Olympic Ski Cross: Ryo Sugai | Turning the Disappointment of Beijing into Strength

"All that's left is to become number one." Having transformed the disappointment he swallowed at the Beijing Olympics four years ago into strength, Ryu Sugai will challenge his limits on the stage of the Milan-Cortina Olympics in order to continue being the person he wants to be

Current location of Ryu Sugai

Ryo Sugai will represent Japan in the ski cross event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. His name first became widely known in the winter four years ago

"It was frustrating. Of course. I never thought I'd lose there. But it's because of that Beijing experience that I'm where I am today. All I have to do now is become number one."

Ryu Sugai spoke these words as he looked ahead to the Milan-Cortina Olympics in the summer of 2025. His strong eyes were filled with the determination and pride of a top athlete

At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, he was unexpectedly eliminated in the first round by a video review, by the mere margin of a knuckle. Seeking revenge for that loss, he raced aggressively, winning the bronze medal at the 2025 World Championships, a first for Japan in ski cross history, and rewriting history. He came in second in the 12th round of the W-CUP in the 2024-25 season, and his ability is beyond doubt. Ryu Sugai is now the man closest to the pinnacle of the ski cross world

"I was disappointed at the last Beijing Olympics, so I have been working hard in the past four years, thinking of it as a way to erase that feeling. My main goal has been to win a medal. I really want to achieve that, and I want to skate in a way that will impress everyone who has supported me up until now and everyone who will be watching the Olympics."

With that comment, Ryu Sugai flew to Italy on February 1st

I had decided to become a ski racer in the future

Ryu Sugai is a world leader who has won fierce heats in FIS W-CUP races and is always aiming for the podium, but seven years ago he was an alpine racer who had no idea that ski cross even existed

Born in Tainai City, Niigata Prefecture, she began skiing at the age of two with parents who loved skiing

"I was the kind of kid who would slide straight down from the top to the bottom and get caught by the patrol (laughs). Skiing was fun. I was invited to try alpine skiing, and naturally, I started doing it. I went on to the best school in Niigata Prefecture, and I knew from around middle school that I wanted to become a ski athlete in the future."

He was big and strong even as a child. His speed was also extraordinary. After graduating from high school, he began to work full-time as an alpine skier, and in 2014 he was one of the strongest skiers in Japan, making it onto the All Japan National Team. During this time, he joined Clev, a ski and outdoor company in his hometown of Yuzawa

World Walls and Trade

Until 2018, Ryu Sugai was the only Japanese athlete based overseas competing in high-speed events such as downhill, super-G, and giant slalom in the FIS W-CUP. In 2018, he earned W-CUP points for the first time, but was unable to compete in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics

"It was the best year of my career as an alpine skier, so I realized that if I continued doing things the same way as before, I wouldn't reach my dream of competing in the Olympics. At that time, I received an invitation from Kentaro Minagawa, the national team coach, to try ski cross

"Well, I'll just do it for four years! I missed PyeongChang, but I still wanted to compete in the Olympics. So I decided to switch to ski cross, win a medal in four years, and then come back to my favorite alpine skiing. That was my original plan (laughs)."

What made you so keen on the Alps?

"Speed. I love speed. And there was a big gap between Japan and the rest of the world in terms of the training and support environment. Strong countries overseas have multiple coaches, service staff, trainers, physios and even doctors. I just couldn't compete in terms of the environment. It was frustrating, but I felt I had reached my limit in terms of continuing on my own. At the time, I was about to start my first full-fledged ski cross team, and I was also attracted to the fact that ski cross would allow me to work with a complete team structure."

How to use limited time and resources effectively to get closer to your dream? For Ryu Sugai, the fastest route to the gold medal was the ski cross deal

"But actually, I had never even seen ski cross before (laughs). Ski cross is a sport that started at the X-Games around 2000, but for 18 years until I was competing I didn't even know what kind of sport it was. So it was all new to me. I didn't even know how to start, and I was suddenly sent out to compete on an overseas trip, so it was all a trial run (laughs)."

However, less than a year after switching to alpine skiing, he placed 15th in his first W-CUP. Not only were the speed and high-level gliding techniques he developed in alpine skiing more than enough to aim for the world's top spot, but Sugai's natural explosive power quickly made him a figure to be reckoned with around the world

The appeal of ski cross

What is the appeal of ski cross for Ryu Sugai?

