Her father's job took the family to China when she was nine.[3] She lived in China for five years and attended international school while there. Takahashi returned to Japan during her junior high school years and attended Makuhari High School. She then moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada with her mother so that she could train with then pair skating partner, Mervin Tran, and attended high school while there.[4][5][6]
Upon returning to Japan as an adult, Takahashi went on to major in Faculty of Policy Management at Keio University and graduated in 2021.[5][6]
Takahashi is able to speak seven different languages, including Japanese, Mandarin, English, Spanish, Russian, French, and Korean. In addition to skating, Takahashi also played soccer for six years on a city team.[5]
In October 2021, Takahashi came out as queer during a talk event held by Pride House Tokyo. She shared that she had come to terms with her sexuality during her high school years when she was living in Montreal at the time and that she was "blessed" to be living in a supportive, accepting environment at the time. She also credited Canadian ice dancer, Kaitlyn Weaver, who had come out as queer the previous year, for empowering her to come out.[7][8]
Takahashi opened up about her struggles with disordered eating that had started at the age of nine while she was living in China, saying that her pair skating coaches would constantly monitor her weight to ensure that she remained "light enough" to remain a pair skater. She added that several coaches would continue this type of behavior throughout her competitive career to the point of Takahashi completely normalizing it. Due to Takahashi's exceedingly low body fat percentage, she only began menstruating after retiring from compeitive figure skating in 2018 at the age of twenty-six.[4]
Career
Early career
After being diagnosed with pediatric asthma at the age of three, the doctor encouraged Takahashi's mother to have Takahashi engage in more physical activity. At age five, Takahashi began learning to skate, following in the footsteps of her elder sister.[5][2] She won the Japanese bronze medal in novice B ladies' singles in 2002.[5] She was further inspired to continue skating after watching figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan on television.[4]
With her father's job requiring him to relocate to the United States or China, Takahashi expressed the most interest in moving to China due to being inspired by Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo's skating at the time.[4] Moving to Beijing at the age of nine, she continued skating in singles until she was about 12–13 and then switched to pair skating.[3] Takahashi skated with Chinese partner Gao Yu for one season; they placed 6th at the 2004 Chinese Championships on the senior level.[5] She soon decided to leave China and skate for Japan after the Chinese Skating Association told her that they wanted her to obtain Chinese citizenship, which would have required her giving up her Japanese citizenship due to China's law of not recognizing dual citizenship.[4] Upon returning, Takahashi asked the Japan Skating Federation for help in finding a pair skating partner; she eventually found a partner in Japan but the partnership was unsuccessful due to insufficient height difference.[5]
Partnership with Tran
Takahashi/Tran in 2011
Takahashi moved to Montreal, Quebec after two years of corresponding with Richard Gauthier, whom she met at a competition in China. Gauthier began looking for a partner for her in Canada. Bruno Marcotte recommended Mervin Tran, who until that point had been a single skater. Tran agreed to come to Montreal for a tryout and the pair began training together in July 2007.[5][9] During their career together, they trained in St. Leonard[10] and received funding from the Japanese skating association.[11]
During the 2009–2010 season, Takahashi/Tran competed on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. They won the bronze medal at their first event and gold at their second event, which qualified them for the 2009–2010 Junior Grand Prix Final. They also debuted on the senior Grand Prix series with an 8th-place finish at NHK Trophy. They won silver at the JGP Final and at the Junior World Championships. They became the second pair representing Japan to medal at an ISU Championships (Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Markuntsov were the first pair when they won silver in 2001).[3]
During the 2011–2012 season, Takahashi/Tran's first Grand Prix assignment was 2011 Skate Canada International, where they finished fourth. They won the silver medal at their second event, 2011 NHK Trophy. In November 2011, Tran said he was considering pursuing Japanese citizenship in order to allow the couple to compete at the Olympics but said it was a difficult decision because it would mean giving up his Canadian citizenship.[12] They became the first Japanese pair to qualify for the senior Grand Prix Final.
At the 2012 World Championships, Takahashi/Tran placed third in both programs and won the bronze medal.[13][14] They became the first pair to medal for Japan at a senior World Championships.[14] They placed third at the 2012 World Team Trophy. In April 2012, Tran said he would continue to consider an application for Japanese citizenship and the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee said he was "willing to make a special request (on behalf of Tran) to the government if necessary."[15][16] In May 2012, a government official said it would be difficult to naturalize Tran because he had never resided in Japan.[17]
In April 2012, Takahashi dislocated her left shoulder while practicing a lift.[18] After five or six recurrences, she decided to undergo surgery on October 30.[19] As a result, the pair withdrew from their 2012–2013 Grand Prix events, the 2012 Cup of China and 2012 NHK Trophy.[18] They said they would miss about four to six months.[19] On December 18, 2012, the Japanese Skating Federation announced that the pair had ended their partnership.[20][21]
Partnership with Kihara
The JSF said they hoped to find a new partner, with preference to skaters holding Japanese citizenship, by February 2013.[22] On January 30, 2013, the JSF confirmed that Takahashi had teamed up with Ryuichi Kihara, until then a singles skater, and would be coached by Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen.[23][24] They trained in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.[25] They represented Japan together at the 2014 Olympics and placed 19th. The pair split in March 2015.
Partnership with Zaboev
On July 6, 2015, it was announced that Takahashi had teamed up with Russian pair skater Alexandr Zaboev and that Takahashi would continue to skate for Japan with him.[26] The pair ultimately never competed together.
In March 2018, Takahashi announced her retirement from competitive figure skating due to the impact of several injuries she suffered throughout her career, including recurrent dislocation of her left shoulder joint and a right knee injury that required surgery.[28][29]
In spring 2019, Takahashi joined Showa University's women's hockey team, the Blue Winds, and played for a season.[6][33]
In June 2021, it was announced that Takahashi had been elected as an executive board member of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), becoming the youngest electee of the committee in history at the age of twenty-nine.[34][35][4]
Takahashi also appeared in a supporting role in the 2022 Japanese film, Gekkako.[36]
^ abフィギュア:ペアの高橋成美が左肩脱臼、ＧＰシリーズ欠場 [Figure skating: Pair skater Narumi Takahashi dislocated her shoulder and will miss GP series]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). October 25, 2012. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012.
^高橋、トラン組ペア解消 世界フィギュア銅メダル [World bronze figure skating pair Takahashi and Tran end partnership] (in Japanese). Sports Navi. December 18, 2012. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024.
^フィギュア:高橋・木原の新ペア、佐藤有香コーチに師事 [Takahashi / Kihara pair skating team learns from Yuka Sato]. Mainichi (in Japanese). January 30, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-02-03.
^"高橋成美が元エストニア代表のザボエフと新ペア結成" [Takahashi Narumi forms a new pair with Zaboev, who formerly represented Estonia]. daily.co.jp. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
