The Beijing Olympics have finally started. Moguls took the lead and started on February 3rd. The men's and women's moguls are very promising for the gold medal this season, when Japanese players are playing an active role in the World Cup on the world stage. The number of television broadcasts is also the highest among ski and snowboarding, and you can see how much attention it is getting. To make your spectator experience even more enjoyable, here are some key points about moguls. Let's learn the basics and support Team JAPAN!
Mogul | Mogul
Yukima Horishima and Anri Kawamura won the previous World Cup
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■Beijing Olympic Moguls Competition Schedule
The moguls will start the day before the opening ceremony (February 4).
Also note that it will be held as an all-race night game. Live broadcasts by TV stations are scheduled from the qualifying rounds, as the events that are expected to win medals will start ahead of the competition. In addition, the finals to look forward to will be on Saturday and Sunday nights on February 5th and 6th. I'm happy to be able to watch TV carefully! (Schedule may change due to weather conditions, etc.)
| Date and time | venue | Broadcast schedule | |
| February 3 (Thursday) 18:00-18:45 (Japan time 19:00-19:45) | Women's moguls 1st qualifying round | Uncho Snow Park | February 3 (Thursday) Live Broadcast 18:45-19:45 (TV Asahi series) February 3 (Thursday) Live Broadcast 18:50- (NHK BS1) Gorin.jp is here |
| February 3 (Thursday) 19:45-20:30 (Japan time 20:45-21:30) | Men's Moguls Qualifying round 1 | Uncho Snow Park | February 3 (Thursday) Live Broadcast 20:45-21:54 (TV Asahi series) February 3 (Thursday) Live Broadcast 20:35- (NHK BS1) Gorin.jp is here |
| February 5 (Sat) 18:00-18:30 (Japan time 19:00-19:30) | Men's Moguls Qualifying round 2 | Uncho Snow Park | February 5 (Sat) Recording 20:05-21:55 (NHK BS1) gorin.jp is here |
| February 5 (Sat) 19:30-20:55 (Japan time 20:30-21:55) | Men's Moguls Finals 1-3 | Uncho Snow Park | February 5 (Sat) Live broadcast 20:30-22:10 (TV Tokyo series) Live broadcast 20:25-22:10 (BS TV Tokyo 4K) gorin.jp is here |
| February 6 (Sun) 18:00-20:55 (Japan time 18:55-21:55) | Women's Moguls Qualifying Round 2 Finals Rounds 1-3 | Uncho Snow Park | February 6 (Sun) Live terrestrial broadcasting (NHK E-tele, General) & Internet live distribution (NHK) |
Qualifying Round 1: Ends on Thursday, February 3rd! Check out the video and the results!
The first men's and women's moguls preliminaries were held on February 3 (Thursday) from 18:00 prior to the Olympic opening ceremony. The competition venue at Unchou Snow Park was extremely cold with a temperature of -18.5 degrees Celsius and a snow temperature of -27.5 degrees Celsius.
This is a video of the first men's and women's qualifying rounds of just under three hours, which was released on the NHK Beijing Olympics site. Starting with the specification introduction of the mogul course at the beginning, you can see many skaters. With a variety of camera angles, airs and turns can be seen in slow motion. Although the explanation is in English, you can (probably) hear the two types of air, and enjoy the expressions of the players. I am very grateful to be able to watch the game while staying in Japan! Looking forward to the second qualifying round and the final on February 5th and 6th. Check it out!
Sliding of Japanese male players! ｜Freestyle Ski Men's Moguls Qualifying Round 1
Daichi Hara appeared at the top of the Japanese players. This season, the air that has improved the perfection is Coke 720 for both airs. The landing spot on the first air had a slope of 28 degrees, but the landing was perfect. It has a characteristic sharp turn and is a pleasant slide. He safely made it to the quarterfinals. Kosuke Sugimoto, who made his first appearance at the age of 27, said that if he had a high level of turn air speed from the start to the goal, he would be able to make a breakthrough. Coke 1080 was preserved, but it was put together with sufficient quality. It's on to the quarter-finals.
