Daisuke Takahashi
Japanese Figure Skater
| Date of Birth | : | 16 Mar, 1986 |
| Place of Birth | : | Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan |
| Profession | : | Figure Skater, Ice Dancer |
| Nationality | : | Japanese |
| Social Profiles | : |
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Daisuke Takahashi is a retired Japanese figure skater (men's singles and ice dance) and ice show producer. As a singles skater, he is a 2010 Olympic bronze medalist, 2010 World Champion, 2012-13 Grand Prix Final Champion, two-time (2008, 2011) and five-time Four Continents Champion (2006-2008). . 2010, 2012) Japanese national champion.
Takahashi represented Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics, 2010 Winter Olympics and 2014 Winter Olympics. Her bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics was the first Olympic medal for Japan in the men's individual test. He was also the first Asian to win a world title at the 2010 World Championships. In the 2012-13 Grand Prix Final, Takahashi again made history as the first Japanese to win a gold medal in the event, in addition to his achievement prior to being the first Japanese to win a medal in the event in 2005.
Career
Early career
Born in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, Takahashi began figure skating when he was eight years old. When a skating rink was built near his house, he went with his mother to watch the skaters at the rink and, afterward, enrolled in the figure skating club. His mother intended for him to enroll in the ice hockey club, but he did not like the protective gear of ice hockey and enrolled instead in the figure skating club.
Takahashi had a successful junior career, winning the 2002 World Junior Championships in his first and only appearance at that competition. Takahashi is the first Japanese man to have won the title.
Senior debut
For the 2002–03 season, Takahashi turned senior. He struggled with consistency during the first few years of his senior career. In 2004, he moved to Osaka to attend university – the university built a rink for him and other elite skaters.
Takahashi won a bronze medal at the 2005 Four Continents Championships and went on to the 2005 World Championships as the second-ranked of the two Japanese men on the World team, after Takeshi Honda. However, when Honda was forced to withdraw due to injury, it fell on Takahashi to qualify spots for Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Takahashi placed 15th, qualifying only one spot for the Japanese men.
Personal life
Takahashi was a student at Kansai University, along with Nobunari Oda. He has three elder brothers. After initially retiring from figure skating, Takahashi moved to Long Island, New York, where he enrolled in English classes at a local university. During his stay he also studied several dance styles at the Broadway Dance Center.
He announced in January of 2023, that he changed the spelling of his name from Daisuke Takahashi to Daisuke Takahashi.
In June 2023, during an interview on the Japanese talk show, Matsuko Kaigi, Takahashi opened up about his struggles with alcoholism back in 2014 following his initial retirement from competitive singles skating, which he described as a "dark period" in his life.
Public life and endorsements
With the silver medal at the 2007 Worlds, Takahashi made many media appearances and performed in many ice shows in Japan. He was also invited to the French team's show Stars sur glace (Stars On Ice) in Paris. In 2008, he performed at Festa On Ice in South Korea.
In July 2007, the Japanese Olympic Committee selected Takahashi as one of the "JOC symbol athletes" (JOC paid about 20 million yen per year to the symbol athletes for the image rights. JOC partner companies can use images of JOC Symbol Athletes for free). The program provided him with funding from JOC partner companies.
After his win at 2010 Worlds, Takahashi appeared as a guest on many TV shows and as an advertising spokesperson for the "Use pesticides safely campaign" and Japan Post.
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