Watanabe had his first international success at the 2010 Junior World Championships in Taipei . There he won the bronze medal with the relay. The following year he won the silver medal with the relay at the Junior World Championships in Courmayeur . He made his debut in the World Cup in October 2010 in Montreal , which he finished in 34th place over 500 m and 25th place over 1500 m. At the 2012 World Championships in Beijing , he finished fourth in the relay. His best placings at the 2017 World Championships in Rotterdam were 19th place in the all- around event and 13th place over 1500 m. At the Winter Asian Games 2017 in Sapporo , he won over 1000 m and the bronze medal with the relay. At the beginning of the 2017/18 season he achieved his first podium in the World Cup with third place in the relay in Budapest . His best results at the highlight of the season, the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang , were 16th place over 500 m and seventh place with the relay. In March 2018 he won the bronze medal with the relay at the World Championships in Montreal. In the 2018/19 season he achieved three top ten placements over 1500 m, and ninth place in the World Cup over 1500 m. In addition, he was second with the relay in Dresden and Turin . At the 2019 World Championships in Sofia , he won the bronze medal over 3000 m. In the all-around competition he came in sixth there. In the following season he came six times under the top ten, including third place over 1500 m in Nagoya and thus achieved eighth place in the World Cup over 1500 m.
Personal bests
500 m 40.721 sec. (installed on November 3, 2019 in Salt Lake City)
1000 m 1: 24.078 min. (installed on February 13, 2018 in Gangneung)
1500 m2: 10.058 min. (installed on November 12, 2016 in Salt Lake City)
3000 m 5: 01.847 min. (established on March 10, 2019 Sofia)
Japan
