{{Short description|Japanese curler (born 1998)}} {{Infobox curler | name = Yuna Kotani | image = | image_size = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age |1998|5|26}} | birth_place = [[Sagamihara]], [[Kanagawa Prefecture]], Japan | Curling club = [[Sapporo Curling Club|Sapporo CC]], [[Sapporo]] | Skip = [[Sayaka Yoshimura]] | Third = [[Kaho Onodera]] | Second = '''Yuna Kotani''' | Lead = [[Anna Ohmiya]] | Alternate = [[Mina Kobayashi]] | Member Association = {{JPN}} | World Championship appearances = 2 ({{WWCC|2018}}, {{WWCC|2025}}) | Olympic appearances = 1 ([[Curling at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament|2026]]) | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | [[Curling]] }} {{MedalCompetition | [[Japan Women's Curling Championship|Japan Women's Championship]] }} {{MedalGold | 2018 Nayoro | }} {{MedalGold | [[2025 Japan Curling Championships|2025 Yokohama]] | }} {{MedalSilver | 2016 Aomori | }} {{MedalBronze | 2017 Karuizawa | }} }}
{{Nihongo|'''Yuna Kotani'''|小谷 優奈|Kotani Yuna|born May 26, 1998 in [[Sagamihara]]}} is a Japanese [[curling|curler]].<ref>{{worldcurling}}</ref>
At the national level she is a 2018 and 2025 [[Japan Women's Curling Championship|Japan women's champion]]. She represented Japan internationally at the {{WWCC|2018}} and {{WWCC|2025}} [[World Women's Curling Championships]] and is representing Japan at the [[Curling at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament|2026 Winter Olympics]].
==Career== ===Women's=== ====2017–2022: Team Koana==== Kotani would begin to find national success in women's curling during the [[2017–18 curling season]], where as the second on Team [[Tori Koana]], they would win the 2018 [[Japan Women's Curling Championship]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.curling.or.jp/result/jcc/jcc2018/jcc2018-results.html |title=35th Japan Curling Championships |language=Japanese |website=Japan Curling Association |date= |access-date=December 4, 2018}}</ref> This win qualified the Koana rink to represent Japan at the [[2018 World Women's Curling Championship]]<ref name=wwcc2018mediaguide>{{Cite web |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VJEnBmIV9ET2EhxyC1hJStz2s-vk0lkc/view |title=Media Guide – 2018 Ford World Women's Curling Championship |format=PDF |website=Curling Canada |date=March 14, 2018 |access-date=December 4, 2018}}</ref> finishing in 10th with a 5–7 record. Team Koana also represented Japan at the [[2018–19 Curling World Cup – Third Leg|third leg of the 2018–19 Curling World Cup]], finishing with a 2–4 record.
To begin the [[2019-20 curling season]], Koana won the [[Morioka City Women's Memorial Cup]] and finished runner-up at the [[2019 Cargill Curling Training Centre]] Icebreaker.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?task=Event&view=Main&eventid=5845 |title=2019 Cargill Curling Training Centre Icebreaker |website=CurlingZone |access-date=August 25, 2019}}</ref> The Koana rink was unable to win another Japanese Women's title, finishing 4th at the [[2020 Japan Curling Championships|2020]] and [[2021 Japan Curling Championships]]. Koana would announce at the beginning of the [[2022-23 curling season]] that she would be stepping back to focus on mixed doubles, but remain as an alternate on the team that would now be skipped by Kotani. They would finish in 8th at the [[2022 Japan Curling Championships]], and Kotani would announce soon after the Japanese Championships she would be leaving the team to join Team [[Sayaka Yoshimura]].<ref>{{Cite tweet |author=Tori Koana |user=tori_koana |number=1565540106399674368 |date=September 2, 2022 |script-title=ja:チーム@fujiq_curlingと、別の道を歩むことになりました。 |trans-title=We have decided to go our separate ways with team @fujiq_curling. |language=ja |access-date=February 27, 2023 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
