IN 2003
Narita clinches bronze
17 year old Domu Narita won his 2nd medal this season at the World Cup.
It's in the halfpipe event held in Sapporo on Mar 1.
14 year old up and coming Kazuhiro Kokubo finished 4th.
IN 2001
Japanese gain top 2 places
Yoko Miyake won the women's halfpipe in Whistler Canada on Dec 9.
Also Michiyo Hashimoto cam in second.
IN 2000
Miyake's first WC victory
26 year-old Yoko Miyake who's taking past in the World Cup series for the first time this season
clinched the women's halfpipe on Feb. 19.
In Hokkaido's Makomanai, she succeeded in difficult spins.
She had not even made it to the top 10 before this Snowboard World Cup victory.
IN 1998
First World Cup crown for Japan
Yuri Yoshikawa became the first Japanese ever to when an event at the
World Cup in snowboarding.
This happened in San Candido in Italy on Jan. 17 in the halfpipe.
Yoshikawa completed the turns called 540 successfully.
She was given the most points in both her 1st and 2nd attempts.
The 26 year-old who has had 5 years experience in snowboarding was not even
among the candidates for the Nagano Winter Games.
Upon her return to Japan on Jan. 20, she was given the berth.
Snowboarding will be in the Winter Olympics for the first time in the Nagano Games.
Michiyo's Note: She was welcomed home by 60 people from the press!