Born and raised at Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort, Ayana Onozuka has been devoting herself to alpine competitions since childhood, and after learning basic skiing, switched to halfpipe in 2011.
His success after that is hard to say. He has achieved great results in major competitions, including runner-up at the X Games, bronze medal at the Olympics, world championship championship, and overall championship at the World Cup.
After the 2019 X Games, he shifted his focus to photographing gliding on pristine snowy mountains, but at the same time he participated in the preliminary rounds of the freeride competition FWT (Freeride World Tour), which was just starting to become popular in Japan. With his unique skiing skills and strong heart, he qualified to participate in the FWT, which competes on the world stage, and once again began to spend his days centered around competitions all over the world.
This life continued for about two years until she gave birth. Skiing, which she started at the age of 2, has become her life, and winning competitions and continuing to strive to be the best in the world has become a way for her to express who she is. was.
However, due to changes in life stages such as marriage, childbirth, and raising children, her ski life was forced to undergo major changes.
JFO (Japan Freeride Open) held in 2021. Just standing on the snow two months after giving birth was an amazing feat, but she participated in the competition. She said that the steep slope that everyone struggles with was quite tough for her first race back, and after she crossed the finish line, she was so tired that she lay down. Still, she gave 100% of what she could at that time, and the result was the victory.
However, although he returned to the sport with a focus on competition, the strain on his body was greater than he had imagined. At the same time, she realized that she was causing a great deal of trouble to her children and other family members, and while she placed her children's growth and life with her family at the top of her priorities, she also wondered what the best way to express herself would be. I started thinking about what a challenge is that is not about competition.
After nearly 30 years as a competitive athlete aiming to be number one, he began to search for something unique that only he could do. At her core, facing challenges comes naturally to her. By continuing to challenge herself, she is able to immerse herself 100% in skiing, which is what makes skiing so enjoyable for Ayana Onozuka.
The answer to this idea is the video project ``MOMENTAL,'' which will be filmed this winter.
The project name "MOMENTAL" is a coined word that is a play on three words: MOM (mother), MENTAL (feeling), and MOMENTAL (present). It's a perfect theme to express where she is right now. It will be a documentary movie that follows her life-size self as she takes on the challenge of skating in a mountain field over the course of a season.
It's not a story that aims to be the easiest to understand.
He depicts how he confronts himself, his family, and the harsh nature. Naturally, there will be times when you will not be able to ski, and there will be times when you will be forced to make difficult decisions. The 2024 season is only her fifth season since she began skiing the backcountry in earnest.
What does it mean for her to prepare her skiing skills, physical strength, and mental health to challenge the slopes and mountain ranges she faces? What can you get there? She believes that by carefully following these unravelings, she will be able to convey her continued challenge as a mother and as a skier.
There is no upper or lower, big or small when it comes to challenges and adventures.
The most important thing is whether you take the first step or not. I'd like to keep an eye on the projects she's taking on this winter.
Ayana Onozuka Ayana Onozuka
Born in 1988.
Born in Minamiuonuma City. While becoming a mother of one child, she is active as an active athlete. She is involved in a wide range of activities, including private coaching for national ski halfpipe athletes and special classes at elementary schools. Instagram: ayana_onozuka