Yukima Horishima, a gold medal candidate, had an unexpected result. The 1st air was a big full twist and the landing was perfect, but the 2nd air flew over the cork 720 and the landing was messed up. As a result, his turn score did not improve, and he ended up skating in the second qualifying session on the 5th in 16th place. "I'll adjust the rest, and from next time onwards I can't make any mistakes," he said, tightening his mind. Hayate Matsuda, who was making his Olympic debut, also advanced to the second qualifying round. "Slide better, do your best," aiming for revenge.
Sliding of Japanese female players! ｜Freestyle Skiing Women's Moguls Qualifying Round 1
Anri Kawamura's first air, which is attracting attention from all over Japan, is an unexpected backflip. She landed smoothly but didn't get a grab. I can't deny that she made a bit of a mistake, but her second Air Cork 720 was fine and her excellent upper body stability helped her finish 4th. She commented positively, "She ended up running a bit unplanned, but I'm glad she managed to come down together. It was a lot of fun."
Junko Hoshino, a 32-year-old veteran, showed a stable skate, and the second air Coke 720 landed smoothly and decided to advance to the quarterfinals in 6th place. "She skated well," she said with a satisfied smile. Unfortunately, Hinako Tomitaka and Terusara Sumiyoshi did not qualify. Tomitaka, who has a reputation for speed, lost his balance from the landing of the Cork 720 on the first air and the turn was disrupted. Sumiyoshi's first Olympics was his long-awaited first Olympics. I want to expect the second qualifying session on the 6th.
■ Highlights of the Beijing Olympic Moguls
Moguls, the first freestyle skiing event to be included in the Olympics (at the 1992 Albertville Olympics), is a hybrid event in which judges score turn points, air points, and time points.
This time, the biggest point of attention from the Japanese perspective is, frankly, "whether or not Japanese athletes will win the gold medal." Pyeongchang gold medalists Michael Kingsbury (Canada) and Perrine Lafon (France) have continued to win in a row over the past four seasons. Both of them should have been big favorites for the gold medal. However, this season, Yukima Horishima for men and Anri Kawamura for women are lining up with or surpassing the ever-winning champ, and both won the final World Cup before the Olympics.
In all seven World Cup races (excluding dual moguls), Kingsbury won four and Yukima Horishima won three. In the women's event, Kawamura won three and Lafon two. Horishima is currently ranked 2nd overall, and Kawamura is running 1st. The two have already won the World Cup together, and a double gold medal in Beijing is highly possible. Even if it doesn't come true, the possibility of winning a medal is great. It is absolutely not to be missed.
▼2018 Pyeongchang Olympic moguls video
■Beijing Olympic moguls match format
From the preliminaries to the finals, it will be contested in this way.
- <Qualifying 1> All skaters skate one by one, and the top 10 advance to the final 1
- 〈Qualifying 2〉All competitors who placed 11th or below in Qualifying 1 will skate one run at a time, and the top 10 will advance to the Final 1.
The score in qualifying 1 is not reflected in the ranking (same below)
- <Final 1> 20 skaters who passed Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2 will skate one run each, and the top 12 will advance to Final 2.
- 〈Final 2〉The 12 skaters who passed Final 1 will skate one run at a time, and the top 6 will advance to Final 3.
- <Final 3> The 6 skaters who passed Final 2 will skate one run at a time to determine the final ranking.
*The match format and ranking format may change depending on the weather on the day.
Unlike the usual World Cup, the Olympics are an irregular system in which 10 people in qualifying 1 and 10 people in qualifying 2 each get the right to proceed to final 1. Even if they fail once, they will still have a chance, so all talented players will remain in the finals. And the final round will be narrowed down to <Final 1> 20 people → <Final 2> 12 people → <Final 3> 6 people. To win, the Olympics need to skate at least one more time than a regular World Cup.
