Kana Muramoto was born on March 3, 1993, in Akashi, Hyōgo, Japan.[1] She is the younger sister of former figure skater Satsuki Muramoto.[2] In 2011, she graduated from Canadian Academy, an international school in Kobe, Japan.[3]
In the 2014–2015 season, Muramoto began appearing in ice dancing with Hiroichi Noguchi.[6] The two placed fourth at the 2014 Tallinn Trophy and took the bronze medal at the Japan Championships.
Muramoto/Reed were assigned to the 2018 NHK Trophy and 2018 Rostelecom Cup. However, on August 9, 2018, Japanese news media reported that they had ended their partnership and that Muramoto planned to search for a new partner.[10]
2020–2021 season: Debut of Muramoto/Takahashi
In September 2019, Muramoto formed a new partnership with former Japanese singles skater Daisuke Takahashi, with plans to debut in the fall of 2020.[11] The decision of Takahashi, a former Olympic bronze medalist and World champion in men's singles, to switch to ice dance attracted considerable media attention both in Japan and abroad. The two began training in Florida under Marina Zoueva, the coach of Olympic champions Virtue/Moir and Davis/White.[12]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grand Prix was assigned based primarily on geographic location. Muramoto/Takahashi nevertheless traveled from Florida to Japan to make their debut at the 2020 NHK Trophy, in a field consisting of only three Japanese dance teams. They were second in the rhythm dance, narrowly ahead of reigning national silver medalists Fukase/Zhang but some six points behind the reigning national champions, Komatsubara/Koleto.[13] In the free dance, Takahashi fell out of his second set of twizzles, which combined with missed levels of some lift elements to drop them to third place. Winning the bronze medal, he called his mistakes unusual, even in practice sessions, but a part of actually competing. Muramoto said she felt they could do better at their next competition.[14]
Making their Japan Championships debut, Muramoto/Takahashi placed second in the rhythm dance, less than four points behind Komatsubara/Koleto.[15] They were third in the free dance after Takahashi fell out of a lift and made several other errors, but won the silver medal overall due to Fukase/Cho also making errors.[16] They were named as first alternates to the World team.[17] In February, they were forced to withdraw as alternates due to a knee injury to Muramoto and were replaced by bronze medalists Fukase/Cho.[18]
2021–2022 season: Four Continents silver
Muramoto/Takahashi were again assigned to begin the season at the 2021 NHK Trophy, their lone assignment on the Grand Prix for the year. Sixth in both segments, they were sixth overall, defeating domestic rivals Komatsubara/Koleto by 7.30 points. Both expressed satisfaction with the results, but Takahashi said, "there is still a large gap we want to close to the top teams."[19] They went on to win a silver medal at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup.[20]
The 2021–22 Japan Championships, the final national qualification event for the 2022 Winter Olympics, pitted Muramoto/Takahashi against Komatsubara/Koleto for the second time that season. Muramoto and Takahashi both fell in the rhythm dance, as a result placing second in that segment, five points back of their rivals. They won the free dance but took the silver medal overall for the second consecutive year and were subsequently named as alternates for the Japanese Olympic team. They were instead assigned to make their World Championship debut later in the season and were named to compete at the Four Continents Championships as well.[21]
Muramoto/Takahashi won the silver medal at Four Continents, placing second in both segments. Muramoto, reflecting on her prior medal at the event, said, "I share precious memories with Chris regarding ice dancing, and we were also aiming for a victory. But I am also very happy that I was able to reach the podium with Dai and compete with the world."[22]
The team encountered difficulties at the Four Continents Championships, beginning in the rhythm dance, where Muramoto fell in the midst of their midline step element.[28] Takahashi fell twice in the second half of their free dance. They finished ninth at the event, behind domestic rivals Komatsubara/Koleto.[29] At the 2023 World Championships, held on home ice in Saitama, Muramoto/Takahashi finished in eleventh place. Muramoto opined afterward that "this season has been really tough, but I am very happy."[30]
Muramoto/Takahashi were Team Japan's dance entry at the 2023 World Team Trophy, coming fourth in the rhythm dance.[31] They were fifth in the free dance, setting a new personal best in the segment and in total score. Muramoto said that they were undecided about continuing for another year and would discuss it while touring.[32] Team Japan won the bronze medal.[33] They announced their decision to retire in May 2023.[34]
Post-competitive career
Since retiring from competitive figure skating, Muramoto has choreographed programs for several skaters.[35] Her clients have included:
^@kanadaiteamofficial (May 27, 2022). "かなだいチームオフィシャルアカウント初投稿です！" [This is the first post from the Kanadai Official Team Account!] – via Instagram.
^"村元哉中、高橋大輔組が国際大会初制覇 合計１８８・３０点マーク デニステン・メモリアル・チャレンジ" [Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi win their first international tournament with a total of 188.30 points at Denis Ten Memorial Challenge]. スポーツ報知 (in Japanese). 2022-10-28. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