====2022–present: Team Yoshimura==== Kotani joined the [[Sayaka Yoshimura]] rink in the middle of the [[2022–23 curling season|2022–23 season]], with Yoshimura at skip, Kotani at third, [[Kaho Onodera]] at second, [[Anna Ohmiya]] at lead, and [[Mina Kobayashi]] as alternate with [[Yumie Funayama]] as the team's coach.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.fortius.jp/archives/869 |title=新加入選手のお知らせ |language=ja |publisher=Fortius |date=September 16, 2022 |access-date=December 26, 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?view=Main&eventid=7340 |title=2022 Western Showdown |website=CurlingZone |access-date=December 26, 2023}}</ref> In December, Team Yoshimura competed in the [[2022 Karuizawa International Curling Championships]] where they finished third, beating Loco Solare 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]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.fortius.jp/archives/944 |title=【ご報告】 |language=ja |publisher=Fortius |date=December 2, 2022 |access-date=December 26, 2023}}</ref>
Team Yoshimura would return for the [[2024–25 curling season|2024–25 season]], where they would find success on tour, finishing in the quarterfinals at the [[2024 National]] and the [[2025 Players' Championship]] Grand Slam events. Kotani and Onodera would also switch positions halfway through the season, with Onodera going into the third position and Kotani going into the second position. During the season, Yoshimura would win their next national title at the [[2025 Japan Curling Championships]], beating [[Miku Nihira]] 8–7 in the final. This win qualified them to represent Japan at the [[2025 World Women's Curling Championship]]. At the World's however, the team would struggle, finishing 9th with a 4–8 record after round robin play.
Team Yoshimura would begin the [[2025–26 curling season|2025–26 season]] strong, winning the [[2025 Hokkaido Bank Curling Classic]], beating [[Momoha Tabata]] 6–3 in the final. They would continue their winning streak at the [[2025 Japanese Olympic curling trials]], beating [[Miyu Ueno]] 3–2 in a best-of-five final, and qualifying to represent Japan at the [[2025 Olympic Qualification Event – Curling|2025 Olympic Qualification Event]]. At the Qualification event, the team would go 6–1 in the round robin and win 6–5 over Norway's [[Marianne Rørvik]] to win the event and qualify for the [[Curling at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament|2026 Winter Olympics]], Kotani's first Olympic Games.
==Teams== {| class="wikitable" |- ! scope="col"| Season ! scope="col"| Skip ! scope="col"| Third ! scope="col"| Second ! scope="col"| Lead ! scope="col"| Alternate ! scope="col"| Coach ! scope="col"| Events |- ! scope="row"| 2015–16 | [[Junko Nishimuro]] (fourth) || [[Misato Yanagisawa]] || [[Tori Koana]] (skip) || [[Riko Toyoda]] || Yuna Kotani || || [[Japan Women's Curling Championship|JWCC]] 2016 {{Silver2}}<ref>[http://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?eventid=4216&eventtypeid=82&view=Main 2016 Japan Curling Championships Coverage on CurlingZone]</ref> |- ! scope="row"| 2016–17 | Junko Nishimuro (fourth) || Tori Koana (skip) || Yuna Kotani || [[Mao Ishigaki]] || [[Kyoka Kuramitsu]] || || JWCC 2017 {{Bronze3}}<ref name="2017web">{{Cite web |url=http://www.curling.or.jp/result/jcc/jcc2017/jcc2017-top.html |title=第34回 全農日本カーリング選手権大会 |language=ja |trans-title=34th Zen-Noh Japan Curling Championships |website=Japan Curling Association |access-date=November 27, 2019 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> |- ! scope="row" rowspan=2| 2017–18 | Junko Nishimuro (fourth) || Tori Koana (skip) || Yuna Kotani || Mao Ishigaki || [[Arisa Kotani]] || || |- | Tori Koana || Yuna Kotani || Mao Ishigaki || Arisa Kotani || Junko Nishimuro (JWCC)<br>[[Kaho Onodera]] (WCC) || [[J. D. Lind]] (WCC)<br>[[Yuji Nishimuro]] (WCC) || JWCC 2018 {{Gold1}}<ref