He finished less than a point back of gold medalist Sōta Yamamoto.^[31] He went on to win his second event, the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo, coming first in the short program and second in the free skate and beating another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, by 1.22 points.^[32][33] Struggling with a stomach ailment that curtailed his practice time, Miura finished fifth at the Grand Prix Final for the second consecutive season.^[34][35]

Miura dealt with stomach trouble in the leadup to the short program at the 2023–24 Japan Championships, but managed to place fourth in the segment, cleanly landing all his jumps before two spin errors cost him points.^[36] He was fourth as well in the free skate, finishing fourth overall, 6.92 points back of bronze medalist Yamamoto.^[37]

Miura finished the season at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, where he came tenth in the short program after failing to execute his jump combination. He rose to eighth overall in the free skate, despite falling twice on quadruple jumps. Miura was pessimistic afterward, saying: "I feel bad for taking one of the three spots we had at the World Championships due to my poor performance."^[38]

Miura started the season by finishing fourth at the 2024 CS Lombardia Trophy.^[6] While at the event, he suffered an injury to his left foot in the same area where he had torn a muscle two years prior. Although Miura stated that the injury was not at risk of becoming serious and that he was given permission from his doctor to continue competing.^[39]

Going into 2024 Skate America, Miura expressed that the injury was still bothering him but that he would do his best.^[40][41] Despite this, he managed to deliver two strong programs, including a personal best short program, and won the bronze medal.^[42][40]

Going on to compete at the 2024 NHK Trophy, Miura placed second in the short program where he scored overall 100 points for the first time in an ISU competition. However, the following day, he would have a disastrous free skate, where he failed to successfully deliver any of his attempted jump elements. He would place eleventh in the free skate and dropped to sixth-place overall.^[43] Despite suffering with pain in his left thigh at the event, Miura made no excuses and was despondent during the interview following the free program. He expressed, "I don't know why [this happened]... I just don't have the skill. I'll just keep practicing so that I never experience this again."^[44] Following the gala exhibition, where Miura performed his Beauty and the Beast free program from the 2022–23 figure skating season, Miura was awarded with the "Best Performance Award."^[45]

Prior to the 2024–25 Japan Championships, Miura sustained an injury to his left thigh and had to take painkillers prior to competing.^[46] He placed fourth in the short program but only ninth in the free skate, finishing eighth overall.^[42] He was subsequently named to the Four Continents team and selected as the first alternate to the 2025 World Championship team.^[47][42][48]

Although assigned to the 2025 Universiade, Miura withdrew due to his nagging thigh injury.^[49] In late February, Miura competed at the 2025 Four Continents Championships in Seoul, South Korea, where he finished sixth overall.^[6]

Miura opened his season at 2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup where he placed eighth. The following week, he finished sixth at 2025 CS Lombardia Trophy.^[42]

In late October, he competed at 2025 Grand Prix de France. He was third after the short program, but took two falls in the free skate, and subsequently finished in tenth place.^[50] Following the disastrous event, he shared, "It’s not even just disappointment – it’s a feeling of sadness. It feels like I’m stuck in a long, dark tunnel, but I hope I’ll eventually see the light, and I’ll keep running forward no matter what."^[51] Prior to Skate Canada, Miura elected to scrap his Last Samurai free program and instead go back to his Umbrellas of Cherbourg program from the previous season, stating that after the Grand Prix de France he could no longer to listen to his intended program music.^[52]

The skater rebounded at his next event, the 2025 Skate Canada International, edging out teammate Kazuki Tomono for the bronze medal and scoring a new season's best in both the free skate and combined total score. "I’m happy to be sort of released from my nightmarish Grand Prix of France,” he said. “And it’s been almost a year since I was able to do a good free program."^[53]

In late December, Miura competed at the 2025–26 Japan Championships, where he won his first senior national medal, a bronze behind Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato.^[54][55] He was subsequently named to the 2026 Winter Olympic team.^[56]

The following month, Miura won the 2026 Four Continents Championships by a narrow margin of 0.11 points over South Korea's Junhwan Cha. "I was thinking about how I started this season," Miura reflected. "At my first free skate this season, I got 104 points. Looking back on that, I feel like I've fought through, I've trained and I've persevered. There were some frustrating moments, but I gave it my all and I've fought it until now."^[57]

