VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Kyodo) Yoshiro Ito, the head of the Ski Association of Japan, on Wednesday expressed disappointment at the country's skiers failing to medal thus far at the Vancouver Olympics.
Freestyle skier Aiko Uemura was tipped as a gold medal contender here but the reigning world champion could only manage fourth in the women's moguls, while Japan's Nordic combined team also failed to live up to its billing as the world champion, finishing back in sixth place.
"The Olympics is all about winning medals. Just getting a place among the top eight finishers doesn't cut it here," Ito told a news conference, pointing to a lack of emerging talent to replace the veterans as one of the reasons for Japan's lackluster showing.