Yūto Totsuka
Totsuka in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Born | 27 September 2001 |
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Japan |
| Sport | Snowboarding |
Event | Halfpipe |
| Club | Yonex |
Medal record | |
Yūto Totsuka (戸塚優斗, Totsuka Yūto; born 27 September 2001) is a Japanese snowboarder and Olympic gold medalist.
Early life
Totsuka was born on September 27, 2001, in Kanagawa prefecture, Yokohama, Japan. He grew up snowboarding and started the recreational activity when he was just three years old. Although his parents made him try other sports, Totsuka felt the best joy whenever he was snowboarding, and later narrowed it down to snowboarding.[1] When Totsuka entered 3rd grade, he began practicing the halfpipe and became absorbed with it.[2] As Totsuku got older, he was inspired by former Japanese snowboarder, Maki Mitsui, who later became his coach. He continued to develop his skills, but unfortunately missed an entire season due to a broken arm at the age of 12.[1] As Totsuka got older, he began taking training from former Japanese snowboarder, Raibu Katayama, who helped improve Totsuka's skillset. In his third year of junior high school, Totsuka won the halfpipe competition at the All-Japan Ski Championships, finishing ahead of former world champion Ryo Aono and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist Taku Hiraoka. The World Cup triumph came a year later, followed by Olympic qualification. After that, he reached new heights, finishing in the top three of every major tournament he was in between 2019 and 2021.[1]
Career
He competed in the men's halfpipe at the 2018 Winter Olympics. He finished 11th overall.[3] He fell during the final, hitting the edge of the halfpipe and injuring his hip, and had to be evacuated by medics.[4][5]
Totsuka took the silver medal at the 2020 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado behind the gold medalist Scotty James.[6]
He competed again in the 2026 Winter Olympics, winning the gold medal in the final on February 13 with a score of 95.00 on his second run.[7] The centrepiece of his second run was a cab triple cork 1440. In this Olympics, his score narrowly outcompeted Scotty James’s 93.50.[8][9][10][11][12]
References
- ^ a b c "Meet the Beijing 2022 Athletes: Snowboarder Yuto Totsuka". Tokyo Weekender. Tokyo Weekender. January 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
- ^ "Yuto Totsuka — TEAM G-SHOCK". G-SHOCK. Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
- ^ "Yuto Totsuka". PyeongChang2018.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
- ^ Scott Davis (14 February 2018). "16-year-old Japanese snowboarder suffers horrifying fall in men's halfpipe and gets taken out on stretcher". Business Insider – via San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Phil Rosenthal (14 February 2018). "Why thrill of Shaun White soaring, agony of Yuto Totsuka's crash will stick with us". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ "Aspen 2020 Monster Energy Men's Snowboard SuperPipe".
- ^ Imbo, Will (13 February 2026). "Winter Olympics 2026: Japan's Totsuka Yuto soars to men's halfpipe gold at Milano Cortina". Olympics.com. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Bruton, Michelle (February 13, 2026). "Yuto Totsuka Holds Off Scotty James To Win Historic Men's Halfpipe Final". Forbes. Forbes. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
- ^ "Snowboard: Japan's Totsuka takes halfpipe gold as James settles for a second silver". The Straits Times. SPH Media. February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
- ^ Schlabach, Mark (February 13, 2026). "Yuto Totsuka wins men's snowboard halfpipe final at 2026 Winter Olympics". The Athletic. The New York Times Company. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
- ^ "Japan's Totsuka wins Olympic halfpipe thriller to deny James elusive gold". MSN. Microsoft. February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
- ^ "Flawless Yuto Totsuka stomps to gold in men's halfpipe". The Japan Times. The Japan Times Ltd. February 14, 2026. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
External links
- Yuto Totsuka at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
- Yuto Totsuka at the X Games
- Yuto Totsuka at Olympics.com
- Yuto Totsuka at Olympedia
- Yuto Totsuka at InterSportStats
- Yuto Totsuka at Team Japan (in Japanese) (in English)
- Yuto Totsuka at Milano Cortina 2026
- Yuto Totsuka on Instagram