Chiharu Igaya, OLY[1] (猪谷 千春, Igaya Chiharu, born May 20, 1931) is a former Olympic alpine ski racer and silver medalist from Japan. He competed in three Winter Olympics (1952, 1956, 1960).[2]
 Igaya in 1956 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | May 20, 1931 Tomari, Kunashiri (ja), Hokkaidō, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Alpine skier | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Skiing career | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Disciplines | Slalom, giant slalom, Downhill, combined | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Dartmouth College | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 3 – (1952, 1956, 1960) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 1 (0 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 4 – (1952, 1956, 1958, 1960) includes Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 2 (0 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Stig Sollander, Toni Sailer (gold), and Igaya
of his house in 1951
Ski racing
editBorn in Tomari, Kunashiri (ja), Hokkaidō, Igaya attended college in the United States at Dartmouth in New Hampshire, where he raced for the Big Green[3] and graduated in 1957. "Chick" won the U.S. national title in slalom in 1954 at Aspen, Colorado,[4] and took a third consecutive NCAA title in slalom, his sixth individual, in 1957 at Snowbasin, Utah.[5]
At the Olympics in 1952, Igaya finished eleventh in the slalom, 20th in the giant slalom, and 24th in the downhill. Four years later in 1956, he won the silver medal in the slalom, was eleventh in the giant slalom, but did not finish in the downhill. All three events were won by Toni Sailer of Austria. Igaya became the first ever Japanese and the first ever Asian to become a medalist at Olympic Winter Games. He remeins the only Japanese to win a medal at an Alpine skiing Olympic event until today. At the 1960 Games, Igaya was twelfth in the slalom, 23rd in the giant slalom, and 34th in the downhill.[2] Igaya also won a bronze medal in slalom at the World Championships in 1958, and finished fourth in the combined.
After racing
editAfter graduation, Igaya worked in insurance, eventually becoming president of the Japanese branch of AIU Insurance Company. In parallel, he served as a sports administrator. Igaya was a member of the FIS alpine skiing committee and vice-president of the International Triathlon Union. He was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1982 to 2012, becoming vice-president in 2005, and an honorary member in 2012.[2][6] At the Winter Olympics in 2018, Igaya was inducted into the Olympians for Life project for giving back to sport.[7]
World Championship results
edit| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant Slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | 20 | 11 | 20 | not run |
24 | not run |
| 1956 | 24 | 2 | 11 | DNF | — | |
| 1958 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 4 | |
| 1960 | 28 | 12 | 23 | 34 | 10 |
From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.
At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).
Olympic results
edit| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant Slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | 20 | 11 | 20 | not run |
24 | not run |
| 1956 | 24 | 2 | 11 | DNF | ||
| 1960 | 28 | 12 | 23 | 34 |
NCAA titles
editReferences
edit- ^ Olympians: Olympians for Life – website of the WOA
- ^ a b c Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Chiharu Igaya". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
- ^ "Chick Igaya wins Cransmore slalom". Lewiston Daily Sun. (Maine). Associated Press. Feb 7, 1955. p. 9.
- ^ "Dartmouth skier wins Roch trophy at Aspen". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). United Press. March 15, 1954. p. 4B.
- ^ "Igaya captures NCAA slalom title". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. March 31, 1957. p. 1-C.
- ^ "Mr. Chiharu Igaya". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ "WOA honours Olympians for Life inductees".
External links
edit
- Chiharu Igaya at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
- Chiharu Igaya at Olympics.com
- Ivy League at 50 – Chiharu Igaya
- Dartmouth College – Chiharu Igaya
- U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame – Chiharu Igaya