Sota Yamamoto

is a Japanese figure skater. He is the 2026 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2022–23 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a three-time ISU Grand Prix medalist (including gold at the 2023 Skate Canada International), a five-time ISU Challenger Series medalist (three gold, two silver), the 2023 World University Games champion, and the 2023–24 Japanese national bronze medalist.

Earlier in his career, he was the 2016 Youth Olympic champion, the 2015 World Junior bronze medalist, a two-time Junior Grand Prix Final medalist (silver in 2014, bronze in 2015), and the 2015–16 Japan junior national champion.

Personal life Yamamoto was born on January 10, 2000, in Kishiwada, Osaka, Japan.

His mother passed away in February 2026.

Career Yamamoto started skating when he was five. He is a 3-time Japanese national novice medalist. He was invited to skate in the gala at the 2013 World Team Trophy as the Japanese national novice champion in the same season.

2013–14 season: Junior international debut Yamamoto debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in 2013–14 season, placing 11th in Riga, Latvia, his sole assignment. At the Japan Championships, he was 5th in the junior competition and 14th at the senior event.

2014–15 season: Junior Grand Prix Final silver and World Junior bronze

During the 2014–15 JGP series, Yamamoto won silver medals in Courchevel, France and Tallinn, Estonia, which qualified him to the 2014–15 JGP Final in Barcelona, Spain. Ranked first in the short program and third in the free skate, he finished second overall, behind Shoma Uno and ahead of Alexander Petrov. Nationally, he was the junior silver medalist, behind Shoma Uno, and finished 6th at the senior event. At the 2015 World Junior Championships, Yamamoto placed 7th in the short program and 3rd in the free skate to win the bronze medal in his first appearance at that competition.

2015–16 season: Youth Olympic champion, Japan junior national title

Competing in the 2015–16 ISU Junior Grand Prix, Yamamoto won the bronze medal in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and gold in Toruń, Poland. These results qualified him for the 2015–16 JGP Final, where he was awarded the bronze medal. He won his first junior national title at the 2015 Japanese Junior Championships.

In February 2016, Yamamoto won the gold medal in the men's singles discipline at the Winter Youth Olympics ahead of Latvia's Deniss Vasiljevs and Russia's Dmitri Aliev. He fractured his right ankle in practice on March 12, causing him to withdraw from the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen. Three weeks later, Yamamoto would also place fourth at the 2024 Finlandia Trophy. One month later, Yamamoto competed at the 2025 Winter World University Games in Turin, Italy, where he finished in sixth place. He then closed the season by winning the bronze medal at the 2025 Road to 26 Trophy Despite this, he competed at the 2025 CS Kinoshita Group Cup the following week, where he finished in fourth place.

He then went on to compete on the 2025–26 Grand Prix circuit, finishing ninth at the 2025 Cup of China and sixth at the 2025 Finlandia Trophy. In December, he finished fifth at the 2025–26 Japan Championships and was named as the second alternate for the 2026 Winter Olympic team.

Programs Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 2026–2027 Tombeau de Vivaldi El Tango de Roxanne 2025–2026 Yesterday Hallelujah Love Theme 2024–2025