Ran Takahashi

Ran Takahashi
Personal information
Full nameRan Takahashi
NationalityJapanese
Born (2001-09-02) 2 September 2001
Kyoto, Japan
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight84 kg (185 lb)
Spike343 cm (135 in)
Block315 cm (124 in)
College / UniversityNippon Sport Science University
Volleyball information
PositionOutside Hitter
Current clubLKPS Lublin
Number12 (National)
13 (University)
12 (Club)
Career
YearsTeams
2017–2020Japan Higashiyama High School
2020–2024Japan Nippon Sport Science University
2021–2023Italy Pallavolo Padova
2023–2024Italy Vero Volley Monza
2024–2026Japan Suntory Sunbirds
2026-presentPoland LKPS Lublin
National team
2021–present Japan
Medal Record
Men's Volleyball
Representing  Japan
FIVB Nations League
Silver medal – second place2024 ŁódźTeam
Bronze medal – third place2023 GdańskTeam
Asian Championship
Gold medal – first place2023 UrmiaTeam
Silver medal – second place2021 Chiba/FunabashiTeam
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2021–present
GenreVlog
Subscribers366 thousand
Views29 million
Last updated: May 31, 2026
Last updated: May 31, 2026

Ran Takahashi (髙橋 藍 or たかはしらん, Takahashi Ran; born 2 September 2001) is a Japanese volleyball player who currently plays as an outside hitter for PlusLiga club LKPS Lublin and the Japan national team.

He previously played for Suntory Sunbirds in Japan's SV.League, Pallavolo Padova and Vero Volley Monza in the Italian Volleyball League, as well as Nippon Sport Science University at collegiate level.[1][2]

Biography

Ran Takahashi was born on 2 September 2001 in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. His mother is Japanese of part British and German descent, and his father is Japanese. Ran has one brother, Rui, who is one and a half year older, and one younger sister, Riri. He started playing volleyball following the footsteps of his brother. His sister also plays volleyball.[3]

Career

Elementary School Years

Ran started playing volleyball in his second grade of elementary school for the school's team.[4]

High School Years

Ran played for Kyoto Municipal Hachigaoka Junior High School. Because of his height, in the first grade, he was mainly used as a Libero.

Afterward, he attended Higashiyama High School, and he was in the starting line up in high school since his first year and served as an ace and captain of his team by the third year. He led his team to the Top 4 of the National High School Sports Championship, also known as "Inter-High". His team also won the 2019 National Sports Festival (Kokutai) of Japan, as well as the 2020 All Japan High School Volleyball Championship, also known as "Haruko." In addition, he received the "Most Valuable Player" award at the end of the competition.[5][6]

He has no under category experience at all, but he was immediately elected as a senior representative in February 2020 while he was still in the 3rd grade of high school.[7][8]

College Years and International Success

After graduating from high school, Takahashi entered Nippon Sport Science University. He led the team, receiving the Runner-Up place in the 2020 All Japan Intercollegiate Volleyball Championship, and got the Best Scorer award from the competition.[9] In 2021, he was one of the Outside Hitters for the Japan men's national volleyball team at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan.[10]

After winning 2nd place at the Asian Men's Volleyball Championship with the Japan men's national volleyball team, he returned to play for his college team in the 2021 Kanto University Men's Division 1 League, winning 1st place by defeating Waseda University in straight sets.[11] He also played for his college team in the 2021 All Japan Intercollegiate Volleyball Championship, but lost in the quarterfinals against Jutendo University.[12]

On November 29, it was announced that Takahashi would play in the Italian Volleyball League Division 1 with Pallavolo Padova.[13] He arrived Italy on December and signed 14 as his jersey number, the same as Yūki Ishikawa's when he played with Padova.

On December 19, Ran debuted in the Italian Volleyball League as a substitute in the third set against Modena Volley.[14][15] Pallavolo Padova announced that Ran has renewed his contract with the club for Season 2022–2023.[16] He was nominated as MVP of the match against Valsa Group Modena for the first time in the Italian league.[17]

From 2023 until 2024, Vero Volley Monza signed with Ran Takahashi for the Italian Volleyball League.[18] He later signed with Suntory Sunbirds in 2024 and made his debut in the Japanese Volleyball League. As of right now, he has signed with LKPS Lublin and is set to make his debut in the PlusLiga. [19]

At the 2024 Summer Olympics held in Paris, France, Takahashi made his second Olympics appearance alongside Japan men's national volleyball team. They reached the quarterfinals but eventually lost to Italy men's national volleyball team.[20]

Clubs

Personal life

He owns an Instagram account with 2.4 million followers, a YouTube and a TikTok channel with his brother, called RanRui, which is a portmanteau of their given names.

