Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda
Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda is a Japanese figure skater, who currently competes in the pairs discipline with Ayumi Kagotani.
With former partner, Sae Shimizu, they are the 2024–25 Japan national bronze medalists, two-time Japan Junior national champions, and the [ISU 2021–22 ISU Junior Grand Prix|Junior Grand Prix in Turkey|2024 JGP Turkey] bronze medalists.
As a singles skater, he is the 2021 CS Cup of Austria silver medalist, the 2020 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, and the 2020–21 Japan junior national champion.
Personal life
Honda was born on September 15, 2002, in Osaka, Japan. He is a fourth generation Japanese Brazilian. In addition, Honda speaks English proficiently.He was a student at Ayaha High School before enrolling at Doshisha University in 2021, where he currently studies in the Faculty of Sports and Health Science.
His figure skating idol is Takahiko Kozuka.
Career
Early career
Honda began figure skating in 2011. His first encounter with skating was in kindergarten. It wasn't until the second grade of elementary school, where he entered a class taught by coach Tsuyako Yamashita and began skating in earnest. He was then coached by Kotoe Nagasawa.On the basic novice level, Honda finished thirteenth and fourth at the 2012–13 and 2013–14 Japan Basic Novice Championships, respectively. Going on to compete as an advanced novice level skater, Honda placed fifth at the 2014–15 Japan Advanced Novice Championships and ninth at the 2015–16 Japan Novice Championships.
As a junior skater, Honda competed at the 2016–17, 2017–18, and 2018–19 Japan Junior Championships, placing seventeenth, sixteenth, and ninth, respectively.
2019–20 season
Honda started the season by winning the bronze medal at the 2019–20 Japan Junior Championships before going on to compete at the 2019–20 Japan Championships, finishing eleventh.Following the season, Honda moved from Osaka to Uji, Kyoto to train at the Kinoshita Academy under coaches, Mie Hamada, Yamato Tamura, Hiroaki Sato, and Satsuki Muramoto.
2020–21 season
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of modifications were made to the Grand Prix structure. The competitors consisted only of skaters from the home country, skaters already training in the host nation, and skaters assigned to that event for geographic reason. As a result, Honda was selected compete at the 2020 NHK Trophy, where he won the bronze medal.He then went on to win the gold medal at the 2020–21 Japan Junior Championships and place thirteenth at the 2020–21 Japan Championships.
2021–22 season
Honda started the season by competing at the 2021 CS Cup of Austria, where he won the silver medal.Despite the Japan Skating Federation not allowing Japanese figure skaters to compete on the Junior Grand Prix series due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Honda was nevertheless selected as a "wildcard" entry to compete at the 2021–22 Junior Grand Prix Final set to be held in Osaka, Japan. However, the Final ultimately ended up being cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic.
At the 2021–22 Japan Championships, Honda finished twelfth and was selected to compete at the 2022 World Junior Championships, where he ultimately came in fourteenth.
2022–23 season
Competing on the Grand Prix series, Honda finished eleventh at the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo. He went on to compete at the 2022–23 Japan Championships, finishing twenty-first.Pair skating with Shimizu
2023–24 season
In early 2023, Honda decided to give try pair skating at the insistence of his mother. It was later announced in May that Honda had teamed up with fellow Kinoshita Academy singles skater, Sae Shimizu, and that the pair would continue training under their singles skating coach, Mie Hamada, while also making trips to Oakville, Ontario, Canada to work with Bruno Marcotte and Brian Shales, the coaches of World Champions, Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara.The pair made their debut at the 2023 Japan Eastern Sectional Championships, which they won, before going on to also win the 2023–24 Japan Junior Championships.
Honda also competed in the men's singles event at the 2023–24 Japan Championships, where he finished a career-best tenth place. After the event, he announced his retirement from singles skating with the intention to focus on pair skating.
Shimizu/Honda were selected to compete at the 2024 World Junior Championships on the condition that they earn the minimum technical element scores to compete. Competing at the 2024 Bavarian Open, the pair finished eleventh, earning these minimum scores in the process. Going on to compete at the World Junior Championships, the pair placed fourteenth.
2024–25 season
Competing on the 2024–25 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, the pair finished fourth at 2024 JGP Czech Republic and won the bronze medal at 2024 JGP Turkey. These results allowed the pair to qualify for the 2024–25 Junior Grand Prix Final in Grenoble, France.In late November, the pair competed at the 2024–25 Japan Junior Championships, where they won the national title for a second consecutive time. This result ensured their qualification to compete at the senior championships. Going on to compete at the Junior Grand Prix Final, Shimizu/Honda would score personal bests in all three competition segments and finish fifth overall. Two weeks later, they competed at the 2024–25 Japan Championships. During their free skate, the pair stopped the performance after Shimizu dislocated her left shoulder following a fall during their attempted side-by-side jump combination. She then had her shoulder popped back into place so the pair could finish their performance. They would win the bronze medal overall and were subsequently named the World Junior team. Shimizu/Honda were also named to the World team on the condition that they could achieve the minimum technical element scores to compete at the event, which they were unable to do.
They concluded the season with an eleventh-place finish at the 2025 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.
In April, the pair announced they had parted ways with Honda intending to continue competing in the pairs discipline.