 Miura at the2024 World Championships | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native name | 三浦 佳生 | |||||||||||||
| Born | (2005-06-08)June 8, 2005 (age 20) | |||||||||||||
| Home town | Yokohama | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||||||||||
| Country |  Japan | |||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's singles | |||||||||||||
| Coach | Noriko Sato Nobuko Fukui Koji Okajima | |||||||||||||
| Skating club | OrientalBio Meiji University | |||||||||||||
| Began skating | 2009 | |||||||||||||
| Medal record | ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
Kao Miura (三浦 佳生,Miura Kao; born June 8, 2005) is a Japanesefigure skater. He is the2023 World Junior Champion,2023 Four Continents champion, the2022 Four Continents bronze medalist, a five-timeISU Grand Prix medalist, and the2021–22 Japan junior national champion.
Miura was born on June 8, 2005, inTokyo,Japan. As of 2018, he is a junior high school student inYokohama. His hobbies are watchinganime andbaseball matches.[1]
After graduating from Meguro Nihon University High School, Miura enrolled intoMeiji University School of Political Science and Economics in 2024. He has also expressed interest in learningEnglish to better communicate with skaters from outside of Japan.[2]
Miura began skating in 2009. As the 2017 Japanese national novice champion, he was invited to skate in the gala at the2017 NHK Trophy.
Miura made hisJunior Grand Prix debut atLatvia 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.[3]
Miura won the silver medal in2020–21 Japan Junior Championships. Four days after the junior national championships, he made hisGrand Prix debut at2020 NHK Trophy and placed sixth. He was seventh at the senior national championships.[3]
Miura was assigned to theGrand Prix at the2021 NHK Trophy, where he finished eighth. He called the competition "a lot of fun" and without pressure.[4]
At the2021–22 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 theJapanese Olympic team and sent to make his ISU championship debut at the2022 Four Continents Championships and the2022 World Junior Championships.[5] 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."[6]
On March 1, Miura was assigned to replaceYuzuru Hanyu at the2022 World Championships.[7] He was subsequently himself forced to withdraw due to a left quadriceps injury, and was replaced byKazuki Tomono.[8] 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.[9] He rose to thirteenth overall after the free skate.[3]
Miura was invited to participate as part of Team Japan in theJapan Open followingYuma Kagiyama's withdrawal due to injury, finishing third in the men's competition while the team won gold.[10]
Competing in theGrand Prix for his third season, and outside Japan for the first time, Miura's first assignment was the2022 Skate America inNorwood. He unexpectedly placed first in the short program, aided by an error by pre-event favouriteIlia 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."[11] He placed first in the short program again at the2022 Skate Canada International the following weekend, this time overtaking reigning world championShoma Uno and placed second in the free skate, earning his second consecutive Grand Prix silver medal.[12] The two combined silver medals qualified Miura for the2022–23 Grand Prix Final.[13]
At the Final inTurin, 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."[14][15] 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."[16][17]
Miura had a poor showing in the short program at the2022–23 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.[18] As a result, he was named to compete at both the2023 Four Continents Championships and the2023 World Junior Championships.[19]
At the2023 Four Continents Championships Miura went into the event as one of the favorites for the podium along withCha Jun-hwan of Korea,Keegan Messing of Canada, and compatriotShun Sato. Miura had a shaky landing on his opening quad Salchow, but rallied to win the short program.[20][21] 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.[22][23]
