Biography

Chiharu Igaya (猪谷 千春 born May 20, 1931) is a former alpine ski racer and Olympic silver medallist from Japan. The first notable alpine racer from Asia, he competed at the Winter Olympics in 1952, 1956, and 1960.

Born in Tomari, Hokkaidō, Igaya attended college in the United States at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where he raced for the Big Green, then and graduated in 1957. He won the U.S. national title in slalom in 1954 at Aspen, Colorado,[2] and won the NCAA title in 1957 at Snow Basin, Utah.

At the Olympics in 1952, Igaya finished eleventh in the Olympic Alpine slalom event, 20th in the giant slalom competition, and 24th in the downhill. Four years later in 1956, he won the silver medal in the slalom, finished eleventh in the giant slalom, but did not finish in the downhill. All three events were won by Toni Sailer of Austria. At the 1960 Games, Igaya finished twelfth in the slalom, 23rd in the giant slalom, and 34th in the downhill.

Igaya also won a bronze medal in slalom at the World Championships in 1958, and finished fourth in the combined.

He was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1982 to 2012. In 2012 he became an honorary member.