She played her first international title fights at the Junior World Championships 2001 in Warsaw , where she could reach the semifinals over 1000 m and 1500 m respectively. In December 2001 she made her debut in Amsterdam in the World Cup, but was eliminated over 500 m in the preliminary run. At the World Team Championship in Milwaukee in 2002 , she took part in a championship for the first time in the adult division. Ozawa got regular international appearances in the 2001/02 season . In the World Cup she reached the semifinals twice over 1500 m, with the relay she finished fourth.
Ozawa won the bronze medal with the relay at the Junior World Championships in Budapest in 2003, and thus her first international medal. She also took part in the World Championships in Warsaw in 2003 and reached the semi-finals as the best result over 1500 m. In the 2003/04 season Ozawa took part in three World Cups, but could only reach a semi-finals once in a single race. At the World Championships in Gothenburg , she repeated the semi-finals over 1500 m. The 2004/05 season was successful . Ozawa achieved three podiums in the World Cup with the relay. She made it into a final for the first time in an individual race over 1500 m and was tenth in the overall discipline ranking. At the Junior World Championships in Belgrade she won a bronze medal again over 1000 m. At the team world championship in Chuncheon , she reached the final with her teammates, where she was fourth. In addition, Ozawa was able to move into the final with the relay at the World Cup in Beijing , where it was disqualified. In the 2005/06 season Ozawa could not improve in the World Cup in individual races. With the relay, however, she once reached a podium. She qualified for the Olympic Games in Turin . There she reached the semifinals over 1000 m, but with the relay she only finished last in the B final.
In the 2006/07 season Ozawa could not convince in individual races. With the season, however, she achieved a third place. Even at the season highlights, she could not reach any finals. The following 2007/08 season was more successful . Ozawa reached the final three times over 1500 m, but narrowly missed her first podium in a single race. In the discipline ranking she finished eighth over 1500 m. Also in the 2008/09 season Ozawa competed in three finals in the 1500 m World Cup. Over this distance she repeated eighth place in the discipline ranking. In her last season in 2009/10 , Ozawa's best results were four semi-finals over 1500 m in the World Cup. At the team world championship in Bormio she reached the final, where she just missed a medal in fourth. She played her second Olympic Games in Vancouver . Over 1000 m she moved into the quarter-finals, over 1500 m she was disqualified in the preliminary and with the relay she again only finished last in the B final.
Ozawa studied at the University of Hannan . She also started for the university's sports team.
Web links
Mika Ozawa in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
Mika Ozawa in the database of ShorttrackOnLine.info (English)
Japan
