Shizuka Arakawa: “I didn’t know the costume’s cost when I competed in the Olympics, so I braced myself for what I assumed would be an extremely high bill. When the invoice came afterward, I was shocked at how reasonable it was.”

Shizuka Arakawa reflects on the costs of figure skating and her Olympic costume

original source: Nikkansports, September 9th, 2025

Shizuka Arakawa, the gold medalist in women’s figure skating at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, appeared on a special episode of TBS’s “Job Tune” on September 6. She discussed the high costs associated with figure skating while revealing the surprisingly low price of her Olympic gold-medal-winning costume. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on Nikkansports.

Shizuka Arakawa (43), who won gold in women’s figure skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, appeared on TBS’s “Job Tune SP” under the theme “The World’s Greatest Athletes Gather” to share stories from her career. On the program, she detailed the significant financial burden of figure skating but surprised the audience when she revealed the cost of her iconic Olympic costume.

Arakawa outlined the various expenses involved in pursuing competitive figure skating. “Renting an ice rink costs 40,000 to 50,000 yen per hour, which totals around 1 million yen annually. Each pair of skates costs 200,000 yen, and choreography fees per piece for a free skate can reach 1.5 million yen. Costumes can be as expensive as 1.5 million yen for some skaters,” she explained. Each mention of these figures elicited astonished reactions from the studio audience.

When her gold-medal-winning costume from the Turin Olympics was brought into the studio, Arakawa was asked about its price. Surprisingly, she revealed, “It cost $700, which was about 70,000 to 80,000 yen at the time.” The audience responded with audible surprise at the unexpected affordability of such an iconic outfit.

Reflecting on the experience, Arakawa said, “I didn’t know the costume’s cost when I competed in the Olympics, so I braced myself for what I assumed would be an extremely high bill. When the invoice came afterward, I was shocked at how reasonable it was,” she shared with a smile.

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