Moguls are scored with a large proportion of turns. Most of the Olympics are long courses with steep slopes, and the middle section after the first air tends to be the turning point. In order to win, you must repeat at least 4 high-speed and no-miss turns here. It can be said that the middle section is the most exciting part of watching moguls.
Scoring method
The scored elements are "turn", "air" and "time". A total of 100 points are allocated, with 60% for turns, and 20% each for air and time (speed).
Turns are evaluated on whether they are skating on a straight line, ``perfection of the quality of the skating'', ``absorbing bumps using the lower body'', and ``balance of the upper body''.
The two airs are evaluated on both the "difficulty" and "completeness" of the technique. Even if you fly a technical air trick with a high number of rotations and axes, you won't get a high score unless you have perfection in terms of grab, style, and landing in the air. Time is the only objective numerical data, and how fast you slide down the course is evaluated.
How to align the three elements of turn, air and time at a high level will decide the game. If you pay attention to that area, the spectator will be more interesting.
■Beijing Olympic moguls venue
Uncho Snow Park
This is a moguls race course!
Here is the mogul course completed just before the opening. If you look around, you can see some bushes, but the course is in perfect condition, and it is said that 90% of the venue is made of artificial snow. Competitions are held at night, and temperatures can drop below -20°C. The hot medal battle unfolding in the extreme cold is a must-see.
Distance: 250m
Elevation difference: 115m
■ Japan's mogul athletes at the Beijing Olympics 
[Men]
| name | Date of birth | where one is from | Affiliation | Number of Olympic appearances | |
| Horishima Ikuma | @ikuma1211 | December 11, 1997 | Ikeda Town, Gifu Prefecture | Toyota Motor Ski Club | 1 (Pyeongchang) |
| Kousuke Sugimoto | @b1ackcoffee | December 2, 1994 | Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture | Daily Hayashiya | first appearance |
| Daichi Hara | @d.h_mogul_keirin | March 4, 1997 | Shibuya Ward, Tokyo | Japan Ski Resort Development Club | 1 (Pyeongchang) |
| Sou Matsuda | @mogul_sou | September 24, 1999 | Nagaokakyo City, Kyoto Prefecture | Shimada Hospital Snow Team | first appearance |
Yukima Horishima and Anri Kawamura are not the only gold medalists on the Japanese team, but there are other medal contenders on the team. Daichi Hara, who was a bronze medalist at the Pyeongchang Olympics (the first Japanese male athlete in a freestyle event) and is active in both bicycle racing and moguls, returned to the World Cup this season and finished second, his highest finish. He seems to have decided that this tournament will be his last big stage as a moguls player, and he will likely challenge him to a high-stakes match. 27-year-old Kosuke Sugimoto, who will be making his first Olympics at the age of 27, has advanced to the Super Finals this season and achieved his first podium. He is now ranked 4th overall at the World Cup.
[Women]
| name | Date of birth | where one is from | Affiliation | Number of Olympic appearances | |
| Anri Kawamura | @anrikawamura | October 15, 2004 | Higashikurume City, Tokyo Prefecture | Nippon Sport Science University Ouka High School | first appearance |
| Hinako Tomitaka | @hinako1753 | September 21, 2000 | Machida City, Tokyo | Tama University | first appearance |
| Kisara Sumiyoshi | @kisara.sumiyoshi | March 8, 2000 | Kutchan, Hokkaido | Nihon University | first appearance |
| Junko Hoshino | @junkohoshino0 | September 25, 1989 | Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture | team listel | 1 (Sochi) |
Both Hinako Tomitaka and Terusara Sumiyoshi are regular top-ranked women at the World Cup, and are in a position where they could win a medal. There is also a good mood in the whole team, and we may see a scene where the Japanese team wins 3 or more medals.
Text/Daisuke Mizorogi
Edit/STEEP
Detailed profile and interview video of the Japanese mogul player
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