We helped each other. It wasn't me. It was all the teammates. Funaki, the World Cup leader and the first Japanese to win the prestigious Four-Hill tour, gained his second gold of the Games, after winning the large hill individual event. In last week's normal hill competition, Harada had the biggest jump of the opening round, 91.5 meters, and, going last in Round 2, needed something like 88 and good style marks to win his first Olympic title.
Japan also employs a Slovenian coach for technique and an Austrian coach for waxing.
This got our athletes used to other languages and cultures. We saw the difference was small, we were more worried about weather than about mental strength. Japan totaled 933 points to win the title from Germany, which wound up with the silver this time with 897.4. We welcome your feedback. All rights reserved.