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Kaya Kazuma

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Kaya Kazuma (萱 和磨, born 19 November 1996) is a Japanese artistic gymnast. He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, winning silver with the Japanese team and bronze in the pommel horse. He again competed at the 2024 games as part of the Japanese team which won gold in the all-around competition. He is also a two-time World champion with the Japanese team (2015, 2023) and a two-time World medalist on the pommel horse (2021 silver, 2015 bronze). He is the 2019 Universiade team and all-around champion.

Kaya Kazuma
萱 和磨
Nickname(s)Kayakun
Country represented Japan
Born (1996-11-19) 19 November 1996 (age 28)
Funabashi, Chiba, Japan[1]
Height1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)[2]
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior Elite
Years on national team2015 – present (JPN)
ClubCentral Sports
Head coach(es)Yoshiri Saito, Hisashi Hizutori
Medal record
Men's artistic gymnastics
Representing  Japan
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Team
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Team
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo Pommel horse
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Glasgow Team
Gold medal – first place 2023 Antwerp Team
Silver medal – second place 2021 Kitakyushu Pommel horse
Silver medal – second place 2022 Liverpool Team
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Glasgow Pommel horse
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Doha Team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Stuttgart Team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Stuttgart Parallel bars
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Hiroshima Team
Gold medal – first place 2015 Hiroshima Pommel horse
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Hiroshima Parallel bars
World University Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Naples Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Naples All-around
Gold medal – first place 2021 Chengdu Floor exercise
Silver medal – second place 2019 Naples Floor exercise
Silver medal – second place 2021 Chengdu Team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Naples Pommel horse
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Chengdu All-around
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Chengdu Parallel bars

Early life

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Kaya began gymnastics in 2004 at the age of eight. He was inspired by watching the Japanese artistic gymnastics team win gold in the team event at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.[3][4]

While in middle school, Kaya moved to Narashino to train with one of the top gymnastics schools.[5]

Career

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Kaya won the all-around title at the 2014 National High School Championships, and he finished 27th at the 2014 All-Japan Championships.[5]

2015

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Kaya joined the Juntendo University team and made his national team debut in 2015.[1] At the Asian Championships in Hiroshima, Kaya won a gold medal with the Japanese team. He also placed third in the all-around, but due to the two-per-country rule, he did not receive the bronze medal as he placed behind Ryōhei Katō and Yusuke Tanaka. He then won the gold medal in the pommel horse final and the bronze medal in the parallel bars final.[6] He then competed at the World Championships and helped the Japanese team qualify for the final in first place and earn a team berth for the 2016 Olympic Games.[7] Then in the team final, he competed on the pommel horse and helped the team win the gold medal.[8] Individually, Kaya qualified for the all-around final where he finished in 10th place.[9] Then in the pommel horse final, he tied with Armenia's Harutyun Merdinyan for the bronze medal.[10]

2016–17

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Kaya won a silver medal on the still rings and a bronze medal on the parallel bars at the 2016 Baku World Cup.[11] He was an alternate for Japan's 2016 Olympic team.[12]

Kaya won a silver medal in the all-around behind Ukraine's Oleg Verniaiev at the 2017 Stuttgart World Cup.[13] Then at the Szombathely World Challenge Cup, he won gold medals on the pommel horse and parallel bars.[14]

2018

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Kaya won the gold medal on the floor exercise at the Baku World Cup.[15] He was then selected to compete at the World Championships in Doha alongside Kenzō Shirai, Yusuke Tanaka, Wataru Tanigawa, and Kōhei Uchimura.[16] In the qualification round, Kaya fell off the pommel horse and failed to qualify for the event final.[17] The Japanese team then finished third in the team final and earned a team berth for the 2020 Olympic Games.[18] Kaya placed sixth in the all-around final and eighth in the floor exercise final.[19][20]