Miura entered the World Junior Championships inCalgary as the favourite for the gold medal, and won the short program with a clean skate, placing five points clear of second-place Canadian skaterWesley 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."[24] He went on to win the free skate by almost forty points, earning the gold medal, his second ISU championship of the year.[25] "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.[26]
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 theWorld Championship podium. He worked with choreographerShae-Lynn Bourne on a free skate to music fromAttack on Titan, saying that he would be "acting as if I were fighting as a member of theSurvey Corps."[27] Beginning the season at the2023 CS Finlandia Trophy, Miura won the gold medal.[3]
On theGrand 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 medalistSōta Yamamoto.[28] He went on to win his second event, the2023 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.[29][30] Struggling with a stomach ailment that curtailed his practice time, Miura finished fifth at theGrand Prix Final for the second consecutive season.[31][32]
Miura dealt with stomach trouble in the leadup to the short program at the2023–24 Japan Championships, but managed to place fourth in the segment, cleanly landing all his jumps before two spin errors cost him points.[33] He was fourth as well in the free skate, finishing fourth overall, 6.92 points back of bronze medalist Yamamoto.[34]
Miura finished the season at the2024 World Championships inMontreal, 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."[35]
Miura started the season by finishing fourth at the2024 CS Lombardia Trophy.[3] 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.[36]
Going into2024 Skate America, Miura expressed that the injury was still bothering him but that he would do his best.[37][38] Despite this, he managed to deliver two strong programs, including a personal best short program, and won the bronze medal.[39][37]
Going on to compete at the2024 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.[40] 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."[41] Following the gala exhibition, where Miura performed hisBeauty and the Beast free program from the2022–23 figure skating season, Miura was awarded with the "Best Performance Award."[42]
Prior to the2024–25 Japan Championships, Miura sustained an injury to his left thigh and had to take painkillers prior to competing.[43] He placed fourth in the short program but only ninth in the free skate, finishing eighth overall.[39] He was subsequently named to the Four Continents team and selected as the first alternate to the2025 World Championship team.[44][39][45]
Although assigned to the2025 Universiade, Miura withdrew due to his nagging thigh injury.[46] In late February, Miura competed at the2025 Four Continents Championships inSeoul, South Korea, where he finished sixth overall.[3]
Miura opened his season at2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup where he placed eighth. The following week, he finished sixth at2025 CS Lombardia Trophy.[39]
In late October, he competed at2025 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.[47] 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."[48] Prior toSkate Canada, Miura elected to scrap hisLast Samurai free program and instead go back to hisUmbrellas 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.[49]
The skater rebounded at his next event at2025 Skate Canada International, edging out teammateKazuki 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."[50]
| Season | Short program | Free skate | Exhibition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 |
|
| — | [51] |
| 2020–21 |
|
| [52] | |
| 2021–22 |
|
| [53] | |
| ||||
| 2022–23 |
|
|
| [54] |
| ||||
| 2023–24 |
|
|
| [55] |
| 2024–25 |
|
|
| [56] |
| ||||
| ||||
| 2025–26 |
|
|
| [57][58][59][60][61] |
| Season | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 8th | |||||
| Four Continents Championships | 3rd | 1st | 6th | |||
| Grand Prix Final | 5th | 5th | ||||
| Japan Championships | 7th | 4th | 6th | 4th | 8th | |
| GPFrance | 10th | |||||
| GPFinland | 1st | |||||
| GPNHK Trophy | 6th | 8th | 6th | |||
| GPSkate America | 2nd | 3rd | ||||
| GPSkate Canada | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | |||
| CSFinlandia Trophy | 1st | |||||
| CSKinoshita Group Cup | 8th | |||||
