Two new ski cross-country skiers, Hirose Hirose and Sakurako Mukogawa, have been appointed as representatives of Japan for the Beijing Olympics in February.

The Ski Association of Japan has announced that as a result of the reallocation of quotas by the International Ski Association, a total of two people, cross-country skiing and alpine skiing, have been appointed as representatives of Japan for the Beijing Olympics.



Of these, in cross-country, 21-year-old Hirose was appointed as the first representative.



There have already been seven men and women in the Beijing Olympics, including Masako Ishida, who has participated in five consecutive tournaments, and now there are eight.



In the Alpine, 30-year-old Mukaikawa, who finished 27th in this season's World Cup, made his first appearance.



With this, the number of ski and snowboard Japanese national team candidates, including the already announced national team players, has increased to 57, far exceeding the previous Pyeongchang tournament, which was 47.



The Beijing Olympics, which will start on February 4, will be held for 17 days as the first Olympics to be held at the same venue as the summer.

What is Hirose Ko?

Hirose Ko, who has been appointed as a representative of ski cross-country skiing, is 21 years old from Toyama prefecture.



This is my first time to participate in the Olympics as a third year student at Waseda University.



Although he hasn't participated in the World Cup so far, he finished 3rd in the "Adult Men's A" in the National Athletic Meet, and 33rd in the 10-kilometer classical at the Junior World Championships.



I belong to the ski club of Waseda University, which is directed by Tsuyoshi Ichinohe, who won the 6th place in the ski jumping men's team in the Turin tournament.

What is Sakurako Mukogawa?

Sakurako Mukogawa is 30 years old from Akita prefecture.



This is my first time to participate in the Olympics.



He is a top player who has been leading the Japanese women's alpine world, such as winning the women's rotation of the All Japan Championship last season.



This season, I got an additional quota by finishing 27th in the women's rotation of the World Cup.