2019

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Kaya won a bronze medal in the all-around at the Birmingham World Cup behind Nikita Nagornyy and Sun Wei.[21] He was then selected to represent Japan at the 2019 Summer Universiade, winning the team gold medal alongside brothers Wataru and Kakeru Tanigawa.[22] Then in the all-around final, Kaya won the gold medal by nearly three points ahead of Russia's Ivan Stretovich.[23] In the event finals, he won silver on the floor exercise and bronze on the pommel horse.[24][25] Kaya then competed at the World Championships alongside the Tanigawa brothers, Daiki Hashimoto, and Yuya Kamoto, and they won the bronze medal behind Russia and China.[26] He then placed sixth in the all-around final for the second consecutive year.[27] Then in the parallel bars final, he won the bronze medal behind Joe Fraser and Ahmet Önder, which was Japan's only individual medal at these World Championships.[28]

2020

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Kaya was scheduled to compete at both the Stuttgart and Birmingham World Cups.[29][30] However, both of these events were postponed to 2021 and eventually canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[31][32] In November, Kaya competed at the Friendship and Solidarity Competition in Tokyo, competing as part of Team Friendship who lost to Team Solidarity.[33] Then in December, he won his first national all-around title at the All-Japan Championships.[34]

2021

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Kaya won the bronze medal in the all-around at the All-Japan Championships,[35] and he won the silver medal in the all-around at the NHK Trophy, qualifying for the Olympic team.[36]

At the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Kaya was the team captain for Japan,[3] competing alongside Daiki Hashimoto, Takeru Kitazono and Wataru Tanigawa. They won the silver medal in the team final, finishing only 0.103 behind the gold medal-winning Russian Olympic Committee.[4] Individually, Kaya qualified for the pommel horse final and won the bronze medal behind Max Whitlock and Lee Chih-kai.[37]

At the 2021 World Championships held in Kitakyushu, Kaya won the silver on the pommel horse,[38] and he placed sixth on both the floor exercise and parallel bars.[39] After the World Championships, he competed at the All-Japan Team Championships, helping Central Sports win the bronze medal.[40]

2022–23

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Kaya was the alternate for the 2022 World Championships team, and he received a silver medal.[41] He then competed in the mixed-team event at the 2022 Swiss Cup Zürich with Chiaki Hatakeda, and they finished fifth.[42]

At the 2023 Cottbus World Cup, Kaya won a silver medal on the floor exercise and a bronze medal on the horizontal bar.[43] He then competed at the World University Games and won a silver medal with the Japanese team. Individually, he won a gold medal on the floor exercise and bronze medals in the all-around and on the parallel bars.[44] He was selected to compete at the World Championships alongside Kenta Chiba, Daiki Hashimoto, Kazuki Minami, and Kaito Sugimoto.[45] The Japanese team won the World title for the first time since 2015, with Kaya being the only member of the 2015 team still competing.[46] Kaya initially qualified for the all-around final behind teammate Chiba and ahead of Hashimoto, who would not be able to compete in the final due to the two-per-country rule.[47] However, the Japanese coaching team pulled Kaya out of the final in favor of Hashimoto.[48] Kaya did compete in the parallel bars final, where he finished fourth.[49] After the World Championships, he once again competed at the Swiss Cup Zürich with Chiaki Hatakeda, and they won the silver medal behind the American team.[50]

2024

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Kaya finished second in the all-around at the NHK Trophy and was selected to represent Japan at the 2024 Summer Olympics alongside Daiki Hashimoto, Shinnosuke Oka, Takaaki Sugino, and Wataru Tanigawa.[51] Kaya was once again selected as the team captain.[52] The team won the all-around gold on July 29 defeating long-time rival China.[53]

Awards

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Kaya was presented with the Narashino Mayor Award in 2014. He also won the Inzai Citizen Honorary Award in 2015 and 2021, and in 2021, he received the Chiba Citizen Honorary Award.[54]

Personal life

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As of 2023, Kaya is studying for a doctoral degree in sports science from Juntendo University.[44] On 11 January 2022, Kaya registered for marriage with his longtime girlfriend.[55]

