| Rino Matsuike | |
|---|---|
 Matsuike performing her free skate at2024–25 Grand Prix Final | |
| Native name | 松生 理乃 |
| Born | (2004-10-10)October 10, 2004 (age 20) Nagoya, Japan |
| Hometown | Nagoya |
| Height | 1.51 m (4 ft11+1⁄2 in) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country |  Japan |
| Coach | Machiko Yamada Yuko Hongo Soshi Tanaka |
| Skating club | Chukyo University |
| Began skating | 2012 |
Rino Matsuike (/ˈriːnoʊmætsuˈiːkeɪ/REE-noh mat-soo-EE-kay;Japanese:松生 理乃,IPA:[matsɯꜜikeɾiꜜno]; born October 10, 2004) is a Japanesefigure skater. She is a four-timeISU Grand Prix medalist (two silver, two bronze) and finished fifth at the2022 Four Continents Championships, winning a small bronze medal for her free skate. She is also the 2022International Challenge Cup champion.
On the junior level, she is the2020–21 Japanese junior national champion and the2019 JGP Latvia bronze medalist.
Matsuike was born on October 10, 2004, inNagoya. After graduating from Chukyo High School, she enrolled intoChukyo University in 2021, where she currently studies at the Department of Sports Management. She has also studiedKorean as a second language at the university.[1][2]
Matsuike began skating in 2012 at the age of eight.[1] A fan ofMao Asada, Matsuike would soon join the Nagoya Sports Center to train under Asada's former coaches,Machiko Yamada andMihoko Higuchi.[2]
Matsuike competed at theJapan Novice Championships twice, finishing 14th in2016–17 and 11th in2017–18. She moved up to juniors the following year, finishing eighth at the2018–19 Japan Junior Championships.[3]
Matsuike made her junior international debut at2019 JGP Latvia, winning the bronze medal behindLee Hae-in andDaria Usacheva. She is the first Japanese lady to medal in her junior international debut sinceRika Kihira in2016–17.[4] Matsuike was scheduled to compete at2019 JGP Italy, but withdrew due to injury.[5][6]
At the2019–20 Japan Junior Championships in November, Matsuike was third in the short program but 14th in the free skate to fall to ninth overall.[7] As a result, she did not qualify for the seniorChampionships and did not make the2020 Winter Youth Olympics or the2020 World Junior Championships teams.
Due to the cancellation of theJunior Grand Prix, Matsuike opened her season on the domestic qualifying circuit. She won the Chubu Regionals and the Western Sectionals en route to the2020–21 Japan Junior Championships title.[8] Matsuike won by nearly ten points overHana Yoshida andMao Shimada. Her win would have qualified her for a spot on the2021 World Junior Championships team, but the event was cancelled.[9]
Matsuike made her senior international debut at the2020 NHK Trophy, winning bronze behindKaori Sakamoto andWakaba Higuchi. She called the event "a real confidence booster" and "that it [was] an honor to be skating here at NHK Trophy, so [she] wanted to enjoy every moment."[10] Matsuike aimed to further develop her skills after competing alongside the seniors, but her performance drew praise from international commentators, includingTed Barton.[9]
Matsuike made her seniorJapan Championships debut, placing seventh in the short program after a fall on a non-element but otherwise executing the program cleanly.[11] She was fourth in the free skate, receiving an under rotation on one jump and an edge call on her triple flip, and rose to fourth place overall.[12] As a result of her placement, Matsuike was named first alternate for the2021 World Championships team, pending her attainment of senior TES minimums.
