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Urara Ashikawa

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Urara Ashikawa
Ashikawa at the 2025 World University Games
Personal information
Born (2003-03-08) March 8, 2003 (age 23)
Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan
Gymnastics career
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
Country
represented
Japan Japan
(2018–2025)
ClubMizutori Gymnasium
RetiredNovember 17, 2025[1]
Medal record
Representing  Japan
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2021 KitakyushuBalance beam
World University Games
Gold medal – first place2025 Rhine-RuhrTeam
Gold medal – first place2025 Rhine-RuhrBalance beam
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
FIG World Cup 2 2 0
EducationNippon Sport Science University

Urara Ashikawa (芦川うらら, Ashikawa Urara; born March 8, 2003) is a Japanese former artistic gymnast who represented Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is the 2021 World Champion on the balance beam.[2]

Personal life

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Ashikawa was born in Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan in 2003.[3] She began gymnastics when she was a year old and began training at Mizutori Gymnasium when she was in second grade.[4]

Junior gymnastics career

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2016–17

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In 2016, Ashikawa competed at the All-Japan Event Championships where she placed third on balance beam behind Asuka Teramoto and Kiko Kuwajima.[5] In 2018, she again competed at the All-Japan Event Championships and once again placed third on balance beam behind Teramoto and Natsumi Sasada.[6]

2018

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In 2018, Ashikawa represented Japan at the Asian Junior Championships alongside Haruka Ikeda, Hinata Matsubara, Shoko Miyata, and Ayumi Niiyama. They placed second in the team final behind China. Individually Ashikawa placed fifth in the all-around, seventh on uneven bars, and sixth on balance beam.[7] At the All-Japan Event Championships, Ashikawa placed ninth on balance beam during qualifications and did not qualify to the event final.[8] She ended the season competing at the World Cup trials where she placed second on balance beam behind Mana Oguchi.[9]

Senior gymnastics career

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2019

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Ashikawa turned senior in 2019. She made her senior international debut at the 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy where she placed 16th in the all-around and seventh on uneven bars and balance beam.[10] At the All Japan Event Championships, she placed sixth on balance beam.[11] In November, she made her World Cup debut at the Cottbus World Cup where she won gold on balance beam ahead of Ukrainian Diana Varinska.[12]

2020

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In February, Ashikawa competed at the Melbourne World Cup where she once again won gold on balance beam, this time ahead of first-year senior Ondine Achampong of Great Britain.[13] She next competed at the Baku World Cup where she qualified to the balance beam final in first place; however, event finals were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan.[14] The FIG later ruled that the results of qualification would be used for point distribution for Olympic qualification, meaning Ashikawa earned a perfect score of 90 and no other competitor could match her score on the balance beam.[15]

2021

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In June, Ashikawa was officially awarded an Olympic berth via the Apparatus World Cup series and competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics as an individual athlete. She was originally the first reserve for the balance beam final but was able to compete when Larisa Iordache withdrew. She finished sixth.[16]

In October, Ashikawa competed at the 2021 World Championships in Kitakyushu. While there, she won gold on the balance beam.[17] This was Japan's second world gold medal on the apparatus following Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda's win in 1954. Ashikawa became the third Japanese woman to win a world title in artistic gymnastics following Tanaka-Ikeda and Mai Murakami.

Competitive history

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Competitive history of Urara Ashikawa at the junior level
Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
2016 All Japan Event Championships3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2017 All Japan Event Championships3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2018
Asian Championships2nd place, silver medalist(s)576
All Japan Event ChampionshipsR2
World Cup Trials2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Competitive history of Urara Ashikawa at the senior level
Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
2019 City of Jesolo Trophy41677
All Japan Event Championships6
Cottbus World Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
2020 Melbourne World Cup1st place, gold medalist(s)
Baku World Cup1
2021 All-Japan Championships141st place, gold medalist(s)
NHK Trophy112nd place, silver medalist(s)
Olympic Games6
World Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)
2022 All-Japan Championships71st place, gold medalist(s)
NKH Trophy14
2023 Cottbus World Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)
World Championships85
2024 Cottbus World Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2025 NKH Trophy151st place, gold medalist(s)
World University Games1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)

References

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  1. ↑ "【体操】芦川うららが現役引退「引退を決めた理由としては…」抱えていた症状を初告白" [[Gymnastics] Urara Ashikawa retires from active competition "The reason I decided to retire is..." She reveals for the first time the symptoms she was suffering from]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). November 17, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Women's Balance Beam Final – Results". October 24, 2021.
  3. ↑ "芦川（富士出身）自然体で五輪代表狙う 体操種目別". Shizuoka Sports (in Japanese). March 11, 2020.
  4. ↑ "中野結香アナ「心から尊敬します」体操界のニューヒロイン・芦川うららを初取材！". Niconico (in Japanese). June 11, 2020.
  5. ↑ "2016 All Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. June 7, 2016.
  6. ↑ "2017 All Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. June 25, 2017.
  7. ↑ "2018 Asian Junior Championships Results". The Gymternet. April 30, 2018.
  8. ↑ "2018 All Japan Event Championships". The Gymternet. July 8, 2018.
  9. ↑ "2018 Japanese World Cup Trials Results". The Gymternet. December 5, 2018.
  10. ↑ "2019 City of Jesolo Trophy Results". The Gymternet. March 4, 2019.
  11. ↑ "2019 All Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. June 26, 2019.
  12. ↑ (24 November 2019). Apparatus Final Women: Results: Balance Beam. Deutscher Turner-Bund, Turnier der Meister. https://www.turnier-der-meister.de/download/doc/2019/f_w_beam.pdf
  13. ↑ "Ondine Achampong wins silver on senior international debut". British Gymnastics. February 24, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Finals of Baku World Cup cancelled". International Gymnastics Federation. March 13, 2020.
  15. ↑ "体操、芦川うららが五輪代表前進". daily.co.jp (in Japanese). April 10, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Simone Biles, in a Comeback, Takes Bronze on the Balance Beam". New York Times. August 3, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Retiring Mai Murakami ends career with gold at world championships". The Japan Times. October 25, 2021.
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