Shingo Nishiyama was born on January 24, 2002, in Tokyo, Japan. He has an older sister. Nishiyama's favorite subjects in school are Japanese history and world history.[1] He attended Hinode Gakuen, a correspondence school recommended by fellow Japanese ice dancer Aru Tateno.[1] Nishiyama was accepted into Waseda University's School of Human Sciences to study sports education and psychology, as he wants to become a skating coach.[2][3] He is related to Japanese ballerina Akane Takada through his mother's side and has worked with her on improving body movement.[4][2]
Nishiyama has admired Yuzuru Hanyu since he was in elementary school.[3]
Career
Early career
Nishiyama began skating in 2008 at the age of six, at the suggestion of his first coach Masahiro Kawagoe, who saw him attending a lesson at Citizens' Plaza in Shinjuku, Tokyo.[1][3] He previously trained with Yutaka Higuchi in Tokyo, and qualified to compete at the Japan Championships each year. He was invited to skate in the gala at the 2013 World Team Trophy as the Japanese national novice champion in the same season.
Nishiyama moved to Canada alone at age 14 to train with Brian Orser, Tracy Wilson, and Ghislain Briand at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, despite not knowing the language.[5] After he suffered a hip injury in the fall of 2018 and was unable to practice jumps, another coach at the club, Andrew Hallam, suggested that he consider switching to ice dance.[4] Despite Nishiyama's initial reluctance to switch disciplines, he drew inspiration from Japanese sprinter Dai Tamesue's book to adjust his mindset.[3]
At the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, Yoshida / Nishiyama placed sixth in the ice dance event with a new personal best, following a sixth-place rhythm dance and a fourth-place free dance.[8] They were chosen by draw to be part of Team Courage for the mixed-NOC team event, alongside singles' skaters Arlet Levandi of Estonia and Ksenia Sinitsyna of Russia and pairs team Alina Butaeva / Luka Berulava of Georgia.[9] Yoshida/Nishiyama won the free dance portion of the team event, ahead of both the silver and bronze medalists from the individual ice dance event, to help Team Courage win the gold medal.[9]
Yoshida/Nishiyama announced their split in January 2021.[11] Nishiyama indicated that he would continue in ice dance, rather than returning to singles. In March 2021, he announced his new partnership with fellow Waseda University skater Ayumi Takanami.[12]
On 6 May 2023, Nishiyama announced that he and former Japanese single skater Azusa Tanaka had formed an ice dance partnership and would be training at the Ice Academy of Montreal in Montreal, Canada.[15]
2023–2024 season
Tanaka/Nishiyama made their international competitive debut on the Challenger circuit at the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, coming ninth.[16] They next competed at the 2023–24 Japan Championships, which proved to be a tight contest between them and two other senior teams. Tanaka/Nishiyama won the rhythm dance, finishing ahead of four-time national champions Komatsubara/Koleto and the new team Yoshida/Morita. However, they were third in the free dance, and finished second overall. The team said they were satisfied to have made it onto the podium, noting their rapid progress in the short time since partnering.[17]
^ abYokoi, Hiromi (January 16, 2020). "ユース五輪で金…アイスダンス西山真瑚は17歳でカナダ一人暮らし" [Gold at the Youth Olympics ... ice dancer Shingo Nishiyama lives alone in Canada at the age of 17] (in Japanese). Kobunsha. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020.
^ abcdTamura, Akiko (September 6, 2019). "日本のアイスダンス界に新星! 15歳吉田唄菜&17歳西山真瑚。" [A rising star in the Japanese ice dance world! 15-year-old Utana Yoshida & 17-year-old Shingo Nishiyama.] (in Japanese). Number.