On 8 February, while in Italy preparing for the Olympics, the outer part of Miura's right skating boot broke while landing a jump. Because of this unexpected incident, he inserted stiff material into the outer side of the boot before securing it with several types of tape.^[58] Two days later, Miura had a disastrous short program of the Men's singles event, where he doubled a planned quad Salchow and fell on a quad toe attempt. As a result, he placed twenty-second in the short program, managing to advance to the competition's free skate segment.^[59] On 13 February, Miura skated a significantly stronger free skate, placing tenth in that segment and moving up to thirteenth place overall.^[42] "It was an extremely rare experience," he said following performance, reflecting on his Olympic experience. "I really felt that it was a stage that comes with tremendous pressure. I learned how to conduct myself in that situation and in the free program, I think I was able to give a good performance in my own way. I learned from that. Rather than letting it end as just a memory, I want to return at the next Olympics as an athlete capable of winning a medal."^[60]

In March, Miura completed his season at the 2026 World Championships. Due to several errors in the short program, he placed twenty-fifth and did not advance to the free skate.^[61][62]

Season	Short program	Free skate	Exhibition	Ref.
2019–20	"Rise" By Safri Duo Choreo. by Luca Lanotte	"The Bells of Notre Dame" (from The Hunchback of Notre Dame) By Alan Menken Choreo. by Misao Sato	—N/a	[63]
2020–21	"Feeling Good" By Leslie Bricusse Performed by Michael Bublé Choreo. by Noriko Sato	The Last Samurai "A Way of Life" "Spectres in the Fog" "A Hard Teacher" "Red Warrior" "The Way of the Sword" By Hans Zimmer Choreo. by Eiji Iwamoto	"Piano Man" By Billy Joel	[64]
2021–22	The Four Seasons: Winter By Antonio Vivaldi Choreo. by Noriko Sato	Preludio Nada Pude Dormir Marinera de Lavante Amor Dulce Muerte Poeta en El Viento By Vicente Amigo Choreo. by Eiji Iwamoto	"Give Me Love" By Ed Sheeran Choreo. by Noriko Sato	[65]
			Rise
2022–23	"Michelangelo '70" "Muerte Del Angel" All by Astor Piazzolla Choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto	Beauty and the Beast "Main Title (Prologue)" By Alan Menken, Howard Ashman & Tim Rice "Evermore" Performed by Dan Stevens "Transformations" "Beauty and the Beast (Finale)" By Alan Menken, Howard Ashman & Tim Rice Choreo. by Eiji Iwamoto	"Suit" By Taro Hakase & →Pia-no-jaC← Choreo. by Kohei Yoshino	[66]
		The Phantom of the Opera By Andrew Lloyd Webber Choreo. by Kohei Yoshino
2023–24	"This Place Was a Shelter" By Ólafur Arnalds Choreo. by Benoît Richaud	Attack on Titan "Ətˈæk 0N tάɪtn" "omake-pfadlib" By Hiroyuki Sawano "Ashes on the Fire" By Kohta Yamamoto Choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne	"Natural" By Imagine Dragons Choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto	[67]
2024–25	"Conquest of Spaces" By Woodkid Choreo. by Benoît Richaud	"The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" By Michel Legrand Performed by Peter Breiner & His Symphonic Pop Orchestra "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" Performed by Mario Pelchat Choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne	Beauty and the Beast	[68]
			"Nemesis" By Benjamin Clementine Choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto
			"Myra" By Tani Yuuki Choreo. by Kao Miura
2025–26	"Sunset on M." "Sturm I: Fear" By Dardust Choreo. by Benoît Richaud "Conquest of Spaces - Woodkid"	The Phantom of the Opera The Opening By Jean-Michel Jarre "Prologue" "Overture/Hannibal" "The Music of the Night" "The Point of No Return/Chandelier Crash" By Andrew Lloyd Webber Performed by Gerard Butler Choreo. by Benoît Richaud To Know My Enemy (from The Last Samurai) By Hans Zimmer Hiten (from Rurouni Kenshin By Naoki Satō Curfew By Hiromitsu Agatsuma Red Warrior (from The Last Samurai) By Hans Zimmer Choreo. by Kenji Miyamoto "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg"	"INZM" By Number_i Choreo. by Kao Miura	[69][70][71][72][73]

Competition placements at senior level ^[42]

Season	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23	2023–24	2024–25	2025–26
Winter Olympics						13th
World Championships				8th		25th
Four Continents Championships		3rd	1st		6th	1st
Grand Prix Final			5th	5th
Japan Championships	7th	4th	6th	4th	8th	3rd
GP France						10th
GP Finland				1st
GP NHK Trophy	6th	8th			6th
GP Skate America			2nd		3rd
GP Skate Canada			2nd	2nd		3rd
CS Finlandia Trophy				1st
CS Kinoshita Group Cup						8th
CS Lombardia Trophy					4th	6th
Japan Open			1st (3rd)
Tallink Hotels Cup				1st

Competition placements at junior level ^[42]

Season	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23
World Junior Championships					13th	1st
Japan Championships	13th	8th	8th	2nd	1st
JGP Latvia			7th