Sakura Noshitani
Sakura Noshitani is a Japanese former group rhythmic gymnast. She won three medals at the 2019 World Championships, including gold in the 5 balls final. She is a 2016 and 2019 Asian group all-around champion. She represented Japan at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.
Career
Noshitani began rhythmic gymnastics when she was four years old.Noshitani won a silver medal in the group all-around, behind China, at the 2013 Asian Championships. The group then won the gold medal in the 10 clubs final and the silver medal in the 3 balls and 2 ribbons final. At the 2013 World Championships, she finished eighth in the group all-around, eighth in 10 clubs, and seventh in 3 balls and 2 ribbons. At the 2014 World Championships, Noshitani and the Japanese group once again finished eighth in the all-around. She helped Japan win the bronze medal in the 5 ribbons final at the 2015 World Championships, which was Japan's first Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships medal in 40 years.
Noshitani was selected to represent Japan at the 2016 Summer Olympics alongside Airi Hatakeyama, Rie Matsubara, Sayuri Sugimoto, and Kiko Yokota. They qualified for the Gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's [rhythmic group all-around|group all-around final] and finished in eighth place. This was the best-ever Olympic result for the Japanese rhythmic gymnastics group.
Noshitani was injured at the 2018 Guadalajara World Challenge Cup and withdrew. She returned in time for the Minsk World Challenge Cup and helped Japan win the group all-around bronze medal. They then won the gold medal in the 3 balls and 2 ropes final. Then at the Kazan World Challenge Cup, they won the bronze medal in the 3 balls and 2 ropes final. At the 2018 World Championships, they won the silver medal in the 5 balls final behind Bulgaria.
Noshitani helped Japan win the group all-around title ahead of the reigning World champions at the 2019 Baku World Cup. They also won a silver medal in the 5 balls final. At the 2019 World Championships, she won a group all-around silver medal, which matched Japan's best-ever group all-around result from 1975. They then won the gold medal in the 5 balls final, becoming the first Japanese group to win a title at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships. They also won the silver medal in the 3 hoops and 4 clubs final.
Noshitani represented Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics alongside Rie Matsubara, Sayuri Sugimoto, Ayuka Suzuki, and Nanami Takenaka. They advanced into the group all-around final and finished eighth after major mistakes in their 3 hoops and 4 clubs routine. She announced her retirement from the sport in September 2021.