Timothy Koleto (小松原 尊, Komatsubara Takeru, born June 17, 1991) is a retired American-born ice dancer.
Competing for Japan with his ice dance partner and wife, Misato Komatsubara, they are the 2020 NHK Trophy gold medalists and five-time Japanese national champions (2018–21, 2023).
[a] Earlier in his career, Koleto competed with partner Yura Min for South Korea, winning the 2014 national title and placing tenth at the 2014 Four Continents.
In June 2012, he dislocated his knee and partially tore his hamstring and lateral collateral ligament while practicing a triple Axel jump .
[10] Koleto had tryouts with Norway's Thea Rabe in November 2014 in Lyon, France, and the following month in Novi, Michigan.
[12] Igor Shpilband, Adrienne Lenda, Fabian Bourzat, and Greg Zuerlein coached the team in Novi, Michigan.
[13] 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.
[16] 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 at the Gadbois Centre.
[16] Following the 2018 Rostelecom Cup, they moved to Japan to train (coached by Rie Arikawa) in order for Koleto to meet a residency requirement for a future citizenship application.
[18] 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 required her to take time away from training.
[23] With the pandemic continuing to affect international travel, the ISU opted to base the Grand Prix primarily on the geographic location of competitors.
Komatsubara/Koleto were assigned to compete at the 2020 NHK Trophy in a field consisting only of three Japanese dance teams, including the newly debuted pairing of former national champion Kana Muramoto and former Olympic medalist singles skater Daisuke Takahashi.
The event occurred a week after Koleto successfully obtained Japanese citizenship, making the team eligible to represent Japan at the Winter Olympics.
[30][31][32] In preparing their programs for the Olympic season, Komatsubara and Koleto chose a free dance to John Williams's score for Memoirs of a Geisha.
[16] At their second event on the Grand Prix, the 2021 NHK Trophy, they finished in seventh place, 7.30 points behind domestic rivals Muramoto/Takahashi.
Koleto said afterward, "there were a lot of things that didn’t go as we wanted them," but expressed satisfaction at having achieved new personal bests.
[33] The 2021–22 Japan Championships, the final national qualification event for the 2022 Winter Olympics, pitted Komatsubara/Koleto against Muramoto/Takahashi for the second time that season.
"[38] At the 2023 Four Continents Championships, Komatsubara/Koleto finished sixth in the rhythm dance and seventh overall, remaining ahead of their domestic rivals in both segments.
[40] Komatsubara/Koleto made their season debut at the 2023 NHK Trophy, placing ninth of nine teams in their lone international assignment of the fall.
[44] In April 2024, Misato Komatsubara announced that she had retired from competitive skating, citing injuries as the main reason, while Koleto was considering his options.
[49] [58] GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series ISU personal best scores highlighted in bold.