On the 19th, the Ski Association of Japan announced an unofficial candidate for the Beijing Olympics Japan national team, and Anri Kawamura (17 = Tokyo, Nippon Sport Science University Sakura Hanataka) and others were elected as moguls girls. Growth stocks with three wins in the World Cup this season will challenge the top on the stage of the first Olympics. Among the boys, ace Ikuma Horishima (Toyota Motor) and Daichi Hara (Nippon Ski Resort Dev), who are attracting attention as a dual wield with bicycle racing at the Pyeongchang Olympics bronze medal, were selected. Ayumu Hirano (23 = TOKIO Inkarami), who participated in skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, was selected as the half-pipe boy for snowboarding.
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I got a ticket to the big stage that I had dreamed of, and I was thrilled. Kawamura, a second-year high school student, said, “The Olympics have been a tournament I’ve been admiring since I started moguls. I’m really looking forward to it.” He smiled at an online press conference connecting Finland and Japan.
From last season, when he finished second overall in the World Cup, his performance has been stable at an even higher level this season. By the time he finished the ninth race of the season, he had already won three wins, including winning in the last match before the Olympics, and he has the yellow bibs that only the player who is in the overall lead can wear. “It’s the same with having a yellow bib now, and the slip itself is good. I’m confident in myself.” There is a sense of fulfillment on the ice.
It’s a turn that doesn’t shake one of the factors of strength. Keeps your body balanced even on steep slopes and absorbs the impact of getting over your hump with your exquisite knees. “It speeds up to a certain extent and doesn’t collapse significantly. A stable turn is my strength,” he said. In addition, air technology is one of the best in the world.
At the Beijing Olympics, it will compete with Queen Lafon (France), the gold medal of the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018, and Anthony (Australia), who are doing well this season. If he wins a medal, he will become the youngest medalist of Japanese women in the Winter Olympics, overtaking Mao Asada, who won the silver medal at the age of 19 in the figure skating girls of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. And if you win the gold medal, it will be the first feat in 24 years since Tae Satoya of the 1998 Nagano Olympics as a Japanese moguls.
The goal is the top of the podium. “I want to slip everything I have and win a medal. I want to win a gold medal.” The new queen candidate proclaimed high.[Mikihiro Okuoka]
Anri Kawamura ◆ Born October 15, 2004 (Heisei 16) Born in Higashikurume, Tokyo.
◆ Double life I started skiing when I was 3 years old. In the first and second semesters of elementary school, I attended from my home in Higashikurume City, and in the third semester, I studied in Yuzawa Town, Niigata Prefecture, near my grandfather’s apartment. After spending three years in junior high school in Niigata (Yuzawa Naka), he returned to Tokyo (Nippon Sport Science University Sakuraka) from high school.
◆ Sports I concentrate on skiing, but when I was in junior high school, I belonged to the soft tennis club as a school activity.
◆ World Cup debut When he made his debut at the World Cup in December 19th, when he was in the third year of junior high school, he suddenly took second place, the highest among the Japanese, and was on the podium. After the season, he won the Best Newcomer Award from the International Ski Federation. Second place overall in the World Cup in the 20-21 season.
◆ English He is fluent in English and responds to interviews at overseas competitions in fluent English. It is said that foreign books such as soft covers can be read easily.
◆ Height 156 cm.
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