Matsuike was assigned as a host pick to the2021 NHK Trophy, where she finished in sixth place. She had begun attempting a tripleAxel in competition that season at Japanese domestic competitions, but due to recovery from injury, did not attempt one at NHK.[13] She was eighth at the2021 Rostelecom Cup, her second Grand Prix. She expressed "many regrets about both of my programs" but said that she was focused on increasing her technical difficulty in the future to compete with the top Russian skaters.[14]
At the2021–22 Japan Championships, Matsuike placed seventh. She was named as third alternate for theJapanese Olympic team and assigned to compete at the2022 Four Continents Championships.[15] A poor short program left Matsuike in eighth place at Four Continents going in the free skate, after falling on a triple flip attempt and stepping out of her jump combination. She went on to skate a clean free skate, other than an edge call on the triple flip, placing third in that segment and winning a bronze small medal. She rose to fifth overall. Matsuike reflected on her season, saying she had had "a lot of regrets" about earlier events and the short program, but that "I was crying and really under pressure, but I was able to push myself, and today's performance was good." She expressed a hope of adding more difficult technical content in the following season.[16] Matsuike finished the season at theInternational Challenge Cup, winning the gold medal.[17]
After placing eighth in the short program at the2022 Skate America, Matsuike withdrew before the free skate due to illness.[18] She then went on to compete at the2022 Grand Prix de France, where she subsequently finished in seventh place. Matsuike came thirteenth at the2022–23 Japan Championships.[17]
Originally without aGrand Prix assignment, Matsuike was assigned to the2023 Skate Canada International after the withdrawal of compatriotRika Kihira. Despite dealing with some underrotation calls on her jumps, she finished third and won her second Grand Prix medal.[19] Matsuike said that while there had been mistakes, "overall I put it all together. I wasn't even supposed to be at an event like this and I was just happy to be here and be in good health."[20] Matsuike finished seventeenth at the2023–24 Japan Championships.[17]
Matsuike began her season at the2024 Skate Canada International, placing tenth after the short program after a downgrade on her double Axel and fall and downgrade on her triple lutz. However, she came back in the free skate with a score of 139.85, placing first in the free program segment ahead of three-time world champion and teammateKaori Sakamoto and taking the silver medal overall. Her rise of eight placements was the highest jump in placements seen at anISU Grand Prix, matching that previously achieved byAmber Glenn andJeremy Abbott.[21] Matsuike later shared that after her "heartbreaking" short program, her mother had sent her aLine message, telling her to "always love yourself," which in turn helped give her the strength to deliver a strong free program.[22] Following the event,Christopher Tin, the musician who composed Matsuike's free program music, praised her performance on his social media accounts.[23]
At the2024 Finlandia Trophy, her second Grand Prix assignment, Matsuike placed fourth after the short program following a fall on her triple flip. However, she placed first in the free skate and second overall, narrowly missing out on the gold medal to compatriotHana Yoshida by 0.26 points.[24][25][26]
Matsuike's two silver medal results on the Grand Prix series allowed her to qualify for the2024–25 Grand Prix Final inGrenoble, France.[27] She competed at the Grand Prix Final in December and finished in sixth place after receiving under-rotation calls on four of her jumping passes in the free skate. Matsuike said that she "really felt like I am still lacking" but that she hoped to make good use of the experience looking forward to theJapan Figure Skating Championships later in the month.[28] Two weeks later, she competed at the2024–25 Japan Championships, finishing in fifth place.[26] Matsuike was subsequently named to the Four Continents team.[29] She was also selected as the first alternate for the2025 World Championship team.[30]
In January, Matsuike competed at the2025 Four Continents Championships inSeoul, South Korea, where she finished in eleventh place.[26]
| Season | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four Continents Championships | 5th | 11th | |||
| Grand Prix Final | 6th | ||||
| GPFinland | 2nd | ||||
| GPNHK Trophy | 3rd | 6th | |||
| GPFrance | 7th | ||||
| GPSkate Canada | 3rd | 2nd | |||
| GPSkate America | WD | ||||
| GPRostelecom Cup | 8th | ||||
| Challenge Cup | 1st | ||||
| Japan Championships | 4th | 7th | 13th | 17th | 5th |
| Japan Open | 2nd (2nd) |
| International: Junior[17] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 18–19 | 19–20 | 20–21 |
| Junior Worlds | C | ||
| JGPItaly | WD | ||
| JGPLatvia | 3rd | ||
| National[3] | |||
| Japan Junior | 8th | 9th | 1st |
| WD = Withdrew; C = Event cancelled | |||
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 202.21 | 2022 Four Continents Championships |
| Short program | TSS | 66.41 | 2019 JGP Latvia |
| TES | 38.18 | 2019 JGP Latvia | |
| PCS | 31.45 | 2023 Skate Canada | |
| Free skating | TSS | 142.05 | 2022 Four Continents Championships |
| TES | 76.57 | 2022 Four Continents Championships | |
| PCS | 66.55 | 2023 Skate Canada |
Small medals for short and free programs awarded only atISU Championships. ISU Personal bests highlighted inbold.