name="2018web">{{Cite web |url=http://www.curling.or.jp/result/jcc/jcc2018/jcc2018-top.html |title=第35回 全農日本カーリング選手権大会 |language=ja |trans-title=35th Zen-Noh Japan Curling Championships |website=Japan Curling Association |access-date=November 27, 2019 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><br>{{WWCC|2018|WCC 2018}} (10th) |- ! scope="row"| 2018–19 | Tori Koana || Junko Nishimuro || Mao Ishigaki || Arisa Kotani || Yuna Kotani || Yuji Nishimuro || [[2018–19 Curling World Cup – Third Leg|CWC/3]] (6th)<br>JWCC 2019 (4th)<ref name="2019web">{{Cite web |title=The 36th Zen-Noh Japan Curling Championships |url=https://www.sapporo-curling.org/jcc2019/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129182100/https://www.sapporo-curling.org/jcc2019/ |archive-date=January 29, 2019 |website=sapporo-curling.org |access-date=November 27, 2019 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>[http://www.curlingzone.com/event.php?eventid=5778&eventtypeid=82&view=Main 2019 Japan Curling Championships Coverage on CurlingZone]</ref> |- ! scope="row"| 2019–20 | Tori Koana || Yuna Kotani || Mao Ishigaki || Arisa Kotani || || || |- ! scope="row"| 2020–21 | Tori Koana || Yuna Kotani || Mao Ishigaki || Arisa Kotani || || [[Jim Cotter (curler)|Jim Cotter]] || |- ! scope="row"| 2021–22 | Tori Koana || Yuna Kotani || Mao Ishigaki || Arisa Kotani || || || |- ! scope="row"| 2022–23 | [[Sayaka Yoshimura]] || Yuna Kotani || Kaho Onodera || [[Anna Ohmiya]] || [[Yumie Funayama]]<br>[[Mina Kobayashi]]|| [[Connor Njegovan]] || <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://karuizawa-icurling.jp/en/teams/ |title=Teams |website=Karuizawa International Curling Championships |date=2022 |access-date=February 27, 2023 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.live-link.life/online/wctj2023 |script-title=ja:WCTジャパン ニューイヤーメダリストカーリング in 御代田 2023 |trans-title=WCT-Japan New Year Medalist Curling in Miyota 2023 |language=ja |website=LIVE-Link |date=2023 |access-date=February 28, 2023 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> |- ! scope="row"| 2023–24 | Yuna Kotani{{efn|[[Sayaka Yoshimura]] did not play during the [[2023–24 curling season|2023–24 season]] as she was on maternity leave. Kotani moved up to skip the team with Onodera, Ohmiya and Kobayashi each moving up a position as well.}} || Kaho Onodera || Anna Ohmiya || Mina Kobayashi || Sayaka Yoshimura || || |- ! scope="row"| 2024–25 | Sayaka Yoshimura || Kaho Onodera{{efn|name="Onodera–Kotani"|Kotani and [[Kaho Onodera]] switched positions halfway through the season.}} || Yuna Kotani{{efn|name="Onodera–Kotani"}} || Anna Ohmiya || Mina Kobayashi || Yumie Funayama || {{WWCC|2025|WWCC 2025}} (9th) |- ! scope="row"| 2025–26 | Sayaka Yoshimura || Kaho Onodera || Yuna Kotani || Anna Ohmiya || Mina Kobayashi || Yumie Funayama || |}
==Personal life== Her younger sister [[Arisa Kotani|Arisa]] is also a curler. They played together at the [[2018 World Women's Curling Championship]].
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{World Curling}} * {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129000411/https://www.curlingworldcup.com/players/yuna-kotani |title=Yuna Kotani at Curling World Cup |date=January 29, 2020 }} * {{Olympics.com|yuna-kotani}} * {{Olympedia}} * {{Team Japan athletes|yunakotani}} * [https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/results/athlete-details/42575 Yuna Kotani] at [[Milano Cortina 2026]] * {{Instagram}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kotani, Yuna}} [[Category:1998 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Japanese female curlers]] [[Category:Japanese curling champions]] [[Category:Olympic curlers for Japan]] [[Category:Curlers at the 2026 Winter Olympics]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Sagamihara]] [[Category:21st-century Japanese sportswomen]]