Tim Koleto


Timothy Koleto is an American-born Japanese ice dancer. With his wife, Misato Komatsubara, he is the 2018 CS U.S. Classic bronze medalist, the 2018 CS Asian Open bronze medalist, and the 2019 and 2020 Japanese national champion.
Earlier in his career, Koleto competed with Yura Min for South Korea, winning the 2014 national title and placing 10th at the 2014 Four Continents. He also competed with Thea Rabe for Norway.

Personal life

Koleto was born June 17, 1991, in Kalispell, Montana. He married Misato Komatsubara in January 2017 in Okayama, Japan. He is studying Japanese.

Career

Early years

Koleto began learning to skate in 1998. He placed 6th in the junior men's category at the 2012 U.S. Championships. He dislocated his knee and partially tore his hamstring and lateral collateral ligament while practicing a triple Axel jump in June 2012. During practice in December, he twisted his ankle and tore the tibiofibular ligament.

Partnership with Min

2013–14 season

Koleto switched to ice dancing and teamed up with Yura Min in April 2013. They placed 9th at the 2013 Ukrainian Open in December 2013. They were the only senior ice dance team competing at the 2014 South Korean Championships and they won with a score of 105.49. Representing South Korea, the duo placed tenth at the 2014 Four Continents Championships. At the 2014 Bavarian Open, they placed tenth.

2014–15 season

They placed eighth at an ISU Challenger Series event, the 2014 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. They finished fifth at their last event together, the International Cup of Nice in October 2014. Igor Shpilband and Greg Zuerlein coached them in Novi, Michigan.

Partnership with Rabe

Koleto had tryouts with Norway's Thea Rabe in November 2014 in Lyon, France, and the following month in Novi, Michigan. They agreed to skate together for Norway. In May 2015, Rabe moved to the United States to train with Koleto. Igor Shpilband, Adrienne Lenda, Fabian Bourzat, and Greg Zuerlein coached the team in Novi, Michigan.

2015–16 season

After being released by South Korea and sitting out one year, as required by the International Skating Union, Koleto became eligible to compete for Norway beginning October 20, 2015. Making their international debut, Rabe/Koleto won the bronze medal at the Volvo Open Cup in November 2015. They placed 8th at both the Open d'Andorra and the CS Warsaw Cup. Despite qualifying to the 2016 European Championships, they decided to end their partnership a few weeks before the event. They were Norway's first-ever ice dancing team.

Partnership with Komatsubara

2016–17 season

Koleto teamed up with Misato Komatsubara following a tryout in Milan in April 2016. They decided to train together in Milan under Barbara Fusar-Poli. They received the bronze medal at the 2016–17 Japan Championships in December 2016.

2017–18 season

Making their international debut for Japan, Komatsubara/Koleto placed 8th at the CS Lombardia Trophy in September 2017. They finished 10th at their sole Grand Prix event, the 2017 NHK Trophy. In December, the two won the silver medal at the 2017–18 Japan Championships. They placed 10th at the 2018 Four Continents Championships with a historic personal best score of 138.18. They placed 4th at the 2018 Toruń Cup.

2018–19 season

In March 2018, Komatsubara/Koleto announced that they had moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to train under Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, and Romain Haguenauer. They won bronze at both of their ISU Challenger Series events, the 2018 CS Asian Open Trophy and 2018 CS US International Classic. They then competed at two Grand Prix assignments, placing eighth at the 2018 NHK Trophy and eighth at the 2018 Rostelecom Cup.
Following the 2018 Rostelecom Cup, they moved to train in Japan in order for Koleto to meet a residency requirement for a future citizenship application. At the 2018–19 Japanese Championships, they won the event after placing first in both segments. They placed ninth at the 2019 Four Continents Championships after placing ninth in both segments. Komatsubara/Koleto represented Japan at their first World Championships, held in Saitama, where they placed twenty-first in the rhythm dance, missing the free dance by one ordinal.
To conclude the season, they participated in the 2019 World Team Trophy as part of Team Japan, which won the silver medal, though Komatsubara/Koleto placed sixth of sixth competitors in each of their segments. Komatsubara served as the Japanese team captain.

2019–20 season

Initially scheduled to begin the season at the 2019 CS Autumn Classic International, Komatsubara/Koleto withdrew early in the preseason, as a result of Komatsubara having sustained multiple concussions that necessitated time away from training. They later made their season debut at a different Challenger, the 2019 CS Asian Open, where they finished ninth. On the Grand Prix, they were tenth out of ten teams at the 2019 Cup of China, and then withdrew from the 2019 NHK Trophy.
Returning to competition at the 2019–20 Japan Championships, they won their second consecutive national title.

Programs

With Komatsubara

With Rabe

With Min

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series

With Komatsubara for Japan

With Rabe for Norway

With Min for South Korea

Men's singles

Detailed results

With Komatsubara for Japan

ISU personal best scores highlighted in bold. Historic ISU personal best scores highlighted in bold and italicized.

With Rabe for Norway

With Min for South Korea