Kyoko Ina

Kyoko Ina
Ina and Zimmerman in 2001.
Born	(1972-10-11) October 11, 1972 Tokyo, Japan
Height	1.52 m (5 ft 0 in)
Figure skating career
Country	United States
Partner	John Zimmerman
Skating club	SC of New York
Retired	2002
Medal record Representing United States Pairs' Figure skating World Championships 2002 Nagano Pairs Four Continents Championships 2001 Salt Lake City Pairs 2000 Osaka Pairs

Kyoko Ina (伊奈 恭子, Ina Kyōko, born October 11, 1972) is an American figure skater. With partner John Zimmerman, she is the 2002 World bronze medalist and a three-time (2000–2002) U.S. national champion. The pair also competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics. With previous partner Jason Dungjen, Ina was a two-time (1997 & 1998) U.S. champion and competed at the 1994 and 1998 Olympics.

Personal life

Kyoko Ina was born in Tokyo, Japan and raised in New York. Her grandfather, Katsuo Okazaki, was an Olympic runner (and Japanese Foreign Minister between 1952 and 1954), her grandmother, Shimako Okazaki, was a tennis player, and her mother, Yoshi Ina, competed as a swimmer and a sculler.

Skating career

Ina started skating at the rink at Rockefeller Center at the age of three or four. She skated singles and pairs for Japan in the Junior ranks, but eventually decided to compete solely for the United States.

Her first American partnership was with Jason Dungjen from 1991 to 1998, under the coaching of Peter Burrows and Marylynn Gelderman in Monsey, New York. They placed 4th at the 1998 Winter Olympics but withdrew from the 1998 World Championships after an accident during a practice session – while practicing a triple twist, Ina's arm hit Dungjen's forehead, fracturing the browbone above his right eye. Their partnership ended following that season.

Ina teamed up with John Zimmerman in 1998. Initially, they were coached by Peter Burrows and Mary Lynn Gelderman in Monsey, New York and they also commuted to Stamford, Connecticut, to work with Tamara Moskvina. They later trained under Moskvina and Igor Moskvin in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Ina and Zimmerman are able to capitalize on their height difference and perform various difficult lifts. They won three U.S. Championships and competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics. They won the bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships.

Ina had not yet turned professional when, on July 18, 2002, the USADA chose to perform an out-of-competition doping test on her. The agent came to her home for an unscheduled test at 10:30 at night. Ina stated that she could not produce the urine sample because she had already prepared to go to sleep. Ina was led to believe by the agent that the test could be rescheduled for the following day, but she was later charged with refusing to take a doping test. She was suspended by the USADA because of this and faced fines. Despite what had been reported, Ina never faced suspension from the International Skating Union because the refused test was a national out of competition test. Ina's case was further complicated because it was not clear at the time if she had or had not officially retired from competition at the time of the attempted test. Ina eventually filed a case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but later withdrew it. In the end, Ina accepted a two-year sanction from the USADA.

Ina and Zimmerman skated with the Stars on Ice tour for many years. In 2010, Ina competed in the second season of the Canadian reality competition Battle of the Blades partnered with retired NHL player Kelly Chase.

Ina currently coaches in New York.

Ina was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2018.

Programs

With Zimmerman

Season	Short program	Free skating
2001–02	Shine On You Crazy Diamond by Roger Waters, Pink Floyd	Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninov
2000–01	Truman Show

With Dungjen

Season	Short program	Free skating
1997–98		Polovtsian Dances by Alexander Borodin
1996–97		Grand Canyon Suite
1995-96		Slaughter on 10th Avenue

Competitive history

GP: Champions Series / Grand Prix

Pair skating with Zimmerman

International
Event	1998–99	1999–00	2000–01	2001–02
Olympics				5th
Worlds	9th	7th	7th	3rd
Four Continents		2nd	3rd
GP Final	5th			4th
GP Cup of Russia	3rd		4th
GP Lalique	2nd	4th	3rd	2nd
GP Skate America	5th	5th	4th	2nd
GP Skate Canada		2nd
GP Sparkassen				2nd
National
U.S. Champ.	2nd	1st	1st	1st

Pair skating with Dungjen

International
Event	91–92	92–93	93–94	94–95	95–96	96–97	97–98
Olympics			9th				4th
Worlds			12th	8th	6th	4th
GP Lalique				5th			6th
GP Nations Cup		2nd	3rd		4th	3rd
GP NHK Trophy					4th	3rd
GP Skate America			2nd	5th	4th		2nd
GP Skate Canada						3rd
Continents Cup						2nd
Piruetten			3rd
Schäfer Memorial						1st
National
U.S. Champ.	7th	5th	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	1st

Single skating for the United States

International
Event	88–89	89–90	90–91	91–92	92–93	94–95	96–97
World Junior Championships		5th
NHK Trophy			6th
Nebelhorn		1st
National
U.S. Champ.	1st J		7th	8th	10th	4th	11th
J = Junior level

Single skating for Japan

Event	1986–87
World Junior Championships	8th
Japanese Junior Championships	1st

External links

Media related to Kyoko Ina at Wikimedia Commons

• Kyoko Ina / John Zimmrman at the International Skating Union
• Official site at the Wayback Machine (archive index)