 Kodaira during the 2018 Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 小平 奈緒 |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Born | (1986-05-26)26 May 1986 (age 38) Chino, Nagano, Japan |
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) |
| Weight | 61 kg (134 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Japan |
| Sport | Speed skating |
| Event(s) | 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m |
| Retired | 2022 |
Medal record | |
Nao Kodaira (Japanese:小平 奈緒; born 26 May 1986) is a Japanese formerlong track speed skater who specialised in the sprint distances.
She is the2018 Olympic champion in the 500 m distance. Kodaira is the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic gold medal in speed skating.
In 2009, she graduated fromShinshu University with a bachelor's degree in education.
At the2010 Winter Olympics she won a silver medal in theteam pursuit event. She placed 5th in the 1000 and the 1500 m events and 12th in the 500 m one at the Olympics. At the2014–15 World Cup stop in Seoul, South Korea, on 21 November 2014, she won the500 m event, and she has a total of 25 podium placings in the World Cup. At the2015 World Single Distance Championships, she won the bronze medal in the500 m event.
At the2017 World Single Distance Championships, she became the first Japanese woman to win an individual single distance world title winning the women's 500 m event.[1] She won also silver medal in the 1000 m event at the Championships. At the2017 World Sprint Championships, she won the women's competition. In the season, she became overall winner of ISU World Cup 500 m cup.
Kodaira took the top step also in every single ISU World Cup one in the2017–18 season ahead of the Olympics.[2]
She is the current world record holder in the 2×500 metres and the sprint combination,[3] and the former world record holder in the1000 metres[4] and the team sprint, as well as the current Olympic and Japanese record holder in the 500 metres.[5][6]
At the2018 Winter Olympics, Kodaira won gold medal in the women's 500 m event and the silver medal in the women's 1000 m event respectively. In the former, she also set an Olympic record and became the first woman to break the 37-second barrier at sea level, as well as the first female Japanese Olympic champion in speed skating.[7] In April 2022, Kodaira announced that she will retire from speed skating in October after a final race at the national single distances championship to be held in her hometown Nagano.[8]
| Personal records[9] | ||||
| Speed skating | ||||
| Event | Result | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 36.39 | 16 March 2019 | Olympic Oval, Calgary | Current Japanese record.[6] |
| 500 m (sea level) | 36.94 | 18 February 2018 | Gangneung Oval, Gangneung | Currentsea-level world best, currentOlympic record.[5] |
| 2×500 m | 73.55 | 26 February 2017 | Olympic Oval, Calgary | Currentworld record.[10] |
| 1000 m | 1:11.77 | 9 March 2019 | Utah Olympic Oval,Salt Lake City | |
| 1500 m | 1:52.67 | 5 December 2021 | Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City | |
| 3000 m | 4:21.53 | 22 October 2010 | M-Wave, Nagano | |
| Team sprint | 1:26.62 | 22 November 2015 | Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City | |
| Sprint comb. | 146.390 | 25–26 February 2017 | Olympic Oval, Calgary | Current world record.[3] |
| World records[11] | ||||
| Speed skating | ||||
| Event | Result | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 m | 1:12.09 | 10 December 2017 | Utah Olympic Oval,Salt Lake City | World record until beaten byBrittany Bowe on 9 March 2019.[4] |
| Sprint comb. | 146.390 | 25–26 February 2017 | Olympic Oval, Calgary | Current world record.[3] |
| Olympic records | ||||
| Speed skating | ||||
| Event | Result | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 36.94 | 18 February 2018 | Gangneung Oval, Gangneung | Current Olympic record.[5] |
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Women's sprint combination speed skating world record 26 February 2017 – present | Succeeded by Current holder |
| Preceded by | Women's 1000 m speed skating world record 10 December 2017 – 9 March 2019 | Succeeded by |