"Being able to beat athletes who can't beat me. In solo races, bigger athletes are overwhelmingly faster, but in ski cross you can make up for that with strategy and data analysis. It's a game of strategy. Nowadays, athletes who make it onto the podium are usually over 190cm and 100kg. I'm 177cm... so I have to come up with ways to make up for what I don't have. For me, strategy is everything."

Sugai collects detailed data on the world's top racers and analyzes it in depth. He analyzes all sorts of data, including individual strengths and weaknesses, habits, race developments and results, and then combines it with the shape of the course to turn it into numbers. Looking at it probabilistically allows him to see things objectively, which allows him to calmly respond and come up with tactics. He also applies his analysis to physical training. His passion and the amount of research he does leave those around him amazed

"I would develop the necessary stamina and technique for the strategy I came up with from my analysis, then try it out on the snow to see if it was the right solution. I've been repeating this trial and error process for a long time."

Behind Sugai's growth and strength lay these kinds of ingenuity. Of course, that's not all

"It's simply a really fun sport. The exciting heats with jumps and crashes feel like an attraction. It's also fun to know at a glance whether you're the best or behind. It gets the adrenaline pumping."

Sugai Ryu, the man

"I'm really good at repeating things that I find fun or that I've decided to do. I analyze things in my own way, make hypotheses, and try them out, so I can't verify them unless I repeat them many times. What other people tell me carries a different weight than what I've thought out and proven myself. In that sense, I don't think I listen to other people's opinions that much (laughs)."

Daisuke Kishino, the representative of Team Creve, which Sugai belongs to and which has supported him since his alpine skiing days, said the following

"What's great about Sugai is that he always analyzes himself objectively, comes up with creative ideas to achieve what is necessary, and takes action on his own. He thoroughly manages himself and not only reliably accomplishes his tasks, but also exceeds the goals he sets at a high level. He also cares deeply for his family and friends, and has a great humanity. He's cool not only as an athlete, but as a person too. Naturally, everyone wants to cheer him on."

The driving force

"The key point is how much I can build my body before the season starts," Sugai said in the summer. In the 2025-2026 season, which was an Olympic year, he showed good form from the start of the season, and placed 4th in the second round of the W-CUP. This showed that he was in good shape

Then, on December 19, 2025, he crashed hard during a W-CUP match held in Italy, dislocating his left hip and fracturing his femoral head. A serious injury just two months before the Olympics would be considered a tragedy. However, Sugai was not one to let despair pass him by. He declared his determination to "definitely return in time for the Olympics." He wrote the following on his Instagram at the time:

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A post shared by Ryo Sugai (@ryorioss)

After undergoing this rigorous rehabilitation, he is now about to take to the course in Cortina

No matter what happens, he never gives up until the end. What has made Sugai Ryu so strong?

"I was really disappointed with my first-round loss in Beijing, so I've been working hard for the past four years to get over that. I think one of the things that motivated me was the desire to prove that I could perform even after overcoming an injury."

There are other driving forces that motivate Sugai

"When I was in high school, I watched my seniors who went on to university, and I saw many skiers who failed to manage themselves at the time they entered a world where they had to ski more. That didn't look cool. I chose to go to Europe because I wanted to continue to be in the position that I thought was cool. The desire to be an athlete who could ski fast and cool was a pure thought I had when I was in high school, and it has always been my driving force. Even now

I had some injuries and there were long periods when my training wasn't going as well as I'd hoped, but at last year's World Championships I was able to believe in myself and skate to the end. I may not have fully reached the ideal version of myself I imagined I would become as a high school student, but I think I'm on the right track

Of course, I want to win gold in Milan, and I also want to win the overall W-Cup. I also want to become a player who keeps winning. I have many goals. It's fun to challenge things that you don't know you'll get

Actually, I don't really like the word "effort." Because I believe that "passion trumps effort." I think that the feeling of wanting to do something from the heart and loving it is stronger than doing something that you think is effort. If you have passion, you can become absorbed in it, and if you have passion, you can turn even difficult things into fun ones with ingenuity. I want my sons to be strong children who can do that too."

When talking about his beloved son, the father's gentle smile spreads

"Children always give me strength and comfort," he says happily. For the sake of his precious family and the many people who support him, Sugai Ryu is finally ready to take on the stage of the final battle

Cooperation: Clev Sports "AndSnow Vol.4 (2025)"

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