Marin Honda, (born August 21, 2001) is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2016 World Junior champion and 2015–16 JGP Final bronze medalist.
- Personal life
Marin Honda was born on August 21, 2001 in Kyoto, Japan, the third born of five children. She has an elder brother, Taichi, an elder sister, Maho, and two younger sisters, Miyu and Sara. With the exception of Maho, all of her siblings are figure skaters and Miyu is also a popular child actress in Japan. Honda studies and trains at Kansai University Middle School, which has an ice rink. Honda looks up to 2006 Olympic Champion Shizuka Arakawa.
- Career
Honda began skating at the age of two after following her older brother, Taichi, into figure skating.
Beginning in the 2011–12 season, Honda stood on the podium at four consecutive Japanese Novice Championships, with a gold medal in 2012–13. She placed 5th at the Japan Junior Championships in 2013–14 and 4th the following season, training at Kansai University Middle School’s ice rink. Her Lutz and flip are hindered by hallux valgus.
2015–16 season
November, HHonda debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) circuit in the 2015–16 season. Ranked first in the short program and fourth in the free skate, she came away with the silver medal at the JGP in Colorado Springs, Colorado, having finished behind Yuna Shiraiwa by a margin of 8.06 points. She won gold at her second JGP event, in Zagreb, Croatia, after placing third in the short and first in the free — outscoring Wakaba Higuchi by 6.16 points. These results qualified her for the 2015–16 JGP Final in Barcelona. Honda placed 6th at the 2015-16 Japanese Junior Championships.
At the 2015–16 JGP Final in Barcelona, Honda won the bronze medal behind Russia’s Polina Tsurskaya and Maria Sotskova.
Making her debut at the Japan Championships on the senior level, Honda finished 9th, and was named in Japan’s team to the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen. Ranked second in the short program and first in the free skate, she was awarded gold in Hungary, ahead of Russia’s Maria Sotskova and teammate Wakaba Higuchi.
[Marin Honda @ 2016 World Junior Championships]
[Marin Honda, World junior 2016, SP-2 66.11]