Competitive history

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Year Event Team AA FX PH SR VT PB HB
2014 National High School Championships  
All-Japan Championships 27
2015
Asian Championships      
World Championships   10  
2016 Baku World Cup    
2017 Stuttgart World Cup  
Szombathely World Challenge Cup   7   4
2018 Baku World Cup   5 5
World Championships   6 8
2019 Birmingham World Cup  
Universiade         6 7
World Championships   6 5  
2020 Friendship and Solidarity Competition  
All-Japan Championships  
2021 All-Japan Championships  
NHK Trophy  
Olympic Games    
World Championships — 6   6
All-Japan Team Championships  
2022
World Championships  
Swiss Cup Zürich 5
2023 Cottbus World Cup   6 4  
World University Games       4  
World Championships   4
Swiss Cup Zürich  
2024 NHK Trophy  

References

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  1. ^ a b "萱 和磨" [Kazuma Kaya]. Sports Biz Sport Management Company (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Artistic Gymnastics - Kaya Kazuma". Tokyo 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Kaya Kazuma: Winner of Two Medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games". Japan Sports Journey. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b Crumlish, John (8 September 2021). "Kaya Kazuma: 'I came this far because of love for gymnastics'". International Gymnast Magazine. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b "萱和磨（千葉・習志野3年）体操個人総合の新星 全国高校選抜初優勝" [Kazuma Kaya (3rd year, Narashino, Chiba) A rising star in the gymnastics individual all-around, first-time winner of the National High School Championships]. Koukousei Shinbun (in Japanese). 10 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Japanese, Chinese win big at Asian Championships in Hiroshima". International Gymnastics Federation. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Japan, Kohei Uchimura lead as first Men's teams qualify for Rio at Glasgow Worlds". International Gymnastics Federation. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  8. ^ "46th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, Glasgow (GBR) Men's Team Final" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  9. ^ "46th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, Glasgow (GBR) Men's All-Around Final" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  10. ^ "46th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, Glasgow (GBR) Men's Apparatus Final" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 31 October 2015. p. 2. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Japan, Brazil best at Baku World Challenge Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  12. ^ "萱、待望の五輪へ 体操ＮＨＫ杯" [Kaya heads to long-awaited Olympics at NHK Cup Gymnastics]. Jiji (in Japanese). 16 May 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Tabea Alt, Oleg Verniaiev star at Stuttgart's DTB-Pokal World Cup weekend". International Gymnastics Federation. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Diversity in Szombathely as newcomers, veterans take gold". International Gymnastics Federation. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Petrounias and Chusovitina on fine form in Baku". International Gymnastics Federation. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  16. ^ "World and Olympic champions return for Doha Gymnastics World Championships". International Gymnastics Federation. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  17. ^ "It takes Olympic champion to tame the Doha Pommel Horse". International Gymnastics Federation. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Chinese men top Russia, Japan at Doha Worlds". International Gymnastics Federation. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  19. ^ "Dalaloyan ends Russian drought with World All-around title in Doha". International Gymnastics Federation. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  20. ^ "48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha (QAT), 25 October - 3 November 2018 Men's Floor Exercise Final" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 2 November 2018. p. 1. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Mustafina, Nagornyy secure Russian double in Birmingham". International Gymnastics Federation. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  22. ^ "30th Summer Universiade 2019 Artistic Gymnastics Teams Qualification Men" (PDF). 30th Summer Universiade 2019 Main Results. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  23. ^ "30th Summer Universiade 2019 Artistic Gymnastics All-Around Final Seniors Men" (PDF). 30th Summer Universiade 2019 Main Results. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  24. ^ "30th Summer Universiade 2019 Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus Final Seniors Men" (PDF). 30th Summer Universiade 2019 Main Results. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  25. ^ "30th Summer Universiade 2019 Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus Final Seniors Men" (PDF). 30th Summer Universiade 2019 Main Results. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  26. ^ "Russian men claim first world team title at Stuttgart Worlds". International Gymnastics Federation. