is a Japanese ice dancer. She currently represents her home country in partnership with her husband Tim Koleto, with whom she is the 2020 NHK Trophy champion and a four-time Japanese national champion. Together, they also earned a bronze medal from the team event at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
She previously represented Italy with Andrea Fabbri, with whom she won five international medals, including silver at the 2015 CS Ice Challenge.
Personal life
Komatsubara was born on July 28, 1992, in Tokyo. She speaks Japanese, English, and Italian. She is vegan.
Komatsubara and Tim Koleto began a relationship after partnering on-ice in 2016, and they married in January 2017 in Okayama, Japan. Koleto adopted Komatsubara's surname upon his becoming a Japanese citizen in 2020, feeling that "to be Japanese but ask my wife to change to a foreign surname I thought was quite strange."
Career
Early years
Komatsubara began learning to skate in 2001. She competed for Japan with Kokoro Mizutani in the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons. In 2010, the two received a pair of Junior Grand Prix assignments. They were coached by Nozomi Watanabe in Yokohama, Japan.
During the next two seasons, Komatsubara skated with Kaoru Tsuji. Their partnership ended in 2013. After a pause, she decided to continue skating and resumed training under Rie Arikawa in Okayama.
Partnership with Fabbri
2014–15 season
Komatsubara teamed up with Italy's Andrea Fabbri. The two were coached by Barbara Fusar-Poli in Milan from December 2013. They represented Italy on the senior level. Their international debut came in October 2014 at the Ondrej Nepela Trophy, a Challenger Series (CS) event where they finished 6th. After winning bronze medals at the Santa Claus Cup and Italian Championships, they were sent to the 2015 European Championships in Stockholm, where they placed 23rd. The two ended their season with gold at the Bavarian Open.
2015–16 season
In 2015–16, Komatsubara/Fabbri took bronze at the Lombardia Trophy and then appeared at two Challenger Series events, winning silver at the 2015 Ice Challenge. After obtaining another silver medal, at the 2015 Santa Claus Cup, they repeated as national bronze medalists and went on to compete at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, where they finished 21st. They were coached by Fusar-Poli and Stefano Caruso in Milan, Italy.
Komatsubara and Fabbri ended their partnership in April 2016.
Partnership with Koleto
2016–17 season
Komatsubara teamed up with Timothy Koleto 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 tenth at their only Grand Prix assignment, the 2017 NHK Trophy. The two won the silver medal in December at the 2017–18 Japan Championships. In late January, they placed tenth at the 2018 Four Continents Championships. In early February, they placed fourth 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 Rostelecom Cup, the team moved to train in Japan (coached by Rie Arikawa) in order for Koleto to meet a residency requirement for a future citizenship application. They won their first ice dance title at the 2018-19 Japan Championships in December 2018. 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.