Yuka Sato (born February 14, 1973) is a Japanese figure skater . She is the 1994 World Champion, the 1990 World Junior Champion and the 1993 & 1994 Japanese national champion . She placed 7th at the 1992 Winter Olympics and 5th at the 1994 Winter Olympics . Yuka Sato was born in Tokyo . Both of her parents are former skaters . Her father, Nobuo Sato, competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics and 1964 Winter Olympics . Her mother, Kumiko Okawa, competed in the 1964 Winter Olympics and 1968 Winter Olympics . In addition to being coached by her parents, Sato also worked with coach Peter Dunfield . In the 1988-1989 season, Yuka Sato won the Japan Junior Figure Skating Championships to qualify for the 1989 World Figure Skating Championships, where she placed 10th. She also qualified for the 1989 Japan Figure Skating Championships, where she won the bronze medal behind Midori Ito and Junko Yaginuma. In the 1989-1990 season, Sato again won the Japan Jr. Championships to qualify for the World Junior Championships. Sato won the 1990 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. She won the silver medal at the Japanese Championships that season and qualified for the 1990 World Figure Skating Championships, where she placed 14th. In the 1990-1991 season, Sato placed 5th at the 1990 NHK Trophy and at the 1990 Nations Cup. In the 1991-1992 season, Sato won the bronze medal at the 1991 Skate America. She won her second silver medal at the Japanese Championships to qualify for the 1992 Winter Olympics and the 1992 World Figure Skating Championships. She placed 8th at the Olympics and 7th at the World Championships. In the 1992-1993 season, Sato won the 1992 Skate America, beating Nancy Kerrigan and Chen Lu. She won the silver medal at the 1992 NHK Trophy and won the Prague Skate. She won her first of two Japanese national titles that season and qualified for the 1993 World Figure Skating Championships, where she placed 4th. .