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  27. ^ "Nikita Nagornyy new world All-around champion". International Gymnastics Federation. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Biles breaks all-time medal record as Stuttgart Worlds end". International Gymnastics Federation. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  29. ^ "Olympic, World champions gear up for star-studded Stuttgart World Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  30. ^ "Birmingham World Cup roster bursts with World stars". International Gymnastics Federation. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  31. ^ "New dates set for Doha Apparatus World Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  32. ^ "The All-Around World Cup Series is cancelled". International Gymnastics Federation. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  33. ^ "It's Solidarity over Friendship at one-of-a-kind FIG competition in Tokyo". International Gymnastics Federation. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  34. ^ Yamaguchi, Shiro (14 December 2020). "体操新王者・萱和磨が「ミスをしない男」になるまで" [How the new gymnastics champion, Kazuma Kaya, became "the man who never makes mistakes"]. Asahi (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  35. ^ "Daiki Hashimoto wins maiden national title to lead race for Olympics". The Japan Times. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  36. ^ "体操・ＮＨＫ杯で優勝の橋本大輝、初の五輪団体代表内定…２位の萱和磨も" [Gymnastics - Daiki Hashimoto, winner of the NHK Cup, has been selected for his first Olympic team representative... Kazuma Kaya, who came in second, has also been selected]. Yomiuri (in Japanese). 16 May 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  37. ^ "Artistic Gymnastics Men's Pommel Horse Final Results" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. 1 August 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  38. ^ "Japan's Kazuma Kaya, Kazuki Minami seize silver at gymnastic worlds". Kyodo News. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  39. ^ "50th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Kitakyushu (JPN), 18 October - 24 October 2021 Men's Event Finals" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 24 October 2021. pp. 1, 5. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  40. ^ "第75回全日本体操団体選手権" [The 75th All Japan Gymnastics Team Championships] (PDF). Japan Gymnastics Association (in Japanese). 12 December 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  41. ^ "51st FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Liverpool (GBR), 29 October - 6 November 2022 Men's Team Medalists" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 2 November 2022. p. 163. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  42. ^ "Swiss Cup Hallenstadion Zürich" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. Swiss Cup Zürich. 27 November 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  43. ^ "Gymnasts from seven nations snag titles at Cottbus World Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  44. ^ a b "萱和磨選手と宮田笙子選手が金メダル獲得 ユニバーシティゲームズ" [Kazuma Kaya and Shoko Miyata win gold medals at the University Games]. Juntendo University (in Japanese). 8 August 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  45. ^ "Meet the Men's Artistic Gymnastics teams that already have their Olympic tickets in hand". International Gymnastics Federation. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  46. ^ "Japan sits atop the world once more in Men's Artistic Gymnastics". International Gymnastics Federation. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  47. ^ "Japanese men lead after two subdivisions, Hashimoto out of all-around final". International Gymnast Magazine. 30 September 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  48. ^ Burke, Patrick (30 September 2023). "Hashimoto chosen for all-around Artistic Gymnastics World Championships final despite ranking third among Japan's athletes". Inside the Games. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  49. ^ "52nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Antwerp (BEL), 30 September - 8 October 2023 Men's Parallel Bars Final" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 8 October 2023. p. 5. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  50. ^ "Carey, Moldauer win gold at 2023 Swiss Cup". USA Gymnastics. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  51. ^ Kim, Chang-ran (21 May 2024). "Team Japan in Paris will be strongest, says gymnastics medalist Kaya". The Japan Times. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  52. ^ "体操男子エース橋本、順調に回復 パリへ強化合宿、主将は萱" [Men's gymnastics ace Hashimoto recovers well, heads to Paris for training camp; captain is Kaya]. Japanese Olympic Committee (in Japanese). 21 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  53. ^ "Olympics: Japan edges China to win gymnastics team gold in Paris". Kyodo News+. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  54. ^ "Kaya Kazuma - FIG Athlete Profile". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  55. ^ "東京五輪・体操団体銀の萱和磨が結婚報告「幸せな家庭を築いていきたい」" [Tokyo Olympics gymnastics team silver medalist Kazuma Kaya announces marriage: "I want to build a happy family"]. Oricon News (in Japanese). 11 January 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
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