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	(1976-10-17) October 17, 1976 Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan
Residence	Santa Monica, California, United States
Height	1.49 m (4 ft 11 in)
Partner	John Baldwin
Former partner	Tomoaki Koyama (JPN)
Former coach	Jenni Meno Todd Sand Philipp Mills Peter Oppegard Oksana Grishuk Jill Watson
Former choreographer	Oksana Grishuk Philipp Mills
Skating club	All Year FSC
Began skating	1980
Retired	2010
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	183.17 2006 Worlds
Short program	61.73 2007 Four Continents
Free skate	122.27 2006 Worlds
Medal record Competitor for United States Pairs Figure skating Four Continents Championships Gold 2006 Colorado Springs Pairs Bronze 2007 Colorado Springs Pairs

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.

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.^[1] She became a U.S. citizen in 2005.^[1] Inoue became engaged to be married to skating partner John Baldwin in January 2008.^[2] They had a baby girl in November 2011.

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, Inoue is the 1994 Japanese silver medalist and 1998 bronze medalist. She represented Japan at the 1994 Winter Olympics in singles and placed 18th. She competed for Japan in singles through 1999.

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

Competing for the United States

While living in the United States, Inoue 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.^[3]

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

In the 2002–2003 season, Inoue / Baldwin competed on the Grand Prix circuit for the first time. Returning to Nationals, they won the bronze medal. They withdrew from the 2003 Four Continents, but placed 10th at the 2003 World 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 and repeated their 10th place finish at the 2004 World 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 Championships.

In the 2005–2006 season, Inoue / Baldwin medalled on the Grand Prix. At the 2006 U.S. Championships, Inoue and Baldwin became the first pair to successfully perform a throw triple Axel in competition.^[4] They went on to the 2006 Four Continents, 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.

Inoue / Baldwin on the podium at the 2006 Skate America.

In the 2006–2007 season, Inoue / 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. While in Saint Petersburg for that competition, Baldwin was abducted, assaulted and robbed,^[5] though he and Inoue were still able to compete, and finished fourth. At the 2007 U.S. Championships, they won the silver medal. They placed 8th at the 2007 World Championships.

In the 2007–2008 season, Inoue / Baldwin sat out the Grand Prix series, choosing to skate in shows instead. Returning to competition at the 2008 U.S. Championships, they won the silver medal. While they were taking their bows following their free skate, Baldwin proposed marriage to Inoue on the ice and she accepted.^[2][6][7] Inoue / Baldwin competed at the 2008 World Championships, where they placed 10th.

Inoue / Baldwin were 5th at the 2008 Skate America and won the silver medal at the 2008 NHK Trophy.

Programs

(with Baldwin)

Competitive highlights

Singles career for Japan

Pairs career with John Baldwin for the United States

Pairs career with Koyama for Japan

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rena Inoue.

• Rena Inoue / John Baldwin at the International Skating Union
• Rena Inoue / John Baldwin at the United States Figure Skating Association
• Official site of Inoue / Baldwin