Ran Takahashi: The First Photobook, a career retrospective, was released on August 22, 2022.[24] Ran Takahashi: Colorful Days, his first official photo-essay book, was released on March 29, 2023.

Awards

Individual

High School

College

National Team

Club Team

Ambassadorship

Takahashi's brand ambassadorships include French luxury fashion house Dior, Japanese sportswear Asics, Japanese makeup brand Kosé, Japanese health and wellness brand Sunchlorella, and Filipino electronics company Akari.[25][26]

Alongside his brother Rui, Ran also serves as an official Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Tourism Ambassador since May 2025.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "NSSU volleyball club 選手・スタッフ -#20 髙橋藍". nittai-vb.sakura.ne.jp/ (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  2. ↑ "イタリア挑戦の高橋藍「スパイクの決定率を追求したい」チーム選択には石川から助言も" (in Japanese). news.yahoo.co.jp. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "龍神ニッポンの次世代エース・高橋藍「世界に行って、レベルの高いプレーを早く経験できたらいいな」" (in Japanese). hominis.media. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "髙橋藍、男子バレーの新星は19歳。兄が振り返る急成長の過程" (in Japanese). Takai Miwa. sportiva.shueisha.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "Ran Takahashi". Sport Sunchlorella. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "髙橋藍(バレーボール)はハーフなの？父や兄もすごい？シューズや東山高校時代は？" (in Japanese). sports-brothers.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  7. ↑ "【ＴＯＫＹＯ２０２０＋１カウントダウン】バレー・高橋藍、東京五輪へ石川と歩む！次期エースへ石川を超える！" (in Japanese). www.sanspo.com. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "バレーボール東京五輪男子日本代表の高橋藍がセリエＡのパドバに加入へ - バレーボール : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  9. ↑ "第７３回秩父宮賜杯全日本バレーボール大学男子選手権大会 ミキプルーンスーパーカレッジバレー２０２０" (PDF). jva.or.jp (in Japanese). JVA. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "国際第32回オリンピック競技大会（2020 /東京）バレーボール男子日本代表チーム・龍神NIPPON出場内定選手コメント". jva.or.jp. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "秋季関東大学男子1部リーグ 試合結果と最終順位 | 月バレ.com【月刊バレーボール】". 月バレ.com【月刊バレーボール】 | 月刊バレーボールが運営するバレー情報サイト (in Japanese). 2021-11-01. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  12. ↑ "【バレー】男子は高橋藍擁する日体大が慶応大とフルセットの激闘。女子も2年ぶりVを目指す筑波大が天理大に辛勝 全日本インカレ" (in Japanese). news.yahoo.co.jp. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "イタリア挑戦の高橋藍「スパイクの決定率を追求したい」チーム選択には石川から助言も" (in Japanese). news.yahoo.co.jp. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  14. ↑ "【バレー】イタリア・セリエA男子 21/22シーズン第13節 前半最終節で高橋藍がリーグデビュー果たす" (in Japanese). news.yahoo.co.jp. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  15. ↑ "Ran Takahashi's first point in SuperLega". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  16. ↑ "Nazionale giapponese a Padova, Ran Takahashi confermato in bianconero". Pallavolo Padova (in Italian). 2022-05-21. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  17. ↑ "【バレー】髙橋藍 開幕戦スタメンを獲得し17得点でMVP（月刊バレーボール）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  18. ↑ 勝部晃多. "【バレー】日本代表の高橋藍がイタリア・セリエＡのモンツァと契約 日体大に在学しながらプレー - バレーボール : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  19. ↑ Volleybox. "Volleybox". volleybox.com.
  20. ↑ NEWS, KYODO. "Olympics: Japan suffers heartbreaking men's volleyball q'final loss". Kyodo News+. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  21. ↑ "Vol.9 Aim High, Reach Higher Spring High champion takes on the world. A story of the Takahashi brothers". Sport Sunchlorella. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  22. ↑ "Takahashi Ran". Legavolley (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  23. ↑ "日体大・高橋藍がセリエＡ挑戦「完成度高い」称賛のパドバに今冬加入 - バレーボール : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  24. ↑ "髙橋藍ファースト写真集 RAN 二十歳の肖像（髙橋藍/監修） | BBMスポーツ | ベースボール･マガジン社". www.bbm-japan.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  25. ↑ Caacbay, Kennedy (August 15, 2024). "Japan's Ran Takahashi tapped as ambassador of electronics company". ABS-CBN. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  26. ↑ Diez, Grace (August 20, 2024). "Get to Know Japanese Volleyball Fan Favorite Ran Takahashi". ABS-CBN. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  27. ↑ スポーツ報知 (May 28, 2025). "高橋藍「京都の魅力伝える」来月１１日開幕バレーネーションズリーグで「メダル獲得」…文化観光大使就任". Retrieved May 31, 2026.
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