Satoko Miyahara

Satoko Miyahara (宮原 知子) is a retired Japanese figure skater.

Miyahara was born on March 26, 1998, in Kyoto, Japan.

Her parents are both doctors.

Due to her parents' work, she moved with her family to Houston, Texas, when she was five years old and had returned to Kyoto by the age of seven.

Miyahara learned English during her time in the United States.

Miyahara became eligible for junior international competition in the 2011–2012 season.

She won a silver medal at her Junior Grand Prix debut in Gdańsk, Poland, and finished fifth at her second event in Milan, Italy.

Miyahara then won the Japan junior title and placed sixth on the senior level.

She was fourth at her first World Junior Championships.

On the junior level, she is the 2012 JGP U.S. champion, the 2011 JGP Poland silver medalist, the 2012 Asian Figure Skating Trophy champion, and a two-time Japanese junior national champion (2012, 2013).

Miyahara was invited to skate in the gala at the 2012 World Team Trophy as the Japanese junior national champion.

In the 2012–2013 season, Miyahara won gold and bronze medals at her JGP events in the United States and Turkey, respectively.

Miyahara then won the 2012 Japanese Junior Championships, before placing fifth at the JGP Final in Sochi, Russia.

Miyahara won her first senior national medal, a bronze, at the Japanese Championships, finishing ahead of Akiko Suzuki.

She ended her season at the 2013 World Junior Championships where she finished seventh.

Miyahara started the 2013–2014 season by winning the Asian Trophy.

Debuting on the senior Grand Prix, she finished fifth at the 2013 NHK Trophy, having placed sixth in the short program and fifth in the free skate.

At the 2013 Rostelecom Cup, she was sixth in the short program, sixth in the free skate, and fifth overall.

At the Japanese Championships, Miyahara placed fourth in the short, fifth in the free, and fourth overall, behind Akiko Suzuki, Kanako Murakami, and Mao Asada.

She was selected to compete at the 2014 Four Continents Championships, where she won the silver medal behind teammate Kanako Murakami after placing fourth in the short and second in the free.

Miyahara finished fourth at the 2014 World Junior Championships — less than a point out of third.

She ended her season with a gold medal at the Gardena Spring Trophy.

Miyahara attended a training camp during the summer of 2014 to work with Olympic champion Ilia Kulik on her jumps.

She opened the 2014–2015 season with a win at the Lombardia Trophy.

Competing in the Grand Prix series, she took bronze at the 2014 Skate Canada International after placing fourth in the short program and third in the free skate.

She won another bronze medal at 2014 NHK Trophy (fourth in SP, second in FS).

With these results, Miyahara was the second alternate for the Grand Prix Final.

At the Japanese Championships, Miyahara placed second in the short and first in the free on her way to her first senior national title.

She is the 2015 World silver medalist, the 2018 World bronze medalist, the 2016 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist (2014, 2015), a two-time Grand Prix Final silver medalist (2015, 2016), a two-time Skate America champion (2017, 2018), the 2015 NHK Trophy champion, a four-time CS U.S. Classic champion (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019), the 2014 CS Lombardia Trophy champion, and a four-time Japanese national champion (2014–17).

At the 2015 Four Continents Championships, she won silver for the second year in a row, having won the short program and placed second in the free.

Miyahara ranked third in the short, fourth in the free skate, and second overall at the 2015 World Championships, with personal bests in all competition segments.

She was awarded the silver medal behind Elizaveta Tuktamysheva.

At the 2015 World Team Trophy, she placed fifth individually and third as part of team Japan.

In the summer of 2015, Miyahara traveled to southern California to work with Ilia Kulik for the second year in a row, aiming to add more power to her jumps.

She opened her season on the Challenger Series, winning the 2015 U.S. Classic.

In February 2016, Miyahara graduated from Kansai University High School.

She graduated from Kansai University in the spring of 2021, having studied in the Faculty of Literature and majoring in British and American Literature and English.

Standing five feet tall, she is known to her fan base as the "Tiny Queen".

Miyahara began skating while she was living in the United States and came under the guidance of Mie Hamada in Kyoto, Japan at the age of seven.

She placed fourth at the 2018 Winter Olympics.