Sumire Kita

Sumire Kita (喜田 純鈴; born 11 January 2001) is a retired Japanese individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2016 Asian Junior all-around champion, the 2022 Asian Senior all-around silver medalist, two-time Japanese National Junior champion, and four-time Japanese National senior champion.

Personal life
Kita started doing rhythmic gymnastics at age two. Her mother also practiced rhythmic gymnastics until she went to university. Kita speaks Japanese and Russian.

Her younger sister, Mirano Kita, is also an individual rhythmic gymnast and has represented Japan at multiple international FIG events.

Career
In 2013, Kita debuted at the Japan National Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, where she became the youngest ever to take second place. Kita was coached by Yu Liu, a former Chinese rhythmic gymnast who came to Japan to study and on meeting Kita at her small gymnastics studio in Kagawa Prefecture, recognized her as a gymnast with great potential. Kita thereafter spent part of her training time in Russia's famous Novogorsk center for rhythmic gymnastics.

Kita competed at the 2014 Aeon Cup. In 2015, she competed at the Junior Grand Prix in Moscow and numerous other junior tournaments, including events in Lisbon, Corbeil-Essonnes and Budapest. Kita also finished 5th in the junior all-around at the 2015 Aeon Cup in Tokyo, Japan. At the 2016 Asian Junior Championships in Astana, Kita won gold medals in the all-around, rope, clubs as well as bronze medals in hoop, ball, and team.

In 2017, Kita parted with her childhood coach Liu and began training under Elena Nefedova. She debuted in the World Cup Series, competing at the 2017 World Challenge Cup Guadalajara. She finished 17th in the all-around, she qualified in 1 apparatus final in clubs finishing in 8th place. On June 24–27, Kita competed at the 2017 Asian Championships where she finished 4th in the all-around. Kita, together with the rest of the Japanese team, won the bronze medal. She qualified for two apparatus finals and won bronze in ribbon and placed 5th in hoop. On July 7–9, Kita finished 9th in the all-around at the 2017 Berlin World Challenge Cup. She qualified for the ball final, where she finished in 7th place. On August 5–7, Kita finished 10th in the all-around behind Olena Diachenko at the 2017 Minsk World Challenge Cup. She qualified for the hoop and ribbon finals and finished in 8th place for both events. On August 11–13, Kita competed at the 2017 Kazan World Challenge Cup. She was 14th in the all-around and did not qualify in any of apparatus finals. On August 30–September 3, Kita and Kaho Minagawa represented Japan in the individual competition at the 2017 World Championships in Pesaro, Italy; she qualified in the hoop final and finished in 7th place. Kita finished 12th in the all-around final behind Evita Griskenas.

In 2018, Kita started the season with the 2018 Moscow Grand Prix. She finished 8th in the all-around and qualified into the clubs and ribbon finals. However, she was forced to return to Japan for a time due to pain in her lower back, which was caused by an avulsion fracture. She competed with only two apparatuses at the 2018 World Championships and again at the 2019 World Championships.

In 2021, Kita was chosen to represent Japan at the Olympic Games in Tokyo alongside teammate Chisaki Oiwa. She placed eleventh in the overall individual ranking, being 0.300 points behind the Ukrainian Khrystyna Pohranychna, and was the first reserve for the all-around final.

Kita won her fourth Japanese national title in 2022, along with winning every event final at Japanese Nationals. She announced her retirement in December.