| CSLombardia Trophy | 4th | 6th | ||||
| Japan Open | 1st (3rd) | |||||
| Tallink Hotels Cup | 1st |
| 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 | |
| JGPLatvia | 7th |
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 281.53 | 2023 Four Continents Championships |
| Short program | TSS | 102.96 | 2024 NHK Trophy |
| TES | 58.33 | 2024 NHK Trophy | |
| PCS | 44.63 | 2024 NHK Trophy | |
| Free skating | TSS | 189.63 | 2023 Four Continents Championships |
| TES | 102.02 | 2023 Four Continents Championships | |
| PCS | 87.61 | 2023 Four Continents Championships |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 27–29, 2020 | 2020 NHK Trophy | 8 | 66.84 | 2 | 143.69 | 6 | 210.53 |
| Dec 23–27, 2020 | 2020–21 Japan Championships | 13 | 67.61 | 5 | 153.65 | 7 | 221.26 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 12–14, 2021 | 2021 NHK Trophy | 8 | 76.62 | 7 | 156.27 | 8 | 232.89 |
| Dec 22–26, 2021 | 2021–22 Japan Championships | 5 | 92.81 | 4 | 183.35 | 4 | 276.16 |
| Jan 18–23, 2022 |  2022 Four Continents Championships | 3 | 88.37 | 3 | 162.70 | 3 | 251.07 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Oct 8, 2022 | 2022 Japan Open | – | – | 3 | 169.94 | 1 | – |
| Oct 21–23, 2022 |  2022 Skate America | 1 | 94.96 | 2 | 178.23 | 2 | 273.19 |
| Oct 28–30, 2022 |  2022 Skate Canada International | 1 | 94.06 | 2 | 171.23 | 2 | 265.29 |
| Dec 8–11, 2022 |  2022–23 Grand Prix Final | 3 | 87.07 | 6 | 158.67 | 5 | 245.74 |
| Dec 21–25, 2022 | 2022–23 Japan Championships | 13 | 71.12 | 2 | 171.43 | 6 | 242.55 |
| Feb 7–12, 2023 | 2023 Four Continents Championships | 1 | 91.90 | 1 | 189.63 | 1 | 281.53 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Oct 4–8, 2023 |  2023 CS Finlandia Trophy | 1 | 90.95 | 1 | 176.86 | 1 | 267.81 |
| Oct 27–29, 2023 | 2023 Skate Canada International | 4 | 80.80 | 1 | 177.09 | 2 | 257.89 |
| Nov 17–19, 2023 | 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo | 1 | 93.54 | 2 | 181.02 | 1 | 274.56 |
| Dec 7–10, 2023 |  2023–24 Grand Prix Final | 4 | 94.86 | 5 | 166.67 | 5 | 261.53 |
| Dec 20–24, 2023 | 2023–24 Japan Championships | 4 | 93.91 | 4 | 186.17 | 4 | 280.08 |
| Feb 15–18, 2024 | 2024 Tallink Hotels Trophy | 1 | 99.58 | 1 | 143.37 | 1 | 242.95 |
| Mar 18–24, 2024 | 2024 World Championships | 10 | 85.00 | 7 | 169.72 | 8 | 254.72 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 12–15, 2024 | 2024 CS Lombardia Trophy | 5 | 76.42 | 4 | 158.33 | 4 | 234.75 |
| Oct 18–20, 2024 | 2024 Skate America | 2 | 99.54 | 3 | 179.13 | 3 | 278.67 |
| Nov 8–10, 2024 | 2024 NHK Trophy | 2 | 102.96 | 11 | 137.42 | 6 | 240.38 |
| Dec 19–22, 2024 | 2024–25 Japan Championships | 4 | 88.87 | 9 | 141.22 | 8 | 230.09 |
| Feb 19–23, 2025 |  2025 Four Continents Championships | 5 | 78.80 | 7 | 151.68 | 6 | 230.48 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 5–7, 2025 | 2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup | 6 | 82.49 | 10 | 136.68 | 8 | 219.17 |
| Sep 11–14, 2025 | 2025 CS Lombardia Trophy | 3 | 92.76 | 10 | 140.26 | 6 | 233.02 |
| Oct 17–19, 2025 |  2025 Grand Prix de France | 3 | 87.25 | 12 | 122.32 | 10 | 209.57 |
| Oct 31 – Nov 2, 2025 | 2025 Skate Canada International | 4 | 89.80 | 3 | 163.89 | 3 | 253.69 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Dec 21–23, 2017 | 2017–18 Japan Championships (Junior) | 10 | 59.98 | 14 | 102.42 | 13 | 162.40 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Dec 20–24, 2018 | 2018–19 Japan Championships (Junior) | 8 | 62.20 | 4 | 128.68 | 8 | 190.88 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 4–7, 2019 |  2019 JGP Latvia | 10 | 59.94 | 5 | 125.56 | 7 | 185.50 |
| Nov 15–17, 2019 | 2019–20 Japan Championships (Junior) | 15 | 57.86 | 4 | 122.54 | 8 | 180.40 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 21–23, 2020 | 2020–21 Japan Championships (Junior) | 5 | 71.56 | 1 | 136.15 | 2 | 207.71 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 19–21, 2021 | 2021–22 Japan Championships (Junior) | 7 | 64.00 | 1 | 165.28 | 1 | 229.28 |
| Apr 13–17, 2022 | 2022 World Junior Championships | 20 | 60.03 | 8 | 137.56 | 13 | 197.59 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2023 | 2023 World Junior Championships | 1 | 85.11 | 1 | 179.63 | 1 | 264.74 |
