Rena Inoue

Rena Inoue

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin
Personal information
Full name Rena Inoue
Country represented United States
Former country(ies) represented Japan
Born October 17, 1976 (1976-10-17) (age 35)
Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan
Residence Santa Monica, California, United States
Height 149 cm (4.89 ft)
Partner John Baldwin
Former partner Tomoaki Koyama (JPN)
Coach Jenni Meno & Todd Sand
Former coach Philipp Mills
Peter Oppegard
Oksana Grishuk
Jill Watson
Former choreographer Oksana Grishuk
Philipp Mills
Skating club All Year FSC
ISU personal best scores
Combined total 183.17
2006 Worlds
Short program 61.73
2007 Four Continents
Free skate 122.27
2006 Worlds

Rena Inoue (井上 怜奈 Inoue Rena?, born October 17, 1976 in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan) is an American pair skater. With partner John Baldwin, she is the 2004 and 2006 U.S. National Champion. Inoue previously competed for Japan as both a single skater and pair skater. Inoue and Baldwin are the first skaters to perform a throw triple axel in competition.

Contents

Personal life

Rena Inoue was born in 1976 in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan. She moved to the United States in 1996 at the urging of her father, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer. In 1998, Inoue was diagnosed with cancer. It was detected early, and after six months of chemotherapy, she was cancer-free.

Inoue graduated from Waseda University in 1999 with a degree in education.

She became a U.S. citizen in 2005.

Inoue became engaged to be married to skating partner John Baldwin in January 2008.

Career

Competing for Japan

Rena Inoue began skating at age four. She competed in the disciplines of single skating and pair skating in Japan.

As a single skater, she is the 1994 Japanese silver medalist and 1998 bronze medalist. She represented Japan at the 1994 Winter Olympics in singles and placed 18th.

As a pair skater, she competed with Tomoaki Koyama. They were the 1991 and 1992 Japanese national champions. They represented Japan at the 1992 Winter Olympics and placed 14th.

Inoue competed for Japan in singles in many international competitions through 1999.

Competing for the United States

While living in the United States, she was paired with John Baldwin by his father, a coach. Inoue and Baldwin tried out and agreed to form the partnership. They began competing together in 2000.

They placed 11th at the 2001 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The following season, they won the pewter medal at the 2002 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. They were sent to the 2002 Four Continents Championships, their first international competition together, and placed 7th.

In the 2002-2003 season, they competed on the Grand Prix. Returning to Nationals, they won the bronze medal. They withdrew from the 2003 Four Continents Championships, but placed 10th at the 2003 World Figure Skating Championships.

In the 2003-2004 season, they improved on their Grand Prix results and won their first national title. They placed 4th at the 2004 Four Continents Championships and repeated their 10th place finish at the 2004 World Figure Skating Championships.

In the 2004-2005 season, they medalled for the first time on the Grand Prix and qualified for the Grand Prix Final, where they placed 6th. They won the silver medal at the 2005 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and placed 11th at the 2005 World Figure Skating Championships.

In the 2005-2006 season, Inoue and Baldwin medalled on the Grand Prix. At the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Inoue and Baldwin became the first pair to successfully perform a throw triple Axel in competition.[1] They went on to the 2006 Four Continents Championships, which they won. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, they made Olympic and international history when they landed the throw triple axel for the first time in international competition. They placed 7th overall. At the 2006 World Figure Skating Championships, they placed 4th.

In the 2006-2007 season, Inoue and Baldwin won the gold medal at the 2006 Skate America after winning the short program and placing second in the free skate. They won the silver medal at 2006 Skate Canada International the next week; and then won the silver at 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard one week later. They qualified for the Grand Prix Final. At the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, they won the silver medal. They placed 8th at the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships.

In the 2007-2008 season, Inoue and Baldwin sat out the Grand Prix series, choosing to skate in shows instead. Returning to competition at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, they won the silver medal. While they were taking their bows following their free skate, Baldwin proposed marriage to Rena on the ice and she accepted.[2][3][4] Inoue and Baldwin competed at the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships, where they placed 10th.

Inoue and Baldwin have been assigned to the 2008 Skate America and the 2008 NHK Trophy for the 2008-2009 Grand Prix Season.

Competitive highlights

Singles career

Event 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99
Winter Olympic Games 18th
World Championships 13th
World Junior Championships 14th 5th
Japanese Championships 2nd 12th 5th 6th 3rd WD
Japanese Jr. Championships 1st 2nd 1st 2nd
Skate Canada International 9th
Cup Of Russia 10th
Sparkassen Cup 3rd 7th
Skate America 8th
NHK Trophy 11th 8th
Winter Universiade 2nd

Pairs career

For the United States

(with John Baldwin for the United States)

Event 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10
Winter Olympic Games 7th
World Championships 10th 10th 11th 4th 8th 10th
Four Continents 7th 4th 1st 3rd 4th 7th
U.S. Championships 11th 4th 3rd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd 3rd 3rd
Grand Prix Final 6th 4th
Trophée Eric Bompard 4th 2nd 4th
NHK Trophy 4th 4th 2nd 3rd
Skate America 3rd 2nd 1st 5th
Skate Canada International 2nd
Bofrost Cup 5th
Cup of China 5th
Cup of Russia 5th

For Japan

(with Tomoaki Koyama for Japan)

Event 1989-1990 1990-1991 1991-1992
Winter Olympic Games 14th
World Championships 15th
World Junior Championships 7th
Japanese Championships 1st 1st
Grand Prix Internationale de Nice 7th
NHK Trophy 7th

References

  1. ^ Mihoces, Gary (January 26, 2006). "A first in pairs skating?". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/winter/2006-01-13-pairs-free-skate_x.htm. 
  2. ^ After their skate, the answer is yes - Los Angeles Times
  3. ^ Olympic Skaters Get Engaged on Ice
  4. ^ Baldwin wins Inoue's heart with proposal

External links