Sae Shimizu

Shimizu was born on August 10, 2005, in Osaka, Japan. In addition to figure skating, Shimizu enjoys sewing, cooking, and visiting shrines as hobbies.^[2]

She graduated from Renaissance Osaka High School in 2024, before enrolling at Doshisha University's Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences.^[3][4][5]

Her figure skating idol is Alena Kostornaia.^[5]

Shimizu began figure skating at the age of four after watching the sport on TV with her mom and wanting to try it for herself. She soon joined the Osaka Skate Club and was coached by Mie Hamada.^[6][7][8]

As a singles skater, Shimizu competed at the basic novice level at the 2015–16 and 2016–17 Japan Basic Novice Championships, finishing thirty-first and fifteenth, respectively. Going on to compete as an advanced novice level skater, Shimizu placed twenty-fifth at the 2017–18 Japan Advanced Novice Championships and eighth at the 2018–19 Japan Advanced Novice Championships.^[9]

Following her coach Mie Hamada's transfer from the Kansai University Skating Club in Takatsuki, Osaka to the Kinoshita Academy in Uji, Kyoto, Shimizu made the move as well to continue working with Hamada.^[10][11]

As a junior skater, Shimizu competed at the 2020–21, 2021–22, and 2022–23 Japan Junior Championships, placing sixteenth, thirteenth, and eleventh, respectively.^[9]

In early 2023, Shimizu decided to spectate a pair skating tryout that had been organized by Bruno Marcotte to help fellow Kinoshita Academy skater, Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda, find a partner. During the session, Marcotte approached Shimizu, asking if she wanted to try skating with Honda. Shimizu ended up agreeing to this and soon after, she and Honda decided to form a partnership.^[12] Their partnership was officially announced in May 2023. It was also announced that the pair would continue training under their singles skating coach, Mie Hamada, while also making trips to Oakville, Ontario, Canada to work with Marcotte and Brian Shales as well as train alongside World Champions Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara.^[13][14][15] Upon partnering with Honda, Shimizu changed her affiliation from the Osaka Skate Club to the Kinoshita Academy.^[11]

The pair made their debut at the 2023 Japan Eastern Sectional Championships, which they won, before going on to also win the 2023–24 Japan Junior Championships.^[16][1]

In October, Shimizu finished third in the women's singles discipline at the 2023 Japan Western Sectional Championships. With this result, she qualified for the senior-level Japan Championships for the first time. She would go on to finish eighteenth at the 2023–24 Japan Championships.^[9]

Shimizu/Honda were selected to compete at the 2024 World Junior Championships on the condition that they earn the minimum technical element scores to compete.^[17] Competing at the 2024 Bavarian Open, the pair finished eleventh, earning these minimum scores in the process.^[18] Going on to compete at the World Junior Championships, the pair placed fourteenth.^[16]

Competing on the 2024–25 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, the pair finished fourth at 2024 JGP Czech Republic and won the bronze medal at 2024 JGP Turkey.^[16] These results allowed the pair to qualify for the 2024–25 Junior Grand Prix Final in Grenoble, France.^[19]

In late November, the pair competed at the 2024–25 Japan Junior Championships, where they won the national title for a second consecutive time.^[1] This result ensured their qualification to compete at the senior championships.^[20] Going on to compete at the Junior Grand Prix Final, Shimizu/Honda scored personal bests in all three competition segments and finished fifth overall.^[1] Two weeks later, they competed at the 2024–25 Japan Championships. During their free skate, the pair stopped the performance after Shimizu dislocated her left shoulder following a fall during their attempted side-by-side jump combination. She then had her shoulder popped back into place so the pair could finish their performance.^[21] They would win the bronze medal overall and were subsequently named the World Junior team.^[1][22] Shimizu/Honda were also named to the World team on the condition that they could achieve the minimum technical element scores to compete at the event, which they were unable to do.^[23]

They concluded the season with an eleventh-place finish at the 2025 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.^[1]

In April, the pair announced they had parted ways with Shimizu intending to focus on singles skating.^[24]

At the 2025–26 Japan Championships, Shimizu placed twenty-seventh in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.^[9]