The Japan Mogul Team, said to be "undoubtedly the strongest in history," is taking on the Beijing Olympics. What kind of skiing will they show on the Olympic stage? Let's introduce the Japanese men's and women's mogul skiers, who are considered very likely to win gold medals. Also, check out the 2021-2022 World Cup competition footage, which will give us a glimpse into the Olympic battle!
HARA Daichi
At the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, he became the first Japanese man to win a bronze medal in the freestyle event, exciting the skiing world. He then made his debut as a professional keirin racer in May 2020, creating a unique "two-sword style." While he places an overwhelming emphasis on keirin, with a training balance of 90% keirin to 100% moguls, he placed second in the fourth World Cup this season, behind Yukimasa Horishima. He has made a spectacular return to the world's top scene, once again boasting speed and sharp turns
☟By the way, this is a Twitter post from FIS when they came in second place in the 4th World Cup (Alpe d'Huez/FRA) held on December 17, 2021
This is a post made by Daichi Hara himself on the same day
I got 2nd place in the World Cup!
— Daichi Hara (@DaichAsce) December 17, 2021
I can't believe it!
I never thought I'd be on the podium again... (And it's the best result of my life lol)
It's not guaranteed, but I've qualified and I'm pretty close to the Olympics!
But it's just the beginning! pic.twitter.com/RpZNqpqmEa
■ Profile
| date of birth | Born March 4, 1997 |
| Birthplace | Shibuya Ward, Tokyo |
| Affiliation | Japan Ski Resort Development Club |
| Major battles in recent years | 21-22 2nd place in the Alpe d'Huez World Cup; 2019 3rd place in the Moguls and Dual Moguls World Championships; 2018 Bronze medal at the PyeongChang Olympics |
| Gear used | Skis: ID one |
| @d.h_mogul_keirin |
■ Hara Daichi - Skating video
Here is a video of his satisfying run that earned him second place in the 4th World Cup (Alpe d'Huez/FRA) held on December 17, 2021
Hara Daichi won the bronze medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Here's a slideshow of the event
■ Comments from the "Online Press Conference to Determine Representatives" just before the Beijing Olympics
With the Beijing Olympics just around the corner, the All Japan Ski Association held an online press conference to determine the Japanese representatives. We present an excerpt from a video of Daichi Hara's comments. "Q" is a question from a journalist
January 23rd (Sun) 19:00-19:30 From the online press conference to decide the representatives
Q. How do you feel now that you have decided to compete in the Olympics for the second time
? I feel truly relieved. A lot has happened over the past four years and I was close to giving up, but I am still happy to be back and feel relieved, to be honest.
Q. Hara, you seem to have shown a strong competitive spirit, especially in seizing the final chance of the season. Looking back, how did you feel?
- The training camps and overseas tours that began with this trip to Switzerland lasted about four or five months, and I feel like I spent a very intense time there.
Q. I imagine you spent the last four years juggling both Keirin and moguls, but looking back on those four years, how do you feel about securing your ticket to the Olympics?
- I can only think that you did really well. You really did your best.
Q. I think the first and second Olympics are different, but how are you feeling right now, and how are you feeling about the Olympics?
- Yes, I really feel like I want to have fun, and I would like to get good results, but the most important thing for me up to now has been to have fun, so I really want to continue doing that.
Q. What kind of image do you want to show to the whole of Japan?
- I want to show people having fun.
Q. Please tell us again about your goals
- Of course I want to have fun, but I also really want to do well, so if I'm participating I'll do my best to aim for the gold medal.
Q. This season, you've achieved great results, including coming in second in the World Cup, but do you feel like you want to continue moguls?
- Not at the moment. Right now I'm concentrating on Beijing, but if anything, my desire to race keirin has been much stronger since I started, so I don't think my feelings will change.
Q. You said that when you took up moguls after gaining experience in keirin, your arms and legs became more flexible and you became faster, but what effect has that had on your turns?
- I think it's because I've gotten better at turning, and the chances of me failing a turn have become extremely low, so I have a lot more confidence in my turns now.
Q. Has that changed significantly compared to four years ago?
- It's definitely changed a lot. I think it's really big that I can now concentrate so much on my weaker areas, jumps, and spend more time practicing them.
Q. As you've competed in more matches since the opening round, do you feel like you've regained your sense, or have improved in any areas?
- First of all, I think I've gotten used to the competitions and I feel like I've really regained my sense of competition. More than just moguls, I mean, it's getting used to the competitions.
Q. You said that the quality of your airs, including the level of completion, has improved a lot this season, but what exactly was the amount of practice you did while racing Keirin? Or was there a reason why you suddenly improved without any practice at all?
- In terms of the ratio of practice volume, when I was racing Keirin, the ratio of Keirin practice to Keirin practice was much higher, and at one point the ratio was about 9:1. I only practiced moguls at 10% or 20% of my total, but I focused on that 20% and I think now that the quality of my practice was really high. I still have a long way to go, but it's true that my airs are much better now than before I started racing Keirin, and I really think that this improvement is due to the fact that, although the amount of practice was small, I was focused on high-quality practice.
Q. Your turns are also very sharp. What proportion of your practice time was spent on snow? I
've always had a lot of confidence in my turns, so I think that the physical strength I gained from Keirin really translated into my turns. I've only practiced turns on snow, but because it's my forte, I've seen a lot of improvement. I've practiced turns less, but I feel like I'm more confident now.
Q. Overall, would you say that you've grown so much with a ratio of about 9:1 for Keirin and 1:1 for Moguls?
It depends on when the ratio was the highest - 9:1 or 8:2 - but there were times when I was doing 9:1 for Keirin, and on average it was about 8:2.