Mina Kobayashi
Curler
Kobayashi at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics
Born (2002-07-20) July 20, 2002
Kushiro, Hokkaido
Team
Curling clubSapporo CC, Sapporo
SkipSayaka Yoshimura
ThirdYuna Kotani
SecondKaho Onodera
LeadAnna Ohmiya
AlternateMina Kobayashi
Curling career
Member Association Japan
World Mixed Championship
appearances		1 (2019)
Medal record
Curling
Representing  Japan
Winter Youth Olympics
Silver medal – second place 2020 Champéry

Mina Kobayashi (小林 美奈, Kobayashi Mina, born July 20, 2002 in Kushiro) is a Japanese curler from Sapporo, Hokkaido.[1] She is the alternate on the FORTIUS curling team, which is skipped by Sayaka Yoshimura. At the international level, she represented Japan at the 2019 World Mixed Curling Championship and the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, winning silver in the mixed team competition.[2]

Career

Kobayashi competed in her first Japan Curling Championships during the 2017–18 season as third for the Sapporo CA team. Her team, with skip Momoka Iwase, second Midori Sugasawa, lead Mao Hino and alternate Suzune Yasui finished seventh with a 2–6 record, only defeating Nayoro Association and Team Hiroshima.[3] Kobayashi and her teammates were unable to return to the national championship the following year.

In 2019, Kobayashi was selected to play lead on the Japanese team for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics. The team also included skip Takumi Maeda, third Momoha Tabata and second Asei Nakahara. In preparation for the event, the team represented Japan at the 2019 World Mixed Curling Championship where they finished 4–3 in the round robin, just missing the playoffs.[4] At the Games, the team finished 4–1 in the preliminary round of the mixed team competition, earning them a spot in the playoffs. In the quarterfinals, they upset the top seeded Canadian team and went on to beat New Zealand in the semifinal.[5] They then fell to Norway in the final, settling for silver.[6] Kobayashi then competed in the mixed doubles competition with France's Léo Tuaz. The pair lost their final qualifying game, however, had the best draw shot total of the losing qualifiers which meant they qualified as the fourth seeds.[7] They then lost both the semifinal and the bronze medal game, finishing fourth.[8]

At the 2020 Japan Junior Curling Championships, Kobayashi and her team of Momoha Tabata, Mikoto Nakajima and Miku Nihira won the gold medal. This qualified them for the 2021 World Junior Curling Championships, however, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]

In December 2021, Team Sayaka Yoshimura's contract expired with Hokkaido Bank.[10] The team then formed their own team named Fortius and Kobayashi was added as their alternate.[11] The lineup also included third Kaho Onodera, second Anna Ohmiya and lead Yumie Funayama. At the 2022 Japan Curling Championships, the team finished the round robin with a 4–4 record, enough to qualify for the playoffs. They then lost in the 3 vs. 4 page playoff game to Chubu Electric Power's Ikue Kitazawa.[12]

In their first event of the 2022–23 season, Team Yoshimura won the 2022 Hokkaido Bank Curling Classic.[13] They then won the Wakkanai Midori Challenge Cup two weeks later.[14] In their next two events, they again reached the finals, losing the Argo Graphics Cup final to Sae Yamamoto and the ADVICS Cup final to Satsuki Fujisawa.[15] After a successful start to the season, Yuna Kotani was added at the third position in September 2022.[16] The revised lineup of the team was Yoshimura at skip, Kotani at third, Onodera at second, Ohmiya at lead and Kobayashi as alternate with Yumie Funayama becoming the team's coach. In Canada, the team had back-to-back quarterfinal appearances at the S3 Group Curling Stadium Series and the 2022 Western Showdown, losing out to Stefania Constantini and Meghan Walter respectively.[17] In December, Team Yoshimura competed in the 2022 Karuizawa International Curling Championships where they finished third, beating Loco Solare (Fujisawa) in the bronze medal game. In the New Year, the team played in the 2023 New Year Medalist Curling where they lost in the semifinals to Daniela Jentsch. It would be the team's last event of the 2022–23 season as positive cases of COVID-19 within the team forced them to withdraw from their qualifying round of the 2023 Japan Curling Championships.[18]

Personal life

Kobayashi attended Hokkaido Sapporo Higashi High School and Hokkaido High Technology College.[1]

Teams

Season Skip Third Second Lead Alternate
2015–16[19] Ruika KonnoMidori SugasawaMao HinoMina KobayashiMomoka Iwase
2016–17 Mina KobayashiRuika KonnoMomoka IwaseMao HinoMidori Sugasawa
2017–18 Momoka IwaseMina KobayashiMidori SugasawaMao HinoSuzune Yasui
2018–19 Momoka Iwase (Fourth)Mina Kobayashi (Skip)Ruika KonnoMidori SugasawaMao Hino
2019–20 Momoha TabataHonoka SasakiMikoto NakajimaMina KobayashiNatsuko Ishiyama
2020–21 Momoha TabataMina KobayashiMikoto NakajimaMiku Nihira
2021–22 Miku NihiraMina KobayashiMikoto NakajimaHonoka Sasaki
Sayaka YoshimuraKaho OnoderaAnna OhmiyaYumie FunayamaMina Kobayashi
2022–23 Sayaka YoshimuraKaho OnoderaAnna OhmiyaYumie FunayamaMina Kobayashi
Yuna KotaniKaho OnoderaAnna OhmiyaMina Kobayashi
2023–24 Sayaka YoshimuraYuna KotaniKaho OnoderaAnna OhmiyaMina Kobayashi

References

  1. 1 2 "新加入選手のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Fortius. December 25, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Mina Kobayashi Profile". World Curling Federation. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  3. ↑ "第35回 全農 日本カーリング選手権大会 　結果". Japan Curling Association (in Japanese). Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Play-off places set after World Mixed Curling Championship 2019 round-robin stage final day". World Curling Federation. October 17, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Japan, New Zealand, Russia and Norway advance to semi-finals after dramatic quarter-final finish at Youth Olympics". World Curling Federation. January 15, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Norway defeat Japan for Youth Olympic gold while Russia collect bronze". World Curling Federation. January 16, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Mixed doubles semi-final games set at Youth Olympic Games". World Curling Federation. January 21, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Hungary/Canada win Youth Olympic mixed doubles gold". World Curling Federation. January 22, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Beijing 2022 test events replaced with adapted sports testing programme". World Curling Federation. November 13, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  10. ↑ "チーム運営に関してのご報告" (in Japanese). Fortius. November 11, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  11. ↑ "新加入選手のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Fortius. December 25, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  12. ↑ "15-Year-Old Wins Japanese Curling Title". Sports Illustrated. The Curling News. May 29, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  13. ↑ "どうぎんカーリングクラシック2022＜結果＞" (in Japanese). Fortius. August 8, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  14. ↑ "稚内みどりChallengeCup2022＜結果＞" (in Japanese). Fortius. August 22, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  15. ↑ "2022 ADVICS Cup". CurlingZone. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  16. ↑ "新加入選手のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Fortius. September 16, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  17. ↑ "2022 Western Showdown". CurlingZone. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  18. ↑ "【ご報告】" (in Japanese). Fortius. 2 December 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Mina Kobayashi Past Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
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