Suguri sustained a right groin injury in early September 2005 and missed three to four weeks of training. She says she wasn’t prepared for Skate Canada at the end of October, where she placed eighth. She was still experiencing some pain at that point, but the groin was getting better and she wanted the competitive experience. She showed considerable improvement by the time of her second Grand Prix event, the NHK Trophy in Osaka, Japan, where she placed second. Later in December, she won her fifth Japanese national title in a deep field and under intense pressure. Suguri defeated 15-year-old phenom Mao Asada, who made history by landing two triple Axels in her free skate, to claim her fifth Japanese title.
Suguri was hampered by a poor draw at the Salt Lake Games, where she finished fifth. Suguri skated second of 27 skaters in the short program. She had a clean skate, but by the time everyone else had skated, she'd been pushed down to seventh place, just outside the final group for the free skate. She had more bad luck in the draw for the free skate and had to skate first among the competitors ranked 7-12 after the short. With a strong free skate, her scores held up for fifth place.
The daughter of an airline pilot, Suguri learned to skate as a very young child in Alaska, where her father was stationed. She returned to Japan at age 5 after three years in Alaska. The daughter of Kaoru and Nobutaka, Suguri has a younger sister, Chika, who is also a skater. Chika placed 13th at the 2006 Japanese nationals. Suguri graduated from Waseda University in 2003 with a degree in social sciences, and says that her parents emphasized the importance of completing her education. She enjoys cooking and reading. She used to play the piano, but hasn’t had time lately.
--NBC
JAPAN