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Oct 25–27, 2024 |  2024 Skate Canada International | 10 | 52.31 | 1 | 139.85 | 2 | 192.16 |
| Nov 15–17, 2024 |  2024 Finlandia Trophy | 4 | 64.82 | 1 | 134.38 | 2 | 199.20 |
| Dec 5–8, 2024 |  2024–25 Grand Prix Final | 5 | 62.63 | 6 | 126.39 | 6 | 189.02 |
| Dec 19–22, 2024 | 2024–25 Japan Championships | 5 | 70.79 | 5 | 133.21 | 5 | 204.00 |
| Feb 19–23, 2025 |  2025 Four Continents Championships | 13 | 55.07 | 9 | 122.03 | 11 | 177.10 |
| 2023–2024 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| December 20–24, 2023 | 2023–24 Japan Championships | 12 58.97 | 15 115.37 | 17 174.34 |
| October 27–29, 2023 | 2023 Skate Canada International | 3 66.29 | 3 132.33 | 3 198.62 |
| 2022–23 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| December 21–25, 2022 | 2022–23 Japan Championships | 20 56.01 | 13 123.84 | 13 179.85 |
| November 4–6, 2022 | 2022 Grand Prix de France | 9 57.68 | 6 118.84 | 7 176.52 |
| October 21–23, 2022 | 2022 Skate America | 8 59.50 | WD | WD |
| 2021–2022 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| February 24–27, 2022 | 2022 Challenge Cup | 1 74.21 | 1 150.13 | 1 224.34 |
| January 18–23, 2022 | 2022 Four Continents Championships | 8 60.16 | 3 142.05 | 5 202.21 |
| December 22–26, 2021 | 2021–22 Japan Championships | 6 72.31 | 7 126.46 | 7 198.77 |
| November 26–28, 2021 | 2021 Rostelecom Cup | 7 62.98 | 8 121.38 | 8 184.36 |
| November 12–14, 2021 | 2021 NHK Trophy | 7 63.34 | 5 122.83 | 6 186.17 |
| October 3, 2021 | 2021 Japan Open | – | 2 135.12 | 2T |
| 2020–2021 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| December 24–27, 2020 | 2020–21 Japan Championships | 7 65.57 | 4 139.17 | 4 204.74 |
| November 27–29, 2020 | 2020 NHK Trophy | 4 65.74 | 2 133.23 | 3 198.97 |
| 2020–2021 season | |||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 21–23, 2020 | 2020–21 Japan Junior Championships | 1 69.06 | 1 129.32 | 1 198.38 | |
| 2019–2020 season | |||||
| November 15–17, 2019 | 2019–20 Japan Junior Championships | 3 61.91 | 14 94.79 | 9 156.70 | |
| September 4–7, 2019 | 2019 JGP Latvia | 4 66.41 | 2 126.62 | 3 193.03 | |
| 2018–2019 season | |||||
| November 23–25, 2018 | 2018–19 Japan Junior Championships | 7 53.62 | 10 97.00 | 8 150.62 | |