Japanese ski racers for Mt Hutt

Press, 13 June 1979, Page 38

Japanese ski racers for Mt Hutt

By

TIM DUNBAR

Japan has just confirmed that it will be sending a team of 12 ski racers to the Europa F.I.S. series at Mount Hutt next month. This was encouraging news for the organisers on top of the earlier annoucement that Canada would send its crack Olympic downhill team. The Japanese team win consist of six men and six women, under two coaches. It will arrive on July 11. two yeeks before the series starts — and plans to stay a month. , “I’d say that they re hanging Olympic selection hopes on this group, said 'he convener of the organising committee (Mr Neil

Harrison) yesterday. “Mount Hutt will be their major summer training programme.” Included in the contingent are three men — Hiroaki Ohtaka, Atsushi Sawada and Toshiharu Kamiyama — who contested the 1978 F.I.S. (International Ski Federation) series at Mount Hutt. Two of the women, Kazuko Ohmichi and Hayase Narita, were also here last year and Keiko Kojima came in 1977. The other team members are Mamabu Sawaguchi, Maomime Iwaya and Wataru Mizutami (men), and Sonovo Ishikawa, Sashye Sato and Mayumi Takeda (women). Named as the coaches are

Masahiko Ohtsuye and Kazuhird Nunoura. Ohtaka, Sawada, Kamiyama and Sawaguchi all have reasonably low slalom

F.I.S. points in the ?0s or 30s while Sawada and Kamiyama are also quite well performed in giant slalom. F.I.S. points for the group where applicable are: Ohtaka (slalom 26.35, giant slalom 46.61), Sawada (s. 33.51, g.s. 29.95, downhill 86.11), Kamiyama (s. 29.94, g.s. 28.51), Sawaguchi (s. 27.12, g.s. 43.15;, Iwaya (s. 52.99, g.s. 56.58); Kdjima (s. 42.51, g.s. 57.94, d. 99.39), Ohmichi (s.

I 55.10, g.s. 68.45), Narita (s. 7021, g.s. 87.67), Ishikawa • (s. 70.21, g.s., 88.77). I All the points of the men l for slalom and giant slalom

are superior to the top New Zealanders while Miss Kojima’s points for slalom are on a par with the national women’s champion, Fiona Johnson, who will be in Switzerland during the series.

On the last World Cup circuit Ohataka and Sawaguchi both figured in the slalom standings and Sawada scored points for giant slalom. Ohtaka, incidentally, was fourth in the slalom at

the 1978 series at Mount Hutt.

Canada’s team of five will of course, be headed by the world’s fourth-ranked downhiller, Ken Read, who “scouted out” Mount Hutt last year. Mr Harrison has just learned that Read’s younger brother will race as a private entry, and his father, Dr John Read, will also be present. A team from the United States has not yet been fully confirmed, but American ski officials have been talking in terms of eight racers and two support people, according to Mr Harrison. The team would cover all three disciplines — not just downhill as first thought — and present plans are for it

to go up to Turoa (on the southern slopes of Mount Ruapehu) after the 10-day series (July 24 to August 2) and “take in the nationals.” Possible inclusions in the American contingent could be the famous Mahre twins, Phil and Steve, who only went as far as Australia for the joint F.I.S. series last year. Phil Mahre was third over all in the 1978-79 World Cup and second in the slalom.

Britain was expected to send a team Of 13. However, Mr Harrison said nothing had been heard from that country for a month.

“I rather fear they will fall by the wayside because of travel costs,” Mr Harrison said.