Early Career
Kavaguti began skating at the age of five because her mother was a fan of ice dancing. She originally competed as a singles skater for Japan, then switched to pairs after being inspired by the Russian pair skater Elena Berezhnaya at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Kavaguti decided to write to her coach Tamara Moskvina and due to Kavaguti's persistence, the renowned coach eventually agreed to train her. Kavaguti moved to Hackensack, New Jersey where Moskvina was coaching at the time.
In March 1999, Kavaguti teamed up with Alexander Markuntsov to compete for Japan. They trained mainly in Hackensack with Moskvina and Igor Moskvin as their coaches and Tatiana Druchinina, Igor Bobrin, and Moskvina as their choreographers. They were the first Japanese pair team to medal at an ISU championships when they took silver at the World Junior Championships in 2001. Kavaguti and Markuntsov split in 2003. Kavaguti said, "We had a good working relationship but it was very difficult for Alexander to acquire Japanese citizenship, thus we couldn't represent Japan in the Olympics so after a while we decided to break up."
In 2003, Kawaguchi followed her coach as Moskvina moved back to Saint Petersburg, Russia where she enrolled at a university in addition to skating. She began skating with the American skater Josh Martin but in May 2004, he was hit by a car as he rollerbladed to practice, suffering cuts and a broken elbow, and decided to return to the U.S. Kawaguchi then skated with another American, Devin Patrick. "He taught me the quad throw (salchow). He did really good throws, but some of the other elements didn't work as well," Kawaguchi stated. They competed at the Japanese championships and U.S. Championships, placing 15th, and decided to go their separate ways. "He wanted to live in the U.S., but I didn't want to leave Tamara Nikolaevna (Moskvina). I just couldn't give up my studies, leave my coach, and go to America." She worried that she might not find another partner, but was determined to at least complete her degree.
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