is a Japanese curler, born November 25, 1978, as . She currently skips her own team in

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

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 ...

, which represented Japan at the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

. Also she is a 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 ...

Career

At the age of 12, Ogasawara began curling in her hometown

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 ...

, joining

Akiko Katoh Akiko Sekiwa (; born April 6, 1978 in Tokoro, Hokkaido, Japan as Akiko Katoh, ) is a Japanese curler and curling coach, a four-time (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998) and a four-time Japan women's champion (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001). She played for Jap ...

's junior team together with

Yumie Hayashi is a Japanese curler, born April 5, 1978, in Tokoro, Hokkaido as . She is currently the coach of Sayaka Yoshimura's team from Sapporo, Hokkaido. Career At age 12, Funayama began curling in her hometown Tokoro, Hokkaido, joining Akiko Katoh's j ...

. Then Ogasawara became the second for the team. The team represented Japan at four

World Junior Curling Championships The World Junior Curling Championships are an annual curling bonspiel featuring the world's best curlers who are 21 years old or younger. The competitions for both men and women occur at the same venue. The men's tournament has occurred since 1 ...

(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 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 ...

, finishing in 8th place with a 2-7 record. After the 2001-2002 season, Ogasawara and her longtime teammate Hayashi moved to

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...

and formed a new team there. The team, called '

Team Aomori The Aomori Curling Club is a curling club in Aomori, Japan. It is best known as being the home of , a women's curling team that won six Japanese Curling Championships (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010) and represented Japan at four World Curli ...

', represented Japan at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

. 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. In 2011, Ogasawara and Hayashi, whose name had changed to Yumie Funayama after marriage, formed a new team in

. The team qualified for the

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 Mirjam Ott (born 27 January 1972 in Bern, Switzerland) is a retired Swiss curler who lives in Laax, Switzerland. She is the 2012 World Curling Champion skip. She is the skip (captain) of the Swiss Olympic Curling Team. She has participated in se ...

and China's

Wang Bingyu Wang Bingyu (; ; born October 7, 1984 in Harbin, Heilongjiang; usually referred to in the media as Bingyu "Betty" Wang) is a Chinese curler. In 2009, she became the first non Northern American or European skip to win a World Championship. ...

Teammates

2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games *

, ''Skip'' *

, ''Third'' *

Mika Konaka Mika Konaka (; born February 24, 1977, in Tokoro, Hokkaido, Japan as Mika Hori) is a Japanese curler, a and a two-time Japan women's champion (1999, 2001). She played for Japan at the 2002 Winter Olympics, where the Japanese team finished i ...

, ''Lead'' *

Kotomi Ishizaki is a Japanese curler from Sapporo. Career She made her World Championship debut at the 2003 Winnipeg World Championships playing lead for Shinobu Aota's team from Japan. She would return to the world championships in 2004 with the same team. ...

, ''Alternate'' 2006 Turin Olympic Games *

, ''Third'' *

Mari Motohashi is a Japanese curler. Career Motohashi was a member of Team Aomori which represented Japan at two Winter Olympics (2006 and 2010). She threw second stones for Ayumi Onodera at the 2006 Winter Olympics, finishing 7th, and played second for Moe M ...

, ''Second'' *

Moe Meguro is a Japanese curler. She was born November 20, 1984, in Kushiro, Hokkaido, but grew up in Minamifurano, Hokkaido. Career Moe Meguro won her first medal at the international level at the 2004 Pacific Curling Championships winning the gold me ...

, ''Lead'' *

Sakurako Terada is a Japanese curler, born May 17, 1984, in Sorachi District, Hokkaidō. History Terada is a member of Team Aomori which was selected to represent Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympicsbr> At the Games she was the alternate under skip Ayumi Onode ...

, ''Alternate'' 2014 Sochi Olympic Games * Yumie Funayama, ''Third'' *

Kaho Onodera is a Japanese curler from Sapporo, Hokkaido. She is the third on the FORTIUS curling team, which won the Japan Curling Championships in both 2015 and 2021. At the international level, she has represented Japan at three World Women's Curling Ch ...

, ''Second'' * Michiko Tomabechi, ''Lead'' *

Chinami Yoshida is a Japanese Curling, curler. She currently plays Third (curling), third for Team Loco Solare, which is skipped by Satsuki Fujisawa. The team won the bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Ca ...

, ''Alternate''

Record as a coach of national teams

References

External links

* Living people 1978 births People from Kitami, Hokkaido Curlers from Hokkaido Japanese female curlers Olympic curlers for Japan Curlers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Curlers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Curlers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Pacific-Asian curling champions Japanese curling coaches 20th-century Japanese women 21st-century Japanese women {{Japan-curling-bio-stub