Tori Koana
Japanese curler (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tori Koana (小穴 桃里, Koana Tōri) is a Japanese curler. She was the skip of Team Fujikyu,[3] and now focuses on mixed doubles with curling partner Go Aoki
| Tori Koana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | May 25, 1995 Kōfu, Yamanashi, Japan[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mixed doubles partner | Go Aoki[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Curling career  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member Association |  Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship appearances | 2 (2018, 2026) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Mixed Doubles Championship appearances | 1 (2026) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other appearances | Asian Winter Games: 1 (2025) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
Women
Koana found success in women's curling during the 2017–2018 season, where she would skip her team to a gold medal at the 2018 Japan Women's Curling Championships.[4] This win qualified the Koana rink to represent Japan at the 2018 Ford World Women's Curling Championship[1] finishing in 10th. She also represented Japan at the third leg of the 2018–19 Curling World Cup, finishing with a 2–4 record.
To begin the 2019-20 curling season, Koana won the Morioka City Women's Memorial Cup and finished runner-up at the 2019 Cargill Curling Training Centre Icebreaker.[5][6] The Koana rink was unable to win another Japanese Women's title, finishing 4th at the 2020 and 2021. Koana later decided to become an alternate on the team, that would now be skipped by Yuna Kotani for the 2021-22 curling season, where they finished in 8th at the 2022 Japan Curling Championships.
Mixed doubles
Koana started curling with Go Aoki in mixed doubles in 2021, where they found success, finishing third at the 2021 Japan Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. Koana and Aoki would then start to focus on solely on mixed doubles curling, where they would continue to find success nationally, finishing second at the 2023 and 2025 national championships, as well as winning multiple events on the world mixed doubles tour. Koana and Aoki first represented Japan in mixed doubles at the 2025 Asian Winter Games, where they won the gold medal, beating South Korea 7–6 in the final.
Koana and Aoki would win their first mixed doubles national title at the 2025 Japanese Olympic mixed doubles curling trials, defeating both the 2024 (Miyu Ueno & Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi) and 2025 (Chiaki Matsumura & Yasumasa Tanida) Japanese mixed doubles champions. This gave Koana and Aoki the right to represent Japan at the Olympic Qualification Event where they will need to finish in the top two to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.[7]
Personal life
Koana worked as an amusement park employee for Fujikyu Highland Co., Ltd.[1] until 2022.[3] She currently works as an office manager and is married.[8]
Teams
| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Alternate | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Junko Nishimuro (Fourth) | Tori Koana (Skip) | Misato Yanagisawa | Riko Toyoda | ||
| 2014–15 | Junko Nishimuro (Fourth) | Misato Yanagisawa | Tori Koana (Skip) | Riko Toyoda | Yuna Kotani | |
| 2015–16 | Junko Nishimuro (Fourth) | Misato Yanagisawa | Tori Koana (Skip) | Yuna Kotani | Riko Toyoda | |
| 2016–17 | Junko Nishimuro (Fourth) | Tori Koana (Skip) | Yuna Kotani | Mao Ishigaki | Kyoka Kuramitsu | |
| 2017–18 | Tori Koana | Yuna Kotani | Mao Ishigaki | Arisa Kotani | Kaho Onodera | WWCC 2018 (10th) |
| 2018–19 | Tori Koana | Junko Nishimuro | Mao Ishigaki | Arisa Kotani | Yuna Kotani | CWC (6th) |
| 2019–20 | Tori Koana | Yuna Kotani | Mao Ishigaki | Arisa Kotani | [9] | |
| 2020–21 | Tori Koana | Yuna Kotani | Mao Ishigaki | Arisa Kotani | ||
| 2021–22 | Yuna Kotani | Arisa Kotani | Mao Ishigaki | Michiko Tomabechi | Tori Koana |
