Hazuki Watanabe

Hazuki Watanabe is a Japanese artistic gymnast. She is the 2022 World [Artistic Gymnastics Championships|2022 World Champion] on the balance beam. She was part of the bronze medal winning team at the 2022 Asian Championships. Additionally she represented Japan at the 2019 [Junior World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|inaugural Junior World Championships].

Early life

Watanabe was born in Mie, Japan in 2004.

Watanabe competed at the 2019 [City of Jesolo Trophy] where she helped Japan finish fifth as a team. She was later selected to compete at the inaugural Junior World Championships alongside Shoko Miyata and Chiaki Hatakeda; they finished eleventh as a team.

Watanabe competed at the Asian Championships where she helped Japan finish third as a team. Later in the year Watanabe was selected to represent Japan at the 2022 World Championships alongside Shoko Miyata, Kokoro Fukasawa, Ayaka Sakaguchi, Chiharu Yamada, and Arisa Kasahara; she was initially the alternate. However, Kasahara later withdrew from the team due to injury and Watanabe was added to the main team. While at the World Championships, Watanabe helped Japan finish seventh as a team, and individually, she qualified for the balance beam final. During the balance beam final, Watanabe won gold, becoming the third Japanese gymnast to win the world title on balance beam, after Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda and Urara Ashikawa.