Rio Azuma

Rio Azuma
Personal information
NationalityJapanese
Born (1998-07-27) 27 July 1998 (age 28)
Fencing career
SportFencing
WeaponFoil
HandRight-handed

Rio Azuma (born 27 July 1998) is a Japanese fencer. She represented Japan in the women's team foil event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Azuma began fencing in the fifth year of primary school, after visiting a fencing club with her mother Miki, who had previously competed in the sport at junior level. She initially trained once a week, before attending more frequently with her younger sister, Sera Azuma. Before taking up fencing, the sisters had practised karate for approximately two years. Rio attended Nippon Sport Science University.

Azuma won the junior-high-school division of Japan's national youth fencing championships in 2012. She won the 2016 Inter-High championship and was runner-up in women's individual foil at the Japanese national championships that year. She finished fifth in team foil at the 2018 Junior World Fencing Championships.

In December 2019, Azuma won a team bronze medal at the women's foil World Cup in Saint-Maur, France, alongside Sera Azuma, Sumire Tsuji and Minami Kano. Japan defeated Hungary 45–32 in the bronze-medal match. It was the Japanese women's foil team's first World Cup medal since 2007.

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Azuma competed in the women's individual and team foil events. She finished 24th in the individual competition and sixth with the Japanese team.

References

  1. ↑ "Azuma Rio". fie.org. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "Fencing sisters keeping skills sharp amid pandemic, Olympic delay". Japan Times. 5 May 2020. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  3. ↑ 大塚一樹 (19 June 2019). "東莉央・晟良、姉妹で目指す東京五輪 性格は正反対の2人が明かすフェンシングの想い" [Rio and Sera Azuma aim for the Tokyo Olympics together: two sisters with opposite personalities share their thoughts on fencing]. REAL SPORTS (in Japanese). Retrieved 13 October 2026.
  4. 1 2 大塚一樹 (24 June 2019). "東莉央・晟良、「姉妹」ならではの葛藤とは? 家族、ライバル、そして東京五輪" [Rio and Sera Azuma: the conflicts unique to being sisters—family, rivals and the Tokyo Olympics]. REAL SPORTS (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 15 May 2026. Retrieved 13 October 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Azuma Sera". fie.org. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "フェンシング女子フルーレ フランスワールドカップ団体戦で銅メダル獲得" [Women's foil fencing: team bronze medal won at the World Cup in France]. PR TIMES (Press release) (in Japanese). Japan Fencing Federation. 16 December 2019. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2026.
  7. ↑ "東 莉央|フェンシング|東京2020" [Rio Azuma: Fencing, Tokyo 2020] (in Japanese). Japanese Olympic Committee. Retrieved 13 October 2026.