Ayumi Ogasawara (小笠原 歩, Ogasawara Ayumi) is a Japanese curler, born November 25, 1978, as Ayumi Onodera (小野寺 歩, Onodera Ayumi). She skipped her own team in Sapporo, Hokkaido, until 2015, which represented Japan at the 2014 Winter Olympics before retiring from competitive sports.[1] Currently she is working as a curling coach.

Ayumi Ogasawara
Born
Ayumi Onodera

(1978-11-25) November 25, 1978 (age 45)
Curling career
World Championship
appearances
4 (1999, 2001, 2005, 2015)
World Mixed Doubles Championship
appearances
1 (2017)
Pacific-Asia Championship
appearances
6 (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2013, 2014)
Olympic
appearances
3 (2002, 2006, 2014)
Other appearancesWorld Junior Championships: 4 (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999)
Medal record
Women's curling
Representing  Japan
Pacific Championships
Gold medal – first place 1994 Christchurch
Gold medal – first place 1998 Qualicum Beach
Gold medal – first place 2004 Chuncheon
Silver medal – second place 2001 Jeonju
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Shanghai
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Karuizawa
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 1998 Thunder Bay
Silver medal – second place 1999 Östersund

Career

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At the age of 12, Ogasawara began curling in her hometown Tokoro, joining Akiko Katoh's junior team together with Yumie Hayashi. Then Ogasawara became the second for the team. The team represented Japan at four World Junior Curling Championships (1996, 1997, 1998 & 1999), winning a silver medal in 1998 and another silver in 1999. The team later represented Japan at the 2002 Winter Olympics, finishing in 8th place with a 2-7 record.

After the 2001-2002 season, Ogasawara and her longtime teammate Hayashi moved to Aomori and formed a new team there. The team, called 'Team Aomori', represented Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics. At the Games, Ogasawara threw last stones as skip and led her team to a 7th-place finish with a 4-5 record, including a surprise win over one of the usual curling powerhouses, Canada. After the 2005-2006 season, Ogasawara and Hayashi announced their temporary retirement. Ogasawara got married and had a child before returning to the sport in the 2011-12 season.

 
Ayumi Ogasawara as a coach of the Japanese national curling team at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics

In 2011, Ogasawara and Hayashi, whose name had changed to Yumie Funayama after marriage, formed a new team in Sapporo.[2] The team qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympics through the Olympic Qualification Event held in December 2013. At the Olympics, Ogasawara, a mother of one, was chosen to be Japan's flag bearer, as it is unusual for women in Japan to compete in sports after having children. At the Games, she threw last stones as skip, and the team finished in 5th place with a 4-5 record, winning against two former World Championship teams, Switzerland's Mirjam Ott and China's Wang Bingyu.

Teammates

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2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games

2006 Turin Olympic Games

2014 Sochi Olympic Games

Record as a coach of national teams

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Year Tournament, event National team Place
2019 2019 World Mixed Curling Championship   Japan (mixed)
24
2020 2020 Winter Youth Olympics (mixed)[3]   Japan (mixed)
 
2020 2020 Winter Youth Olympics (mixed doubles)
Mina Kobayashi (JPN) / Leo Tuaz (FRA)[4]
  Japan/  France
4
2020 2020 Winter Youth Olympics (mixed doubles)
Ērika Bitmete (LAT) / Takumi Maeda (JPN)[4]
  Latvia/  Japan
7
2022 2022 World Junior Curling Championships (women)   Japan (women)
 
2023 2023 World Junior Curling Championships (women)   Japan (women)
 
2023 2023 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship   Japan
 

References

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  1. ^ "Personal details".
  2. ^ "CURLING/ Ex-Olympians return in bid to get Japan to Sochi". Asahi Shimbun. January 11, 2012.
  3. ^ "Curling – Mixed Team – Entry List by Event" (PDF). lausanne2020.sport. 9 January 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Entry List by Event - Mixed Doubles - Curling - Winter Youth Olympic Games 2020" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
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Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for   Japan
Sochi 2014
Succeeded by