Etsuko Inada

Career

Inada began skating at eight years old after watching an ice show; her two older sisters also began skating for a short time. Shortly after, she also competed at the 1936 World Championships and placed 10th. Theresa Weld, writing for Skating magazine, wrote that she was well-liked by the other skaters and that, "She can do almost every thing on both feet, which is most unusual", and she also praised her ability to learn new elements quickly.

Between 1937 and 1941, she won five consecutive Japanese national titles.

After the war, Inada married and had a son. She returned to competitive skating and won a competition shortly before the planned 1949 Japanese national championships, but the national championships were cancelled due to the weather becoming too warm. Her last competition was the 1951 World Figure Skating Championships, where she placed 21st of 23 skaters. In 1952, she turned professional. Her students included Olympic skaters Miwa Fukuhara, Junko Hiramatsu, and Haruko Okamoto. She died in 2003 from stomach cancer.

Competitive highlights International Event 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1950–51 Olympics 10th Worlds 10th 21st Europeans 9th National Japan 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st Japan Jr. 1st