Akiko Sekiwa (; born April 6, 1978 in

Tokoro is a small town, once was an independent administrative division located in Tokoro District, Abashiri Subprefecture (now Okhotsk Subprefecture), Hokkaido, Japan. On March 5, 2006, the division, along with the towns of Rubeshibe and Tanno (all f ...

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

as Akiko Katoh, ) is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

curler and curling

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, a four-time (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998) and a four-time Japan women's champion (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001). She played for

at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

, where the Japanese team finished in fifth place. Also, she competed at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

, where the Japanese team finished in eighth place.

Awards

* All-Star Team, Women:

Teams

Record as a coach of national teams

References

External links

*
Nagano 1998 - Official Report Vol. 3
(web archive; "Curling" chapter begins at page 236)

(

Japanese Olympic Committee The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...

- JOC) * Living people 1978 births Sportspeople from Hokkaido Japanese female curlers Pacific-Asian curling champions Japanese curling champions Curlers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Curlers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Olympic curlers of Japan Japanese curling coaches 20th-century Japanese women 21st-century Japanese women {{Japan-curling-bio-stub